I get it. The Aga Khan was here in December; he got a huge state commendation. We all know if the watchdogs of the powers that be call and start making noise and being shrill, it's easier to make them go away by simply backing down. But I'm sorry, you are The Nation – you do not back down. You do not pander and you do not self-censor.
This is not your newspaper, it is ours. It is not your media space it is ours. For those of us who can remember, The Nation is the calvary of media freedom, boldness and truth. The NATION took so long to get a TV and a radio license because during the Moi era they pulled no punches and for that they were well punished. But they stayed the course and because they did, we have always rewarded the media with support, revenue and goodwill that says, "even when you goof, we will forgive you".
Even when the radio brand you launch ain't all that, we will support you. Even when your TV station isn't as powerful as your newspaper, we will grant you audience and revenue because you are The Nation. The cornerstone of media excellence in Kenya and in the region.
But our disappointment is more about the yellow-belly nature in which the Galava issue was handled. By all means apologise for the undiplomatic manner the editorial was written. By all means, apologise to those who may have been offended – heck I shared your piece on my Facebok page and got trolled on YOUR behalf. I didn't care – it was a good piece of brutal writing. It was a sharp knife with a jagged edge. Those who were unhappy got no response from me. I shared it because in my case a retweet is indeed an endorsement.
Self-censoring practices are and have always been a serious threat for the future of journalism.
Journalists around world are always forced into self-censoring by power players. Governments are the major players who force journalists to censor their news stories.
In history, governments always wanted to control the media and made laws and regulations to put journalists under control. Journalists who dare not to obey the rules are severely punished.
Using advertising as a weapon privately owned companies also put pressure on journalists.
In some countries gangs put pressure on journalists to prevent them from writing about their illegal activities. They threaten journalists with death. Although it changes from country to country, these are the main reasons which force journalists self-censoring. As a result of this, journalists choose not to write against the interests of any power players.
The self-censoring practices may be threatening the future of journalism. This invisible threat seems to lower the credibility of journalism and journalists.
Censorship has a long history. It has appeared in different ways in different cultures. In some cases, writers were beheaded, imprisoned, tortured and books burned in other instances.
From the very beginning of writing, the established power players have always found ways to impose bans, restrictions on writers.
Censorship and self-censoring are two different terms in respect of meaning. In censorship, boundaries are drawn about what to write or not by the outside powers, such as governments and companies, so journalists or publisher have no choice but write or publish as they are directed.
On the contrary, in self –censoring issue, journalists are not told to do things openly but they censor themselves, hide some facts that they think would be dangerous to write.
Official or private, all power players have always used censorship as a pressure tool to defend their interests, to increase their profit and their influence on the public for years.
- Self-censorship is a common problem among journalists and widely practiced in many countries in the world.
- The main reasons that force journalists to censor their news stories are political, economic pressures and life threats.
- Self-censorship practices of journalists put in danger the future of journalism.
- Preventing self-censoring practices seems to be difficult. Educating journalists on the ethical rules of journalism, laws and government regulations and values of the society may be useful.
In Galava's editorial, the truth was told. It may not have been told diplomatically. It might not have been told elegantly. It may not even have been told politically correctly, but the truth was well told and that is what The Nation stands for. Sadly last week, The Nation butchered their own brand and betrayed the rest of us. We have had a failure in courage from the leading light; I'm not sure where that leaves the rest of us as we go into an election year.
Sources: https://pkimaru.wordpress.com/ and the Huffington Post
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