A new report shows that media coverage of Kenya's 2017 election was flawed. [Photo: Daily News]A new monitoring report released on Monday shows that the media 'subverted democracy' in the just-ended electioneering period.The report says that the coverage of the elections was 'dangerously flawed' with the media adopting a conformist role rather than being the agenda setter and a watchdog.“In a period of six months, we monitored media conduct as the election dynamics unfolded. Media conduct took a nose-dive with a myriad of biased reporting, inflammatory coverage and sensationalism that largely dented professional conduct,” Mildred Ngesa, the executive director of Peace Pen Communications said on Monday, as quoted by the Star.She was presenting the report dubbed 'Media Besieged - A Media Monitoring Report Coverage of the Kenya Elections 2017'.The report shows many journalists and their media houses failed to champion public interest.It further indicts journalists and editors for a series of malpractices including inability and unwillingness to hold those manning the elections and other players to account.Henry Maina, regional director Article 19, said the media is now under state capture. “The treatment of the media under the Moi era was better. They used crude methods such as burning newspapers, but left them in business. Today, it’s worse. They put economic pressure by denying business to outlets they deem unfriendly. They also use intimidation and regulations to censure the media,” Maina said.
The report also puts editors on the spot for polarising newsrooms along party-ethnic lines by embedding of reporters in political parties and politicians from their ethnic group, adds the Star.
“Media owners influence agendas. A majority were think-tanks for either Jubilee or NASA. They were mouthpieces for parties and fiddled with editorial policy. Journalists were left vulnerable, they played along to save their jobs,” the report adds.