people,
Allow me to express my honest opinion on this media bill – I agree with the government, believe it or not, in my status as I parent (trust we have several in this forum) – the media needs to be censored on the immorality they so shamelessly bring to our airwaves and homes in the name of entertainment – thus contributing to the moral decay that has engulfed our society. How do I tell my childrent that it is not okay to do/say certain things in private/public when they watch/hear them morning, noon and night. Parents are not in a position to monitor what children watch or listen to as we are not with them all the time – believe you me – perverts are encouraged by what they see/hear in the media too! The media should be used for the good of the people, not for the mental corruption of children and the society at large. If the media have proved responsiblity, nobody would bother with gagging them. I am sure this is just a small bit of the whole thing – but this in particular concerns me. Its okay to tell us about errant MPs with their wayward ways – because we pay them (MPs), its okay to toboa about good custodians gone bad, but the media must check other media related issues too.
A nation is not just about money related corruption but it is also about the mental state of its people (read moral mental state) – Are we raising a morally upright generation with all that’s in the media??????????????
Have a morally upright day,
Gery
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Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 03:04:22 -0800 [12/15/2008 05:04:22 AM CST]
From: Gery Wamucii
Subject: MY TAKE ON MEDIA BILL
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Hi Gerry,
I support you fully. The programmes aired should legalized
Janet
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Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:15:51 +0300 [12/15/2008 05:15:51 AM CST]
From: janet Ayieni
Subject: Re: MY TAKE ON MEDIA BILL
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Hi all,
The Kenyan media really needs to be gaged.Did anyone notice something really funny this weekend??? All through from friday to sunday there was only one thing in the papers Media Bill.The media has let Kenya and Kenyans down and the have become an enemy of the state. There are certain aspects about the Bill i disagree with like the raiding of media houses and confiscation of their equipment.That should only happen when a State of Emergency has been declared.At that instance all constitutional rights are suspended.
The media should be the voice of society and at the same time they should also protect the image of a nation.For them to sell the images of the post election violence to international media that was very wrong of them.The portrayed Kenya as a failed state just to make a quick buck. Ask yourself how come we have never seen dead American soldiers in Iraq aired on CNN??? Did we see floating bodies of dead babies after Katrina hit???
The standard group and KTN have always been against the govt why??? just because of the raid??? move on what happened happened.Yes people have the right to know but some information is better kept undisclosed for the protection of citizens. And why are people getting so emotional when they saw Mutoko and Nyambane being arrested?? lets be serious what outcome did u expect??? you think the presidential detail would have let Mr Odhiambo anywhere near the president??? Do you think they would have let Nyambane anywhere near the president??? the media has very smart guyz and they got the kind of reaction they wanted from the whole fiasco. MERCY FROM THE PUBLIC.
If the media was very objective how come we have not seen them really analyze what is in the Bill and give its pro’s and con’s as opposed to just rejecting it and giving kenyans a very biased opinion on what the Bill is all about.
Mr President go ahead and sign that Bill you have my full support.
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Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:57:02 +0300 [12/15/2008 05:57:02 AM CST]
From: Nick Wokabi
Subject: Re: MY TAKE ON MEDIA BILL
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Even the elections, media was there covering every inch and gave us
results. right now we still dont know who won the elections yet they
cant step out and give meterial fact yet they have them in cameras and
audios or unless them is just mdomo!
period! they shouldnot turn our campaign for MPs to pay tax to media
bill thing. Mr president kindly sign the bill..
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Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:19:17 -0800 [12/15/2008 06:19:17 AM CST]
From: ceeya
Subject: Re: MY TAKE ON MEDIA BILL
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Nick,Ceeya and Gerry,
I agree with you guys totally. Kenyans are being taken for a ride by the media.
The “good media” should have put the whole thing in their airwaves, print media and radio for people to read/listen and comment openly.
In addition these guys had consultative meetings with the drafters of the bill they had an open meeting ,argued their case which was overwhelming rejected by Kenyans who were in the meeting(ask PS Ndemo) none in the media is commenting on this. WHY?
True to Kenyan, because opposing anything and everything is so fashionable EVERY OTHER TOM DICK AND HARRY are commenting on media gagging(yet have not read the bill),blocking roads and shouting themselves hoarse in the name of freedom of media.
The Bill could be bad but hello lets debate these things and see the pros and cons as Nick suggests.
Timothy Kihara
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Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:20:59 +0300 [12/15/2008 06:20:59 AM CST]
From: Timothy Kihara
Subject: RE: MY TAKE ON MEDIA BILL – LETS DEBATE AND AVOID SHOUTING
I think we may be missing the point here.The media bill may be signed but those programes on TV or Radio will stay.Instead your space to express your genuine views (like the ones that you have expressed ) will definitely be cut.We already have a law to control descency on the media,but has it changed anything?Of all the priority bills parliament could have been debating,why did they chose this one.May point is this bill is not for the good of the public.We need our media to develop and I am sure this kind of law is actually taking us back to places and things we may not realy want.
Dear Kenyans, WAKE UP!!!!!!
If you are not outraged at the proposals of this media bill, then you are not considering these three things; Firstly, the recent and past unlawful raids, arrests, and assaults that have been carried out on the media by police under order of government officials, of which the most infamous incidents by the first lady. Secondly, the high level of corruption that goes on in the government, along with the impunity and unaccountability that the perpetrators enjoy, infact they continue to be appointed to more powerful government positions. Thirdly and most pertinently, you are taking for granted your right, as a citizen of Kenya, to unbiased news and information about the workings of your government. How sure are you that this is not just a ploy being taken by the government to further stifle the media that has been exposing their corruption?
Some people have expressed their support for the bill, stating that it will protect the youth from watching bad tv shows. I am not sure whether the bill had anything saying the government would regulate entertainment tv, I am sure it said that news media outlet will be regulated as per the liking of the Informations minister. But I can understand that parents are concerned about their kids being exposed to sex, violence, drugs, etc through television. There are many ways of resolving this problem without government censorship. As parents, you are responsible for talking with your children regularly and teaching them, do not let the television be the first place they learn about sex, violence, etc. Talking with your kids in a positive manner about these things and NOT government censorship is the best way to ensure they will make the decision to stray away from crime in the future. This is because your children will, with no doubt, be exposed to all those ugly scenes on television. It is unavoidable with already high and still rising crime rate in the country. Due to the lack of basic security the government has proved incompetent to provide, crime is the order of the day, more than likely, 90% of Kenyans reading this have already been mugged more than once in the streets, seen dead bodies on the streets, and some even witnessed a murder. And it is common knowledge that the police themselves are involved in a big number of the crimes.
I am amazed at how anybody who says they value freedom can support such a bill. The fact that it passed parliament alone is alarming given that more than half of our MPs are newly elected. Any MP who voted for this bill should never ever be voted back into parliament.
This situation is a testament to the extreme level of corruption in the country’s government. Wanainchi voted in new people because they were disgusted with the dishonesty of the last parliament. It may seem that this corruption is like a spirit that has now possessed the newly elected members.
The system itself is corrupt, it needs to be revised. It only allows for leadership to come from the narrow extremely rich minority. Which by the way is not representative of wanainchi, especially the 80% living below poverty. How can we expect the rich to now the pain of the poor? Majority of Kenyans are poor, the leader needs to come from that rank. Only then can he look to solve the problem of poverty. The rich will only look for means to enrich themselves further, widening the already huge gap between themselves and the poor.This is not about tribalism, the rich have declared war against the poor.