commbox Kenya

The ghost in the news room: The legacy of Kenya’s 2007 post-election violence and the constraints on journalists covering Kenya’s 2013 General Election

Lisa Weighton, Patrick McCurdy

Journal of Eastern African Studies, volume 11, issue 4 (2017), pp. 649-669

"Domestic journalists covering Kenya’s 2013 General Election worked in an exceptionally challenging media environment; one which was significantly shaped by the 2007 election and post-election violence (PEV). Rooted in literature on peace journalism (PJ), we examine how the PEV of Kenya’s 2007 p ... more

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Africa's Media Image in the 21st Century: From the "Heart of Darkness" to "Africa Rising"
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Mel Bunce, Suzanne Franks, Chris Paterson (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2017), xvii, 239 pp.

"Africa’s Media Image in the 21st Century is the first book in over twenty years to examine the international media’s coverage of sub-Saharan Africa. It brings together leading researchers and prominent journalists to explore representation of the continent, and the production of that image, esp ... more

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Makutano Junction: A Village Soap Opera for Kenyan TV. An Interview with Producer and Mediae.org Director and Co-Founder David Campbell

Ben Stringer, David Campbell

Architecture and Culture, volume 5, issue 1 (2017), pp. 99-113

"Makutano Junction is an ‘edutainment’ soap opera made for local TV stations in Kenya and other East African countries. The show is about a fictional peri-urban village and the people who live in it. The program is made in Kenya, but was devised and is produced by Mediae, a UK based company that ... more

Country Reports 2017

Celia Collins (ed.)

Pan African Media Research Organization (PAMRO) (2017), 258 pp.

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Twinning Social Memory and Social Imaginary: Challenges for East African Media Policies

Ullamaija Kivikuru

African Journalism Studies, volume 38, issue 3-4 (2017), pp. 50-73

"The article discusses the significance of the past in the planning of media policies in two neighbouring countries in Africa, namely Kenya and Tanzania. The theoretical frame is composed of four concepts: social imaginary, collective memory, domestication, and liminality. The scrutiny starts from t ... more

Thirty Rising Media Markets 2016

Anne Austin, Jonathan Barnard, Nicola Hutcheon

London: ZenithOptimedia (2016), 51 pp.

"The markets we do include are a very diverse bunch, from the very closed and politically tightly controlled such as Laos; through a large number of nations on the African continent which have seen a sudden improvement in digital infrastructure thanks to the landing of several new submarine intercon ... more

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China's Media and Soft Power in Africa: Promotion and Perceptions
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Xiaoling Zhang, Herman Wasserman, Winston Mano (eds.)

New York: Palgrave Macmillan (2016), xii, 237 pp.

"This volume brings together scholars from different disciplines and nations to examine and assess the effectiveness of China's soft power initiatives in Africa. It throws light not only on China's engagement with Africa but also on how China's increasing influence is received in the African media." ... more

Freedom on the Net 2016. Silencing the Messenger: Communication Apps Under Pressure
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Sanja Kelly, Mai Truong, Adrian Shahbaz, Madeline Earp (eds.)

Washington, DC; New York: Freedom House (2016), 1021 pp.

"Internet freedom has declined for the sixth consecutive year, with more governments than ever before targeting social media and communication apps as a means of halting the rapid dissemination of information, particularly during antigovernment protests. Public-facing social media platforms like Fac ... more

Comparative Analysis of Civil Society, Media and Conflict

Rebecca Pointer, Tanja Bosch, Wallace Chuma, Herman Wasserman

Media, Conflict and Democratisation (MeCoDEM) (2016), 52 pp.

"This paper explores how Egyptian, Kenyan, Serbian and South African civil society organisations (CSOs) use communication and relationships with media to engage in democratic contestation. Individual interviews were conducted with 91 CSO members who participated in the various democratisation confli ... more

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Media Law Handbook for Eastern Africa, Vol. 2
Key Guidance

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Justine Limpitlaw

Johannesburg: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) (2016), xxiv, pp. 295-627

"Volume 2 of the Media Law Handbook for Eastern Africa is a practical guide for journalists practising in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. The handbook not only contains a comprehensive overview of applicable media laws for each country reviewed, it also contains suggestions on possible law reforms to impr ... more

Civil Society, Political Activism and Communications in Democratisation Conflicts: A Literature Review

Rebecca Pointer, Tanja Bosch, Wallace Chuma, Herman Wasserman

Media, Conflict and Democratisation (MeCoDEM) (2016), 35 pp.

"Given that the nature of civil society in different countries is different, and also often shifting in response to political changes, examining the relationship between civil society and media production (mainstream and alternative) in Egypt, Kenya, Serbia and South Africa involves being sensitive ... more

Hate Speech: Key Concept Paper

Charlotte Elliott, Wallace Chuma, Yosra El Gendi, Davor Marko, Alisha Patel

Media, Conflict and Democratisation (MeCoDEM) (2016), 35 pp.

"Instead of seeking to provide an objective definition of hate speech, the paper’s empirical approach highlights that context matters. More specifically, analysis of the political and socio-economic context in which the speech act occurs and consideration of the nature of the speaker and audience ... more

Supporting Safety of Journalists in Kenya: An Assessment Based on UNESCO’s Journalists’ Safety Indicators

George Nyabuga

Paris: UNESCO (2016), 106 pp.

"The study finds that Kenyan journalists face serious challenges in the course of their work. Further, both State and non-State actors have contributed to a deteriorating climate for journalists. The number of threats, incidents of harassment and intimidation as well as legal and personal attacks, h ... more

A Handbook on Reporting Terrorism

International Media Support (IMS);Media Council of Kenya (2016), 24 pp.

"This guidebook is a tool for Kenyan media professionals who are reporting on issues of terrorism and whilst doing so seek to counter violent extremism [...] It is designed to help journalists to effectively cover stories without putting innocent civilians (or security forces) in harm’s way, witho ... more

Journalistic Practices, Role Perceptions and Ethics in Democratisation Conflicts: Empirical Findings from Interviews with Journalists in Egypt, Kenya, Serbia and South Africa

Judith Lohner, Sandra Banjac, Irene Neverla

Media, Conflict and Democratisation (MeCoDEM) (2016), 82 pp.

"This report provides an overview of core comparative findings from MeCoDEM interviews with journalists in Egypt, Kenya, Serbia and South Africa. It investigates the role of journalistic actors in transitional societies across a set of comparable democratisation conflicts and themes of inquiry: jour ... more

Mapping Structural Conditions of Journalism in Egypt, Kenya, Serbia and South Africa

Judith Lohner, Sandra Banjac, Irene Neverla

Media, Conflict and Democratisation (MeCoDEM) (2016), 124 pp.

"Structural conditions are to be understood as the totality of (formal and informal) orders and structures that characterise media and journalism in a certain space, most commonly, a country. Eleven interrelated and interdependent dimensions of structural conditions relevant to media and journalism ... more

Paying for Access or Content? Blurred Understandings of Mobile Internet Data in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda

Savita Bailur, Emrys Schoemaker, Jonathan Donner

In: GlobDev 2016: Proceedings Annual Workshop of the AIS Special Interest Group for ICT in Global Development

Association for Information Systems AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) (2016), 11 pp.

"The paper addresses the blurred understandings of what developing country mobile internet users feel they are paying for. The move towards increasing online news and music consumption around the world has resulted in low growth in paid content consumption and a digital advertising market that is no ... more

A Framework for the Adoption of Information and Communication Technology in Faith-Based Organizations in Kenya: A Case of Comboni Missions

Haron Gacengechi

Nairobi: Strathmore University, Master Thesis (2016), viii, 60 pp.

"This research covers the adoption of ICT in Comboni missions, a faith-based organization with operations in Kenya among other global countries. Comboni missions focus on less developed Kenya counties, and in economically challenged areas such as slums in Mathare, Korogocho, Kariobangi in Nairobi. R ... more

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Indigenous Language Media, Language Politics and Democracy in Africa

Abiodun Salawu, Monica Balya Chibita (eds.)

Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan (2016), xiii, 246 pp.

"This book deals with the often-neglected link between indigenous languages, media and democracy in Africa. It recognizes that the media plays an amplifying role that is vital to modern-day expression, public participation and democracy but that without the agency to harness media potential, many Af ... more