Friday, March 4, 2011

Media described as ally of political elite

In a cable dated December 2009, US embassy officials characterise the media landscape as dominated by a few giants that work together to defend their interests. Photo/FILE
In a cable dated December 2009, US embassy officials characterise the media landscape as dominated by a few giants that work together to defend their interests. Photo/FILE 
By NATION REPORTERPosted Thursday, March 3 2011 at 20:59

US diplomats take a dim view of Kenyan media, which they say resist competition and enjoy close ties with the political elite.
In a cable dated December 2009, US embassy officials characterise the media landscape as dominated by a few giants that work together to defend their interests.
The diplomats claim that key figures in the media have a symbiotic relationship with the political elite, although, they note, interests of the media and politicians do not always coincide.
“Sometimes, media owners strike at the political elite class with a highly visible media campaign.
“In October, media owners accused MPs of spreading ethnic chauvinism, then turning their fury against the media when it exposes their behaviour.
“All major media reported the spat between media owners and MPs. Parliament’s House Broadcasting Committee, in turn, accused media outlets for “disseminating propaganda against MPs to the masses.”
The cable describes Nation Media Group’s chairman Wilfred Kiboro as an adviser of President Kibaki.
Mr Kiboro dismissed the report. “I have never served as an adviser to the President and neither have I ever been asked to.”
The cable says Royal Media owner S.K. Macharia is a shrewd businessman, who tends to break the rules.
It also editorialises on the Moi family’s involvement in the media, especially in the Standard Group.
The authors speculate on the nomination of former group chief operations officer Dennis Aluang’a to the NMG board as a non-executive director.
Publicly listed
As a publicly listed company, NMG has clear procedures for nomination of non-executive directors based on the guidelines of the Capital Markets Authority.
On NMG board changes, the US embassy says: “We have noticed a sharp deterioration of the Nation’s coverage of the reform agenda, including the US Mission’s active involvement with civil society and youth.”
The cable was written at a time when the Nation had taken a critical editorial stance on the US embassy’s involvement in local politics.
But it commends the Nation’s expose on the Anglo Leasing scandal.

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