Which TV station do you watch?

The TV station that you will tune in on this evening has a political stand. You already know that but if you don’t, you suspect it. Why is it that you watch a particular one? Why does the other one seem boring or annoying? 

It is because they are not telling you what you want to hear.

I am particularly annoyed by one of the stations that seem to be so negative about my candidate of choice. Whenever they carry his story, there seems to be some angle of the story that looks suspicious. Surprisingly, when I flip on the other side, I find that that story did not even make it as one of the big stories.

It is a fact that we cannot run away from.

This is how things might play themselves this year.

KBC- Kalonzo Musyoka 70% (he is more in the government than even Raila. VP Press service) Raila 20% Others 10%

Royal Media   50-50  Raila and Uhuru (Uhuru is Kikuyu and Macharia is kikuyu.) (word is Raila has Macharia in his pockets)

NMG Raila Odinga 60% Others 40% (NMG is most impartial in my view. Raila makes 60% because he makes more news than the others)

KTN Raila Odinga 80% (I don’t know how but yes, 80%. Maybe they owe him. He practically made them popular around 2007..ODM)

K24 Uhuru Kenyatta 80% (ownership)

Read the following 2006 report by the African Media Development Initiative: Kenya Context © BBC World Service Trust

Kenya Country Report

There is a tendency towards media concentration and cross-media ownership in Kenya. KBC has over 20 radio stations, Royal Media Services Limited owns 11 radio stations, Radio Africa Group has over five FM stations, and NTV owns two FM stations among others. NMG also owns seven newspapers, several magazines and NTV while SG has not only acquired a radio station but also owns three newspapers and KTN.

Regional Reach owns Kameme FM, K24 TV, and the local franchise for GTV while Radio Africa Group runs the Star newspaper as well as six radio stations. Royal Media Services Limited owns the Citizen TV network, a newspaper and a network of 11 radio stations broadcasting in different vernacular languages. They include Ramogi FM (Dholuo), Chamgie (Kalenjin), Mulembe (Luhyia), Egesa (Ekegusi), Muuga (Kimeru), among a host of others.

Royal media also holds onto a number of unutilized frequencies and has argued strongly against governments attempts to repossess the frequencies arguing this would discourage investors or make those who invested incur losses. Stiff competition in an increasingly crowded liberalized market led to the emerging trend of media concentration and cross-media ownership in Kenya.

Lately, the NMG appears to have edged closer to criticizing government, especially in relation to its half-hearted fight against graft. The state TV broadcaster KBC is still sympathetic to government, but not in the former sycophantic style, while Citizen TV remains more pro-gvernment than the rest.

How Moi made the 2005 constitution fall

The Standard is owned by the Standard Group, a group of businessmen associated with former President Moi. The Standard, and the Standard Group’s TV (KTN-TV), were the main critical voices against the NARC government. (Kibaki in particular)

This stance earned the paper a competitive edge and its sales, especially of the Sunday issue, which rose steadily (NMG, 2006; and, research interview in 2006 with media practitioner who requested anonymity). The Kenya Times, was owned by the former ruling KANU party, was unpopular with most readers.

These media outlets gave Odinga and his group who opposed the constitution more publicity than NMG did. That’s why Kibaki’s government raided the Standard in 2006.

We do not have an independent media!

 

“siasa za peni mbili”