British media coverage of the post-election violence in Kenya, 2007–08

Bibliographic Data

ID7843312
AuthorsKeith Somerville (0000-0001-9768-6894, Brunel University of London, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume3
Issue3
Pages526-542
Publication date2009-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Eastern African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1753-1055 • E-ISSN: 1753-1063
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17531050903273776
OpenAlexW2010098600
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited15

The post-election violence in Kenya in December 2007 through to April 2008 was reported extensively but erratically in the British media. While BBC News Online, the Guardian, Telegraph and Independent gave regular coverage with online updates on their websites, other mass circulation media like Sky, the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail were more sparing in their coverage. But a common factor to all was a tendency to rely on simple, all-encompassing descriptive and analytical language to frame the reporting of the conflict – focusing on tribal and ethnic issues to the virtual exclusion of broader and deeper analyses of factors involved. This paper examines the coverage and compares and contrasts that coverage with some of the more thoughtful and in-depth analyses produced by experienced journalists and academics. The paper looks, too, at the journalistic processes and habits that may have led to this concentration on, in particular, the "tribal" and ethnic explanations of the violence. The study will draw on an analysis, quantitative and qualitative, of the content of British media coverage from December 2007 to April 2008 and on the author's first-hand experience of covering Africa as a BBC journalist and a writer for specialist African publications over 30 years

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