True democratic independence and ideals
cannot thrive in an environment of state
controlled thought process. A great part
of our attainment of true democratic
independence was when the media was
released from the stifling shackles of
government control.
When this happened in Kenya we
thought we had arrived in nirvana and
an age of true freedom and respect for
the human right to free and unfettered
access to information would open a freer
and more open society that would create
opportunities for all.
But this was not to be. To draw a cynical
comparison one just has to look at the
church. When the people could not read
and the priest was the sole arbiter of what
the bible said people were kept in awe
of God and his earthly mouthpiece-the
priest.
The minute the bible was released to the
masses we had an explosion of religion as
all and sundry scrambled to put forth their
interpretation of the bible and in so doing
religion became a business, and the fastest
growing business in Kenya today for that
matter.
News has become a currency and the peddlers
have realized that bad news sells and the more
sensational the news, the more bucks they rake
in. News for a purely commercial end is irre-
sponsible and callous and should never happen
and be allowed to flourish.
Contrary to the tenets of the constitution
where Kenya is supposed to be a secular
nation we find that in practice the country
is actually more of a Christian country
where even in offices meetings are usually
began with a word of prayer seeking divine
intervention in business deliberations.
The net effect in Kenya is that as the
country gets more and more religious
the country is getting more and more
immoral and amoral. How this is possible
in a country where the next building
is likely to be a place of worship and
church is not confined to Sunday’s beats
comprehension.
This is the same type of quandary that
the media finds itself today. Technology
has removed the hallowed profession of
journalism from the tight grip of reporters
and editors and anybody who owns a
phone is a potential reporter.
Add to this melee a hungry media looking
for sensational news to sell their medium
and the progressive hiring of unqualified
media personalities and the growing cult
of celebrities and you have the perfect
mélange of misinformation.
Today in the era of freedom of the press
and multimedia we seem to be struggling
ALLOY RIMS
FROM AS LOW AS
KSH 3500/-
BATTERIES
* Terms & Conditions Apply.
BALANCING &
ALIGNMENT
SHOCKS
Tel: 020 2220996, 2217648-52 · Cell: 0735 699000, 0722 227719 · Email: [email protected] · www.kingswaytyres.com
NAIROBI · THIKA · MERU · MOMBASA · MALINDI · NAKURU · ELDORET · KISUMU · KAKAMEGA · KERICHO