DESCRIPTION OF THE KENYAN MEDIA SCENE

Get Complete Project Material File(s) Now! »

CHAPTER THREE CONSIDERING AN AFRO-CENTRED NORMATIVE APPROACH

Introduction

The preceding chapter argued for the necessity of alternative thinking on the role of the media in society given the reality of globalisation and the resultant socio-economic change. Additionally, the chapter discussed the various criticisms that have been advanced against traditional normative theory of the media; particularly the “Four Theories of the Press”, which over time have come to be regarded as the most popular framework for explaining the media-society relationship.
In the search for new directions and alternative thoughts on the role of the media in Kenya today, the present chapter considers the merits and demerits of an Afro-centric normative approach. This analysis is however guided by the postmodern conceptual framework already developed in the previous chapter. In this regard therefore, key arguments by Giddens and others²³ are critical in guiding our assessment of afro centred normative philosophies as a possible basis for normative theorizing in the present age. The chapter begins with an overview of Afro centricity as a worldview together with attendant arguments as advanced by authors like Asante (1998), Okafor (1994), Appiah (1992) and others and how this worldview relates to the changing media situation in Kenya today.
From this general overview, the chapter then develops into a detailed analysis of Ubuntu (an African moral philosophy) as a specific case study in Afro-centric thought. In subsequent sections of the chapter, ubuntu is discussed and attempts are made to create understanding of what might constitute “ubuntu journalism”. The chapter further explores how the “ubuntu philosophy” could contribute to a uniquely African form of journalism in Kenya by considering the merits and demerits of applying an ethno-centred moral philosophical framework to a changed Kenyan media and socio-economic context (as described in chapter four).
Generally, the relevance of such an undertaking is partly drawn from the realisation that to propose an African normative framework is to presuppose that African media practices are, or should be, different from what obtains in other societies (see, for instance, Mfumbusa 2008). The choice of ubuntu is also motivated by the perception that Western-based libertarian frameworks have not adequately accounted for non-Western realities (see, for instance, Gunaratne 2007).This post-colonial assertion does indeed underlie the interest already demonstrated by several African scholars who are keen to address this yawning gap by exploring the wisdom of applying a purely African communitarian ethics to African media practice (see, for instance, Christians 2004; Mfumbusa 2008; Fourie 2008; White 2008).
The chapter concludes with a critique of ubuntu as a basis for normative media theorising in Africa, particularly in the context of the present global push towards remaking normative media theory, and its relevance to media policy in Kenya today.

A Critical Discussion of the Afro-centric Perspective

In general, the African reality may be perceived in terms of the African continent’s cultures, its people, belief systems, philosophies, family values, and knowledge of the world among other considerations. As a theoretical framework, Afro-centricity thus provides an African-centred prism through which the African reality may be analysed. Indeed, several authors assert that Afro-centricity²⁴ approximates a unique worldview that best defines the African reality (see, for instance, Oyebade 1990; Hoskins 1992; Okafor 1993; Winters 1994).
According to this understanding, the African person occupies a central place in the creation and realisation of the African worldview (see, for instance, Hoskins 1992; Bekerie 1994; Winters 1994). This central position is what affords African peoples their identity and pride and is the reason why Okafor (1993: 196), in a critique of Appiah’s (1992)²⁵ apologetic case for colonialism and how it possibly opened the doors of modernity for Africa, asserts that Africa should hold its own in the world. In other words, Okafor believes that Africans are not inferior to any other race.
Even more compelling is Asante’s (1998: 14) attempt to justify the African person’s quest for recognition. He points out that the whole idea behind Afro-centricity is for the African person to find a base or place to stand. He further contends that the need to find an African identity cannot be any more essentialist than the positions taken by the feminists, gays/lesbians and other groups that question established social hierarchies.
History, however, shows that the identity and pride of the African person have been variously taken for granted, particularly through slavery and colonialism; these being the two phases of history in which the African was used and abused by others. Significantly, it is these lowly phases of African history that have, in fact, motivated the need for an African response (Okafor 1993:199).
Another motivation for creating an Afro-centred perspective stems from the nature of the Eurocentric paradigm²⁶, which in the history of intellectual thought has often assumed a hegemonic universal character. Essentially, Eurocentrism believes that European cultures are the reference point or yardstick by which other cultures are to be defined. It is the dominance of this paradigm that prompted scholars such as Oyebade (1990:234) to demand an alternative that begins with Africa as the point of departure for African studies. As Bekerie (1994:135) argues, Afro-centricity offers an alternative to this hegemonic influence. It is, in fact, a source of emancipatory knowledge which, in essence, should provide a reference frame for evaluating African creativity and defining life experiences.
The foregoing arguments, however, put to test the assertion that globalisation has levelled those cultural differences that traditionally separated people. From an Afro-centric perspective, history and culture are still strong considerations in the global structuring. This viewpoint is particularly visible in the case of Africa where the experiences of slavery and colonialism have created a perpetual need for self-preservation (see, for instance, Fourie 2008).
This may explain why criticisms against the perceived bias in Western media’s portrayal of Africa are always followed by calls for more home-grown content in African media. Implied here is the fact that Africa is better positioned to tell its side of the story to the world because this would help in asserting its sense of pride. The perceived misrepresentations of Africa and its peoples would also be corrected through such home-grown content. It is in this regard that the Kenya government introduced new regulations in 2010 requiring media institutions, particularly radio and television, to ensure that a certain percentage of their broadcasting time was devoted to local content as one way of counteracting the flow of foreign-based media content into the country.
This effort to give space to the African content in the media may approximate what Bekerie (1994:132) refers to as “the shedding of the imperial burden”, or even “a moving of the centre.” It may also be regarded as a form of emancipation and an assertion of Africa’s ingenuity and innovation. This emancipation may, however, not succeed, particularly if there is no deliberate and determined effort by Africans to define and understand themselves and to exercise their agency (see, for instance, Bekerie 1994). Afro centricity thus urges for proactive engagement or the conscious effort by Africans to locate a base. As argued by Asante (1998), this effort should be reflected in social organisation, promotion of indigenous knowledge systems, preservation of African culture, and the perpetuation of African ethical and moral standards among other requirements.
If we are to assume the possible existence of some kind of African journalism, then such journalism would, from an Afro centric perspective, be required to serve as the vehicle through which emancipatory knowledge may be transmitted to African peoples (see also, Blankenberg 1999). African national media systems would, in this regard, serve as vehicles for promoting national ideals, culture, and identity (see also Kasoma 1994).
In the same vein, African media systems would be required to act as the platform for propagating African history; for this is considered critical to framing the African reality and understanding the African person and the place of the Africa person in the world today (Diop 1974). Furthermore, African history would provide an important premise for dispelling the myth that African peoples have been passive in the creation of their own world; let alone the bigger global space to which they belong. Asante (1990), as cited in Bekerie 1994:131) thus asserts that Afro- centricity is about promoting the centrality of African peoples as active and primary agents in the making of their histories.
However, in order for the enterprise of African journalism to actively promote the contributions of Africa to world history and civilisation – and thereby prove that Africans are progressively engaged in the creation and recreation of their world – African journalists would be required to learn more about African history, culture, and conditions of life. In playing such a role, African journalism would, in fact, end up serving as a tool for defeating the dominant paradigm (read, westernisation) which, according to Bekerie (1994:132) “is now being subverted by people’s deliberate and determined efforts to define and know themselves, or to exercise their agency.”
Another core argument in Afro-centric thought, but one that carries much relevance for African journalism, is the need to move Africa to the centre where it rightfully belongs, according to Diop’s (1974) argument, given its place as the cradle of human civilisation. However, by taking this path it is feared that African journalism may end up being a reactionary and narrow enterprise dedicated to the primary mandate of promoting ethno-nationalism (see, for instance, Tomasselli 2003).
Considerations surrounding the concept of “worldview” and its influence on journalism practice may also be seen in the same light. One may, for instance question the extent to which the African worldview does determine (or influence) the roles of media in an African society such as Kenya. Further questions would relate to whether it, indeed, makes any sense to talk about an African journalism in the first place. Secondly, what does the concept of “worldview” mean in this regard and how is it affected or shaped by globalisation and change, particularly in the context of Africa?
Ayish (2003:81) defines a people’s worldview as that fundamental assumption they hold about the nature of the world. It is systematically expressed in a people’s philosophy, ethics, ritual, and scientific belief. It is therefore assumed that if African journalists are to work within an African worldview, then their expression of the world should be influenced by the basic philosophy that underlies the African experience. In other words, their output should be clearly definable as uniquely African, thereby constituting a form of “African journalism.” Ideally, this uniqueness would be reflected in the way they write stories and the purposes for which those very stories are written.
If Afro-centricity is also about asserting Africa’s pride, then the African journalistic enterprise would be expected to promote Africa’s beauty. African journalists would be required to search for African motives in stories to give them relevance and context (see, for instance, Sesanti 2008:366). Indeed, the assertion that African peoples should be judged by internally-generated evaluative mechanisms presupposes a universalised claim to a common African value system. However, the present post-modern society, such as what obtains in Kenya today, is not only marked by multiple communities, but also what Ang (2003:141) has referred to as “rampant division and fragmentation.”

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY 
1.0 Background of the study
1.1 A mapping of the Kenyan Media Scene
1.2 Statement of the Problem
1.6 Structure of the Study .
CHAPTER TWO THEORITICAL DISCUSSION ON THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN SOCIETY
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Some Conceptual Considerations
2. 2 Introduction to Normative Media Theory
2.3 An Overview of the Four Theories of the Press
2.4 Post modernity and Implications for Normative Media Theory
2.5 Habermas’s Public Sphere
2.6 The Concept of the Public Interest
2.7 Conclusion
CHAPTER THREE CONSIDERING AN AFRO-CENTRED NORMATIVE APPROACH 
3.0 Introduction
3.1 A Critical Discussion of the Afro-centric Perspective
3.2 Ubuntu as an African Moral Philosophy
3.3 Conclusion
CHAPTER FOUR DESCRIPTION OF THE KENYAN MEDIA SCENE 
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Historical Perspective of the Kenyan Media Scene
4.2 The Kenyan Media Scene After 1992
4.3 Types of Media in Kenya.
4.4 Convergence, Competition and Media Ownership in Kenya
4.5 Media Ownership and Control in Kenya
4.6 Media Regulation in Kenya
4.7 Isolating the Problems of the Kenyan Media System
4.8 Conclusion
CHAPTER FIVE EXPLAINING THE RESEARCH PROCESS
5.0 Introduction
5.1 The Qualitative research approach
5.2 Interview Guide
5.3 Conclusion
CHAPTER SIX INTEGRATING THEORY AND PRACTICE
6.0 Introduction
6.1 Looking Back at the Kenyan Media Landscape
6.2 A normative Theoretical Baseline
6.3 Debating the Role of the Media in Kenya
6.4 Conclusion
CHAPTER SEVEN WAY FORWARD 
7.0 Introduction
7.1 Recommendations
LIST OF REFERENCES.
GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT