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

Dados Bibliográficos

ID7843310
AutoresLisa Weighton (University of Ottawa, autor correspondente), Patrick Mccurdy (0000-0002-5764-6174, University of Ottawa, autor correspondente)
Ano2017
Volume11
Fascículo4
Páginas649-669
Data de publicação2017-10-02
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Eastern African Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1753-1055 • E-ISSN: 1753-1063
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17531055.2017.1378447
OpenAlexW2760781935
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas11

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 presidential elections informed and shaped journalists’ practice around the 2013 Kenyan General Election. The article is based on qualitative interviews with 16 Kenyan print journalists and editors at the Daily Nation and Standard newspapers as well as interviews with 6 Kenyan media specialists. Our analysis finds the 2007 PEV significantly constrained journalistic practice in three ways: first, journalists witnessed violence in 2007 which anchored their 2013 coverage; second, interviewees felt a ‘collective guilt’ at journalism’s failure to provide responsible coverage in 2007 creating a ‘culture of restraint’ and third, journalists felt compelled to ‘sanitize’ potentially inflammatory language creating a tension between journalists’ duty to inform and strong desire to avoid contributing to conflict. This article concludes by siding with a growing critical chorus of PJ scholars critiquing its often “individualist” approach and calling for greater attention towards structural factors such as perceived social constraints when conceptualizing and theorizing the agency of journalists working in post conflict environments

General election · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Law · Media Studies and Communication