Press Freedom and Globalisation - International Press Institute

Press Freedom and Globalisation
rural people benefit less from this plurality. 158 That is also the case in Uganda where
community and non-commercial radios were most vulnerable to the boradcasting fees. 159
Limitations on publishing due to national interests are common worldwide. The
East African level is considered to be more restricted than in Western countries, but not
very different from other poor countries. 160 Collective interests are typically formulated as
public peace, hate speech as well as protecting morality and religion. 161 For instance,
Kenya is more conservative than Uganda in exposing body and sex, which makes a
distinction in practice of publishing in the two countries. 162 Another collective value is
democracy in itself. That is the reason for media to allow all parts to contribute in the
public debate. The practice of this principle can be discussed. However, Kenyan media
emphasise such an ideal in the very beginning of the Kenyan Code of Conduct of
Journalism. 163
Private interests may include both private institutions and individuals. There is
danger of mixing private and national interests when the elite of political leaders and
business peoples are the same ones. 164 In East Africa, liberalisation of broadcasting has
increased number of licenses. Yet, these radio and TV channels are concentrated in a few
political hands. 165 Another example is when the radio station Kiss FM in programs in April
2004 used rough words about some Kenyan ministers as individuals. The ministers wanted
to use government instruments as withdrawing of the licence to stop the radio station. 166
158
Carver, Coliver, Lauriciano, Lush and Maja-Pearce, Who Rules the Airwaves, p. 6.
159
Nakkazi, “Uganda Cracks Down on Radio, TV Stations”
160
Walden, Ruth, “Insult Laws” in World Bank, The Right To Tell : The Role of Mass Media in Economic
Development (Washington: The World Bank/WBI Development Studies, 2002), pp. 212 and 220-222.
161
Krug and Price, “The Legal Environment for News Media”, pp. 200-201.
162
Onyango-Obbo, Charles, “Ugandans like dirty pictures, so why faint at the V-word?” in The East African
(Nairobi: Nation Media Group), commentary, 28th February, 2005.
163
The Media Council of Kenya, Code of Conduct and Practice of Journalism in Kenya, p. 2.
164
An-na’im, “The Freedom of Expression as a Universal Human Right”, pp. 22-24.
165
Kadhi, “Anglophone Africa: Puppets of the proprietors?”, pp. 120-122.
166
Daily Nation, “They want to kill Kiss FM, says Kalonzo” in Daily Nation (Nairobi: Nation Media Group),
news article, 20 th April, 2004; and Shikwati, James, “It’s a potential threat to Press freedom” in Daily Nation
(Nairobi: Nation Media Group), commentary, 22 nd April, 2004.
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