A Publication of the Media Council of Kenya
The Challenge of covering Terrorism and Disasters Drawing the line on images of death, media in face of tragedies
October - December 2013
About Us
Vision A professional and free media accountable to the public.
The Media Council of Kenya is an independent national institution established by the Media Council Act 2013 for purposes of setting of media standards and ensuring compliance with those standards as set out in Article 34 (5) of the Constitution.
Mission To safeguard media freedom, enhance professionalism and arbitrate media disputes.
Council’s Role, Mandate, Functions and Authority The Council draws its mandate and authority from the Media Act 2013. Its functions are to: • Promote and protect the freedom and independence of the media; • Prescribe standards of journalists, media practitioners and media enterprises; • Ensure the protection of the rights and privileges of journalists in the performance of their duties; • Promote and enhance ethical and professional standards amongst journalists and media enterprises; • Advise the government or the relevant regulatory authority on matters relating to professional, education and the training of journalists and other media practitioners; • Set standards, in consultation with the relevant training institutions, for professional education and training of journalists; • Develop and regulate ethical and disciplinary standards for journalists, media practitioners and media enterprises; • Accredit journalists and foreign journalists by certifying their competence, authority or credibility against official standards based on the quality and training of journalists in Kenya including the maintaining of a register of journalists, media enterprises and such other related registers as it may deem fit and issuance of such document evidencing accreditation with the Council as the Council shall determine; • Conduct an annual review of the performance and the general public opinion of the media, and publish the results in at least two daily newspapers of national circulation; • Through the Cabinet Secretary, table before Parliament reports on its functions; • Establish media standards and regulate and monitor compliance with the media standards; • Facilitate resolution of disputes between the government and the media and between the public and the media and intra media; • Compile and maintain a register of accredited journalists, foreign journalists, media enterprises and such other related registers as it may consider necessary; • Subject to any other written law, consider and approve applications for accreditation by educational institutions that seek to offer courses in journalism; and • Perform such other functions as may be assigned to it under any other written law.
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Contents:
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Contents Perils of breaking news on terror and dealing with facts thereafter ............................................................................5 Media Council Condemns Harassment of Journalists ................................................................................................ 6 Council Holds First Ever Public Forum in Turkana County...........................................................................................7 The Challenge of covering Terrorism and Disasters.....................................................................................................8 Drawing the line on images of death, media in face of tragedies ...............................................................................11 Ethics key in coverage of tragedies and disasters ..................................................................................................... 14 Covering disasters comes with huge expectations from the audience ....................................................................... 17 Securing journalists on the beat: Kenyan media’s close call .....................................................................................20 Dearth of safety and security for reporters covering disasters ..................................................................................22 Adrenalin-hit Kenyan media fight to be first with the story .......................................................................................25 Why blind courage among scribes must be discouraged during tragedies.................................................................28 How Westgate Mall siege exposed unpreparedness among Kenyan journalists.........................................................30 Lenses on terror attack and how media covered Westgate siege...............................................................................32 Tough outside, weak inside: Kenyan journalists and trauma handling ......................................................................35 Centrality of social networks in disasters and tragedies............................................................................................ 37 Brave reporter recounts his four-day coverage of the Westgate siege ...................................................................... 40 My experience covering Westgate Mall terror attack.................................................................................................43 Emotional Support crucial in coverage of disasters ..................................................................................................45 Oct - Dec • 2013
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The Media Observer is published quarterly by the Media Council of Kenya with assistance from Ford Foundation. The views expressed in articles published in this publication are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the Media Council of Kenya.
Media Council of Kenya P. O. Box 43132 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 2737058, 2725032 Cell: +254 727 735252 Email: info@mediacouncil.or.ke Editorial Team Chief Executive Officer Haron Mwangi
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Editorial Board Joseph Odindo Mitch Odero Levi Obonyo Martha Mbugguss Otsieno Namwaya Consulting Editor Gathenya Njaramba Editorial Coordinators Victor Bwire Jerry Abuga
Contributors Amos Kibet Caleb Atemi Dinah Kituyi Jerry Abuga Joe Kadhi John Gachie Judy Kaberia Kwamboka Oyaro Mark Oloo Njoki Mwarumba Ouma Wanzala Peter Mwaura Philip Ogola Tom Rhodes
Victor Bwire Wellingtone Nyongesa Photo Credits Moses Omusula Jerry Abuga Design & Layout Colourprint Ltd. Wireless: 020 2101740/41/42 Mob: 0722-203645 / 0733-203645 E-mail: info@colourprint.co.ke www.colourprint.co.ke
CEO’s Word
Perils of breaking news on terror and dealing with facts thereafter
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ournalists are often reminded there is no story worth dying for. Yet, in today’s cutthroat competition for audiences, journalists routinely put themselves in precarious situations to ‘break’ the story first. Disasters and tragedies have been part of the human history and can really not be avoided completely.
They feel majority of journalists groped in the dark and put themselves and even their audiences in grave danger. Others feel Kenyan journalists, though brave in their reportage, they had no protective gear unlike their foreign counterparts.
It can also be argued that disasters fuel adrenalin in most journalists. Indeed, in most newsrooms, there is a maxim that “If it bleeds, it leads.” Members of the Fourth Estate are always eager to answer the What, Haron Mwangi Where, When, Who, Why and How of such incidents. This is informed by the audiences’ high expectations on the media as the society’s watchdog. Indeed, several recent surveys in Kenya and elsewhere have rated the media as the most trusted source of information.
Another veteran journalist, Peter Mwaura, writes that journalists are often caught between the need to inform and the situation on the ground. In face of terror most editors make decisions in the heat of the moment, he adds.
In today’s world, terrorism has risen to be a huge source of tragedy. A group of highly disgruntled people has made it their business to kill innocent people in large numbers to put across their evil message. Their other aim is to create fear and despondency in the world as they push for their cause. In the process, they crave media attention to their horrifying acts.
Veteran journalist and lecturer, Joe Kadhi, writes on the huge challenge facing journalists in the coverage of disasters, especially terror attacks. He challenges media houses to train journalists to maintain utmost professionalism while covering such events.
In his article, John Gachie, argues the Westgate shopping mall siege was a close call for the Kenyan media. He advises rightly that Kenya needs not lose journalists through a devil-maycare attitude. On the same score, Wellingtone Nyongesa, writes that blind courage among journalists should be discouraged as media houses take more precaution. And after coverage of such incidents, Dinah Kituyi puts up a case for urgent counseling for reporters. She argues that most Kenyan scribes display ‘toughness’ on the outside, but they are ‘weeping and weak’ inside. She shares symptoms of journalists in need of counseling, especially after covering certain events. Philip Ogola also writes on the usefulness of social networks during disasters.
This issue of the Media Observer is dedicated to the media’s reportage of tragedies that struck our country last year including the terror attack on the Westgate shopping mall. Media experts, analysts and veteran scribes give their take on Kenyan journalists’ performance as per the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya and the benchmarks of ethical journalism.
He says the social media has become a management tool, conducting emergency communications and issuing crucial warnings. These are some of the thoughts shared here in this issue. Welcome to this discourse and as usual free feel to share your take with us. Happy New Year!
There are those who feel most journalists were unprepared and dazzled by the raid, which the terror group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility.
Chief Executive Officer & Secretary to the Council
Haron Mwangi
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Media Council Condemns Harassment of Journalists
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he Media Council of Kenya has called upon anyone with complaints against the media to lodge the same with its Complaints Commission.
time-honoured function, a role sanctified in the Constitution,” Council Chairman Joseph Odindo told a press conference at the Council Friday, 25 October 2013.
The Council also lauded the media for its outstanding performance in reporting last month’s Westgate Shopping Mall terror attack. “The media, both local and international, played an important role in informing the public about those sad events.
He added that by digging deeper into the Westage affair, the media has exposed the heroic efforts of our security forces as well as shameful incidents of misconduct. “They have captured the tragedy of bereaved families and the callous brutality of the terrorists. In a word, they have made possible informed and intelligent discussion of one of Kenya’s worst national tragedies,” he added.
Given the many, diverse and sometimes contradictory official explanations of what happened, the media; our newspapers, television, radios and digital news outlets, have dutifully been carrying out their own investigations in order to establish the truth and keep Kenyans informed. This is their
The Media Council of Kenya at the same time differed with the Inspector General of Police, Mr David Kimaiyo for summoning The Standard Media Group for their coverage of
Jerry Abuga the Westgate tragedy, which he said was an “unlawful sending of mixed messages”. “Using police and criminal law to address grievances over media coverage is an abuse of state power. It is a deplorable assault on freedom of expression and the people’s right to know. Under the new Constitutional dispensation, disputes relating to media coverage and the conduct of journalists should be referred to the Complaints Commission of the Media Council of Kenya and not to police investigators,” said Odindo. He affirmed that the Council was established as an impartial arbiter and has adjudicated complaints by many Kenyans, including President Uhuru Kenyatta and other prominent personalities.
A photojournalist flees from a prodding police officer.
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Council Holds First Ever Public Forum in Turkana County
Jerry Abuga
Participants register for the Turkana Forum.
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n its efforts to promote public interest and boost media awareness in the country, the Media Council of Kenya organised a Public Media Literacy Forum titled “Media and Devolution in Kenya” on Friday, 6 December 2013 at Lodwar Lodge in Lodwar Town, Turkana County. At the forum Turkana residents engaged the Council in an open discussion on performance of the media in coverage of devolution that came into force with the 2013 General Election. The Media Monitoring findings on media coverage of devolution and by-elections were the focus of the forum. The Council also conducted training for 30 Turkana County- based journalists on Devolution and the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism the previous day. At both meetings, the Council disseminated its first report on how the media has covered devolution in Kenya titled: Media and the Devolution Process in Kenya. Other Media Council of Kenya Information, Education and Communications reports were also
distributed at the public meeting. The main presenter Mr Joe Kadhi, a Journalism Lecturer at the United States International University and former Managing Editor of the Daily Nation, took the participants through the devolution process, with a preliminary look at the general election, which ushered devolution. He presented a comprehensive analysis of how the media has covered devolution as well as how the media has covered the vast Turkana County across diverse issues. The Media Council of Kenya Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Programmes Manager Mr Victor Bwire made a presentation on the Media Council of Kenya and its mandate as well as responses to the different questions on the role of the Council in media regulation. The forum was attended by close participants drawn from the public, Government, civil society, religious Media Managers and Journalists others.
to 100 County sector, among
The Speaker of the Turkana County Assembly Hon. Geoffrey Kaituko who graced the occasion applauded the Council for its commendable effort in promoting professionalism in the Kenyan media. “ I am happy that the Media Council is conducting similar trainings and fora across the country as it is helping in a deeper understanding of the devolution process. The trainings are helping journalists to report well on devolution besides enabling members of the public to understand the process as well as the work of County governments”, he said. He encouraged the media to effectively play its role as per section 93 of the County Governments Act No. 17 of 2012 which requires county governments to fulfill some responsibilities through the media. The members of the public urged the media to continue playing its oversight role/watchdog by exposing acts of corruption and other social ills that have come with devolution. Oct - Dec • 2013
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The Challenge of covering Terrorism and Disasters
In the face of increasing terror attacks and similar tragedies, media houses must train journalists to maintain utmost professionalism while covering such events, advises JOE KADHI.
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he September 21 terror attack on Nairobi’s Westgate Mall was a major test to all of us. It tested Kenyans’ patriotism; Uhuru Kenyatta’s leadership qualities; our intelligence service’s alertness; our security forces’ preparedness; our enemies’ determination to destroy us; our friend’s willingness to stand by our side at a needy time and last, but by no means least, it tested our Fourth Estate’s professionalism in dealing with terrorism and disaster. A lot of water has flown under the bridge since that sad incident; but utterances, and indeed reactions by some of our leaders will forever give journalism scholars food for thoughts. These thoughts will not only help in designing courses for budding journalists, but also provide an instrument of stimulating ideas to be tabled at various professional fora for digestion of events of that sad period.
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In their apparent hasty reaction to the manner in which Kenyan journalists covered the tragedy, members of the National Assembly passed what was considered a draconian Bill to muzzle the press; followed by threats of arresting and prosecuting journalists by Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo. The healthy debate that followed passing of the new Bill and widespread condemnation of the threat by police proved Kenya is still a democratic country because of its new Constitution. Despite all that, however, Kenyan journalists will still be challenged by the need to be always skilfully equipped to face future similar events with higher levels of professionalism and preparedness. Confronted with exactly the same challenges, Joseph Scanlon, Professor Emeritus and Director, Emergency Communications Research Unit, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada conducted
Joe Kadhi
research on the role of mass media in crisis and/or disaster in 2007. Among his fascinating findings is that the media can play a critical role before, during and after such incidents. In a chapter called “Research about the Mass Media and Disasters: Never (Well Hardly Ever) the Twain Shall Meet”, published in a book edited by David McEntire titled Disciplines, Disasters and Emergency Management Springfield, he says the media are essential, for example, for warnings to be effective and may be the single most important source of public information in the wake of a disaster. But he warns about the media that distort what happens in a disaster, which could lead to misunderstandings. He says failure by officials to issue warning, for example, may be a result of the myth that people panic, but he suggests this myth is always perpetuated by
Kenya Defence Forces soldiers with their armoured vehicles.
the media. He says while the media are often criticised for intrusion, they are not guilty as charged because his research suggests many victims and their relatives welcome presence of the media and do not see journalists as intruders. The reportorial conveyor-belt coverage of the Westgate terror attack together with similar coverage of a series of road accidents did not disturb Kenyan authorities whenever journalists engaged in cutthroat competition to be first with the news. It is when reporters engaged in interpretative and investigative journalism that they ruffle authorities’ feathers of secrecy.
have committed crimes… soon they will be apprehended and appear before the court, and face the consequences of this.”
National TV stations regularly show similar pictures of victims in hospitals as well as horrifying accident scenes.
According to AFP, Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo threatened journalists with arrest after they reported on looting and disarray among security forces during the Westgate massacre.
Paradoxically, that statement opened up a floodgate of international and local criticism again Kimaiyo that was so forceful as to push him against the wall and he desperately denied ever issuing any statement threatening freedom of the media.
The international news agency informed the world that the police boss told reporters it was clear there was limit to media freedom. The agency quoted the IG saying: “We are looking within the law very closely for those individuals who in one way or another might
The coverage of Westgate incident followed by series of road accidents and a shocking arson case in which Nyakach MP Aduma Owuor’s father and mother were burnt alive are instances that fit Scanlon’s description of what he calls the media’s key role in providing
effective warning about such disasters which may have the effect of being the glue that binds societies in such disastrous occasions. Yet, the scholar adds, the media are also responsible for many misconceptions that exist about disaster, misconceptions that may lead to errors of judgment when disaster strikes. His research has established what media do when disaster strikes. He says the media hear of the event, try to obtain more information, use their own files to add background to their stories, dispatch reporters and report anything they are told. He says often they devote all their airtime or much of the space available to that single story and he concludes that to gather material to fill this expanded news hole, the media draft anyone available. Though Scanlon was conducting research about journalism in North America, his findings are strikingly similar to what journalists do in Kenya when covering disaster and terrorism. At Westgate, Nyakach and in almost all serious road accidents we see journalists doing exactly what Scanlon describes above. Oct - Dec • 2013
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Many are pictures that have been published in almost all national newspapers showing accident victims undergoing treatments in hospitals. National TV stations regularly show similar pictures of victims in hospitals as well as horrifying accident scenes. All this happens despite the fact that the ethical principles in Kenya demands that journalists should make inquiries with sensitivity and discretion before publishing anything concerning personal grief or shock. The ethical principle specifically says in hospitals, journalists should identify themselves and obtain permission from a responsible executive before entering nonpublic areas to pursue enquiries. Apart from the concern about possible intrusion by journalists covering terrorism and disaster, media scholars are also concerned about the portrayal of these events on TV screens watched by children. Among the institutions concerned about this eventuality is the University of Oklahoma, which has come up with a fact sheet for teachers and School Staff, intended to help students cope with media coverage of disasters. The fact sheet tries to tackle what it sees as the problem of journalists’ tendency to focus on the most sensational aspects of the disasters they cover such as death, injury, destruction and repetitive use of emotion-stirring images and video such as buildings burning or cars overturned. Acknowledging the fact journalists cannot be expected to water down their stories due to their own news values, the fact sheet comes up with elaborate suggestions of how teachers can use the facts presented by journalists to help students understand what is happening by putting the disaster in context. What is happening at the University of Oklahoma is repeated at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in what it calls the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma. This project is dedicated to informed, innovative and ethical news reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy. The centre explains that whether the topic is street crime, family violence, natural disaster, war or human rights, effective news reporting on traumatic events demands knowledge, skill and support. The Dart Centre therefore provides journalists around the world with resources to meet this challenge, drawing on a global, interdisciplinary network of news professionals, mental health experts,
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educators and researchers. A look at the activities in the two universities mentioned above proves they are taking necessary steps to change their curricula to include coverage of trauma, disasters and terrorism. Our universities should introduce such units but where it is not possible lecturers teaching news writing and reporting should teach such subjects as tips for interviewing victims, tips for writing about victims, tips for covering traumatic events in our communities, tips for journalists to take care of themselves, tips for photojournalists who respond to tragedies and tips for managing those who cover traumatic events. Because of high demand for professional guidelines on how to cover terrorism and disaster there is a voluminous amount of intellectual research by scores of academics. One of the best manuals for practicing journalists was produced in 2007 by two scholars for the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ), which is based in Washington and is dedicated to advancing quality journalism all over the word. The two scholars are Deborah Potter who is the Executive Director of Newslab. org, a non-profit journalism resource in Washington, D.C.; and Sherry Ricchiardi, who is a professor at the Indiana University School of Journalism and also senior writer for American Journalism Review specialising in international issues. In their manual for journalists covering disasters and terrorism, they summarise the rudiments, which professionals ought to bear in mind in exactly 51 words saying: “Stay calm. Be clear, accurate and compassionate. Choose words carefully to avoid enflaming a situation or causing additional stress or panic. Describe the scene and be specific. Broadcasters should watch their tone and be aware of volume, pitch and pacing. Practice deep breathing for relaxation before going on the air lives.” Long before the ICFJ came up with the most useful manual discussed above, two other scholars came up with a white paper on the subject for the Missouri School of Journalism in September 2004. Known as “News as a public service: Thinking through coverage of disasters and terrorism” the white paper by Assistant Professor Fred Vultee and Professor Lee Wilkins was mainly concerned about integrating what scholars know about the
subjects of terrorism and disaster with what journalists do while covering them. Claiming that after years of studying natural and technological disasters, academics in a variety of disciplines - communications, political science, sociology and the sciences - have built up a store of knowledge about how those events work and how government, the public, and the media respond to them, the two scholars argue that after years of covering disasters, news organisations have done much the same. In an effort to bring the two sets of understandings together the two scholars justified their efforts to come up with the white paper in order to make the insights of the academy accessible to journalists who must plan coverage and report events. They suggest terrorism, and the lurking potential of it, had heightened the need to think hard and then act. They argue thinking about disasters, epidemics and the like could also help journalists think about terrorism. The white paper also examines the roles of governmental and nongovernmental organisations that must respond to such threats as well as the news organisations that report on them. The white paper which reviews what scholars know about media’s role in coverage of terrorism, with emphasis on how that role is like and unlike the media’s role in coverage of terrorism and disasters could be extremely useful to Kenyan journalism trainers teaching reporters how to cope with the coverage of disasters. It lists a number of coverage suggestions, coupled with example of best practices, accessible to journalists regardless of medium. Apart from that the list includes planning suggestions to help news organisations provide the best possible coverage. May be the most useful part of the white paper to Kenyan practitioners is the one that discusses specific ethical issues concerning coverage of disasters. The report does not pretend to “solve” all ethical challenges of covering terrorism and disasters but it suggests to news organisations what they should consider well in advance of events to forestall bad decision-making under stress. Joe Kadhi is a former Managing Editor of the Daily Nation, and now teaches journalism at the United States International University-Africa. joekadhi@yahoo.com
Drawing the line on images of death, media in face of tragedies
Peter Mwaura
While covering disasters, journalists are always caught between the need to inform and situation on the ground, hence decision to use photos is often made in the heat of the moment, writes PETER MWAURA.
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ne of the big questions during coverage of the terrorist siege on Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi was how far the media should or should not go in publishing images of death. Where do you draw the line? Should the media publish images depicting death if it helps tell the story? These are questions Kenyan editors and photojournalists have never really been
confronted with in real time, as it happened during the four-day Westgate attack. The questions confronted the editors under unprecedented glare of public scrutiny and interest. KTN broadcast a controversial video footage showing, among other things, a terrorist executing an unarmed store guard at the entrance to Nakumatt supermarket at Westgate. But it was the publication of a
horrific and gory picture by the Sunday Nation on its front page on September 22 that drew the most reaction. The picture was a close-up of a woman, probably on point of death, writhing in pain and covered by blood. The caption read: “A victim shrieks in pain after gunmen attacked a city shopping centre…” By Sunday afternoon Mr Linus Gitahi, the Oct - Dec • 2013
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A police officer displays recovered weapons at a crime scene.
CEO of the giant Nation Media Group issued an apology for use of the photo through his Twitter handle and on NTV. “Kenyans, we made a poor judgement on our front page photo today. We sincerely apologise for the hurt caused,” he tweeted. On Monday, the Daily Nation, for the first time, published an apology on page one and NMG editorial Director Joseph Odindo, who took responsibility for the use of the photo, was suspended. The New York Daily News used the same photo on its front page, but it used the picture as taken by Reuters. The Sunday Nation, on the other hand, used the picture “flipped”, thus dramatising its emotional appeal. It is not clear what prompted the NMG to apologise. But the Daily Nation said: “It is not in the tradition of Nation Media Group to cause such offence. We apologise to the family of the victim, and to our readers.” Further, the newspaper said, the company is “committed to the highest editorial standards and respect to the sensitivities of audiences.” The social media, which published scores of Westgate pictures, did not see the need for such restraint. Some of the most appalling images were published by the website known as totally coolpix.com (http://totallycoolpix. com/201 3/09/graphic-the-westgate-
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shopping-center-shootings-in-kenya/) The Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya does not provide clear instructions on the use of photos that are too graphic. Article 9 (Obscenity, Taste and Tone in Reporting) comes nearest to providing some guidelines. It directs that “offensive material” should not be published “unless such material contains a news value which is necessary in the public interest.” Further, it states: “In the same vein, publication of photographs showing mutilated bodies, bloody incidents and abhorrent scenes should be avoided unless the publication or broadcast of such photographs will serve the public interest.”
The picture was a closeup of a woman, probably on point of death, writhing in pain and covered by blood. Section 20 (Use of Pictures and Names) also states that “as a general rule, the media should apply caution in the use of pictures and names and should avoid publication when there is a possibility of harming the persons concerned.”
In addition, Article 22 (Acts of Violence) states the media should avoid presenting acts of violence in a manner that glorifies such antisocial conduct. Westgate provided a challenge to Kenyan editors without a tradition and culture of ethical standards in responsible photojournalism. Though Westgate was unique in that it was a terrorist attack in which some 70 people were killed, there have been other occasions when some Kenyan media have stirred controversy because of their graphic depiction of death. In January 2009, for example, when a fuel tanker overturned at Sachangwan trading centre along the Nakuru-Eldoret Highway and 110 people were burned to death after the fuel tanker burst into flames, a citizen journalist took a video of the tragedy. The video, which was broadcast on television, showed victims engulfed by flames or badly burnt. But the most controversial depiction of death was publication on the front page by The Star of a charred body – one of the 100 victims of the Sinai fire in September 2011. Following complaints by some readers, The Star said it still believes it was the right thing to do. “Firstly, the body was burned beyond recognition. It was not a recognisable individual whose final privacy was being invaded. Secondly, the photo had overriding news value,” the newspaper said.
A past road accident scene.
But one reader argued: “What kind of reasoning is this? So if a body is not identifiable, shall we not treat it with dignity? Don’t people bury their dead with dignity even when worse things have happened to their bodies rendering them unidentifiable? While it is agreeable that the newspaper should deliver news as is, I think The Star did this for the shock value that would translate into sales.” Another reader said: “Showing macabre images drives sales, and that has nothing to do with ‘delivering the true picture’… Do you ever see any Western media showing dead bodies of their slain soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan?” But not all readers agreed. “The problems with us Kenyans is we like to hide away from our problems,” said another reader. “Nairobi Star was right to publish those photos. The more we’re uncomfortable, the more we’re likely to push for change. Remember the dreadful pictures of the starving Kenyans that pushed Kenyans to do something? Pictures speak thousands of words.” In a comment on September 22, The Star public editor, Karen Rothmyer, recalled the fierce opposition in the US to the use of pictures of people falling or jumping from the World Trade Centre after the 2001 terrorist attacks. “A recent commentary by a journalism
professor at New York University noted that while such photographs were widely published in the rest of the world, US newspapers used few or none,” she went on to say. The photos, the professor wrote, have been rendered taboo, vilified as an insult to the dead and an unbearably brutal shock to the living. “Clearly, there is something different about publishing a photo of victims whom you know, or might know, and victims who live thousands of miles away. One group represents members of your ‘family’, the others are strangers whose deaths are, to put it bluntly, curiosities, not tragedies. In this case, the Sinai residents were our family, and we were, indeed, brutally shocked. “So, should The Star have published that photo on page one? If you had asked me the day afterward I would have said yes, but as time goes on, I grow more unsure (even as I find myself increasingly annoyed by selfrighteous moralising). “One thing I do know is journalists have to make decisions in the heat of the moment, and in this case, as I learned by talking to all those involved, editors engaged in discussion and debate right up to the deadline. That speaks of a seriousness that does the paper credit. I also believe there is no shame in publishing a dramatic photo at least in part because it will ‘sell papers’; after all, if a paper doesn’t sell, it won’t be around long.
“But if you pressed me, I would say while the skeleton photo was, in my opinion, the most dramatic and skilfully-shot picture of the day, I wouldn’t have used it. That, of course, is a judgment made in hindsight, and with the luxury of time to think.” Violence and tragedy, we must accept, are staples of journalism. Readers like to read stories of violence. “If it bleeds, it leads”, has long been the working theory of editors. But there is also clear need not to publish gruesome pictures that do not add value to the story and only hurt and harm other people. The media should take care not to inflict unnecessary trauma or violation of the dignity of victims. Daniel R. Bersak, in a dissertation titled “Ethics in Photojournalism: Past, Present, and Future”, suggests that one of the questions that editors should ask themselves when they are faced with images that are too gruesome is how they would feel if they were the subject. “If they would not feel good in the subject’s place, it would be better to look for a different image,” Bersak writes. In other words, a photographer or editor should treat his subjects as he would treat himself. Mr Peter Mwaura, a veteran journalist, is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Communication and Journalism, Kenya Methodist University and a member of the Media Council of Kenya’s Complaints Commission. gigirimwaura@yahoo.com
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The aftermath of the terror attack on Westgate Shopping Mall.
Ethics key in coverage of tragedies and disasters Tragedies usually hit at the core of peoples’ survival, hence journalists should always be guided by ethics while relaying the story to the world, argues KWAMBOKA OYARO.
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n any news story or feature, it is the writer’s responsibility to get facts straight right away. This is done by giving accurate information on where, when, what, which, why and how of what is being relayed to the audience. Missing any of these pillars — five Ws and an H — of journalism means the story is half-baked. Every story, tragedy or ‘feel good’ story is only complete with these basic tenets. One of our biggest tragedies in Kenya is defilement. The media has done a commendable job in highlighting this horrendous act. But in bringing the information to the public, some reporters have also done ghastly damage to affected
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minors and their families by not doing enough to protect their identity. Many times I have cringed when watching or reading a story on defilement. The victims’ faces are normally blurred to protect identity but the journalists go ahead to interview the victim’s mother and other parties without concealing their identity. Those who blur faces of close relatives of the child forget that in poor households across the country, clothes also identify the victim! This is because they don’t have the luxury of clothes to change for various functions like the journalists do – they probably have two dresses and nothing more.
Kwamboka Oyaro Thus in reporting defilement, broadcast and print media must put the interest of the victim first before their urge to ‘break’ news. Sometimes the victims, when talking to the press, don’t know the impact of what they say. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the journalists to sieve what they get from the interview and report what is important and humanely appropriate. Shadow the faces of the victims and their relative, distort the voice and blur their clothes. As you report such stories, also think of their impact on your interviewees long after you have picked a new page for your next story. Follow up and keep it alive until someone acts.
Those who blur faces of close relatives of the child forget that in poor households across the country, clothes also identify the victim! I also think the greatest tragedy in journalism is reporting stories and not following up. There is no point doing stories for the sake of it. For example, Aljazeera does news stories and these serve as a tipoff for the station to do serious follow-ups. In defilement, the media can go beyond that one case reported and look at the genesis, follow up survivors and analyse how the beastly act affected their lives or how they overcame the tragedy. Recently, Njeri Rugene of the Daily Nation, did exactly that. She featured a girl who was raped and thrown into a pit but survived the ordeal. Njeri did not stop at just getting the cover story but pushed the ‘Liz’ story to trend as a top agenda in the national discourse. Although ‘Liz’ is yet to get justice, she exposed our justice system for what it is and
A landslide along a key road.
she became the face of the many girls and women who go through such experiences and watch as their culprits go scot-free. While the journalism Code of Conduct as well as our own Kenyan code developed by the Media Council of Kenya lay down the best practices in reporting defilement and rape — insisting that the victim’s identity must be protected to avoid further torture — even major media houses flout this code. Recently, Reuters circulated a story of a young woman kidnapped by Nigeria’s feared Boko Haram militia. While they did not mention the girl’s family for fear the militia might attack them, they had the girl’s name and photo published all over the world. In Kenya, her picture was splashed under the international news segment. This
is against the code of conduct that demands such victims’ identity is not revealed. Road accidents have become the biggest reaper of lives. As the year ends, road accidents become more. Already nearly 3,000 people have lost their lives on the road and thousands maimed for life. Stories of road accidents are always given prominence in newspapers and TV. Is there a ‘good’ way of reporting such accidents without putting travellers off vehicles, trains or planes? The Kenyan media has done well in reporting road accidents so far. Bodies are rarely shown and images are usually of people peeping to see bodies, ‘mangled wreckage’ or helping survivors. Unfortunately, there is a tendency to interview severely injured people. And
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questions such as, “How did it happen?” or “How do you feel about this whole situation?” are to be avoided by all means. They are insensitive. A few years back, a colleague interviewed a young man who had survived a grisly accident. As she penned the story, she called back to confirm some details only for someone else to pick the phone and break the news that the young man had died. My colleague was devastated and she was not able to do the story. In essence, interviewing such a person is traumatising as the interviewer makes the victim relive the painful experience. Also, avoid insensitive language such as “only ten people died”. Yet the loss of ‘just’ one person turns the whole world upside down for a loved one. In reporting accidents, it is vital to move beyond the statistics and talk about the cost of injuries. How do the injuries change the lives of the people affected? There is loss of earnings, expensive medications, hospitalisation, change of lifestyle for the whole family, the lot. In the various tragic terrorist attacks in this country, especially the American Embassy bomb blast of 1998 and the recent Westgate Mall attack, the media generally did well in informing its audiences what was going on. Yet, in giving up-to-date information and keeping the images flowing in to keep speculation at bay, the media also did a disservice to the country by giving the terrorists, who had taken over Westgate, latest information and hence ammunition on how to attack or evade the security forces. My Masters class lecturer the late Dr Peter Oriare once said the relationship of journalists and terrorists is symbiotic; the journalist wants the story and the terrorists publicity. So when in the process of reporting, the journalist actually aggravates fear — the very aspect the terrorist longs for. Interestingly, breaking a terrorist attack news story, the terrorists ‘achieve’ their mission — getting attention and the right
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forum to list their demands. In fact, they take control of a scared public and a government that will try its best to show its people that it is good at handling crises. In this situation, therefore, the journalist and media houses must quickly decide how to cover the developing story without giving the terrorists an upper hand. Again, in reporting the attacks, there was blood everywhere and it required careful discernment on the part of the reporters and editors to sieve the kind of information and images to give their audiences. In fact, when there is a lot of violence, blood and death on TV and other media, studies have shown the viewers/readers live in fear and some decide to deal with this by avoiding news altogether. While reporting the Westgate attack, the media should have done more than just relaying images from the siege. For example, when reporting the ongoing unrest in Egypt or turmoil in Syria, international media go beyond what is happening and analyse the impact of the war on children, economy, education and other spheres that make a country to exist. They invite interviewees to the studios to clarify issues.
they do, the camera zooms out so that the images are blurred. Any newsperson will tell you that shock has an instant impact on the audience but responsibility also demands that the same reader/viewer is protected from the psychological trauma that follows viewing of such images. In America, the twin tower terrorist attack of September 2001 was a defining moment for media coverage of terrorist attacks. For example, in the days after the attacks, David Westin, the president of ABC News, ordered that video of the jets hitting the World Trade Centre in New York City not be repeated over and over so as not to disturb viewers, especially children. It is also informative that in reporting this particular attack, the media ensured bodies were not shown. One may argue that in 2001 there was no social media that could have shared the grisly images. But that decision was positive under the circumstances of the time. In reporting earthquakes, collapsed buildings, famines, post-election violence, floods, or fires such as our Sinai pipeline fire and the Sachang’wani tragedy where people were charred beyond recognition, it is the media’s responsibility not to shock viewers with scary images.
Following this approach, the Kenyan media too should have interviewed Islamic scholars to dispel the claims by the attackers at Westgate that they were waging a Jihad war. This should have granted the opportunity to explain what Jihadism is and expose the thugs for who they were.
But if in an editorial meeting you decide to go for the shock images, warn viewers beforehand about the images you are about to show (broadcast). It is professional also to ask children in the room to leave. Some of these images haunt viewers long after they have seen them.
If Jihad, the Islamic holy war, must be performed according to Islamic rules and regulations and in honour of Allah, then the scholars and religious leaders should be sought to authoritatively clarify that what indeed was happening was violence and not a holy war as Allah doesn’t advocate the slaughter of innocent people, especially children.
A case in point is raw images of slaughter during the 2007/2008 post-election violence. While some got their way to mass media, others were shared via email (then social media had not picked as much as today). The images were psychologically devastating, affecting viewers in various ways.
It is notable that the major international news media rarely show dead bodies; if
Kwamboka oyaro is an Editor at the Standard Newspapers. koyaro@standardmedia.co.ke
Covering disasters comes with huge expectations from the audience
Caleb Atemi
From road accidents, collapsed buildings to terror attacks and fire tragedies, journalists have to be on top of the game, advises CALEB ATEMI.
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he Kenyan media have covered tragedies and disasters fairly well, but at times with tragic and disastrous consequences.
Many a times when tragedies strike, majority of the media are caught napping, unprepared or dazed. However, there are times when they have tackled disasters professionally and confidently. The reading, listening, and watching audiences rely on the media for not only detailed coverage of these events, but also offer answers and solutions. Since the reign of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, when the government exercised absolute control and power over the media to the era of Daniel arap Moi when tyranny reigned supreme, the media have struggled with the narrative of disaster and tragedy.
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In Kenyatta’s time, the government established brutal machinery that promoted torture and detention without trial of anyone considered anti-government. So when national tragedies such as the assassination of Pio Gama Pinto, Argwins Kodhek and Josiah Mwangi Kariuki (J.M) occurred, the media were bewildered. They did not know how to handle events of such magnitude. The Daily Nation is on record buying into government propaganda that JM was in Zambia when indeed his body was decomposing at the Ngong Forest. Terror and fear became tenants and occupants of the anatomy of every journalist and editor. Confusion reigned whenever such events occurred. A wrong headline; a misread or misinterpreted sentence; a little misreporting; and one could disappear or suffer indignity of detention without trial. When Moi took over as Kenya’s second President, he vowed to follow Kenyatta’s footsteps. He did so literally. After the 1982 coup attempt Moi transformed into an authoritarian and intolerant leader. Scores of citizens, including journalists suffered torture. During the Moi era, covering national disasters was not as easy as it should be. I recall in 1992, I spent several weeks in Turkana County, gathering information on one of the worst famines. I spent days and nights with families ravaged by hunger and thirst. After sharing the little food and water I had with them, I had to survive the hunger and thirst too. One day, while interviewing elders who had outlived many a famine, an overzealous District Officer ordered my arrest. He accused me of giving the government and the ruling party Kanu a bad name by reporting famine in the region. I spend a few days in the police cells. Mercifully, upon my release, the Daily Nation ran my features in a four page-pullout. Moi and his entire Cabinet flew to Turkana on the morning my reports were published. All the local and international NGOs were mobilised into helping Turkana. My tormentor, the DO lost his job. The public hailed our effort as the Nation Media Group, in highlighting the plight of Turkana RESIDENTS. The outbreak of violence in 1991 and 1992 in Western, Nyanza and parts of the Rift Valley was a major challenge for the media. Kanu and the Moi government were determined to
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forestall democracy. The politically instigated violence was meant to look like an outbreak of inter-ethnic violence.
film rolls to the newsroom to ensure our photographs made it into the newspapers the following day.
Without insurance or any form of protection, save for God’s grace and common sense, my photographer Baraka Karama and I ventured into the violence prone areas. I filed copy diligently everyday on the killings taking place. At one time armed youths punctured tyres of our vehicle and left us stranded. We had witnessed them slaughter a young man from another community. When the story eventually came out, I was arrested and arraigned in a Kericho court charged with publishing false and malicious information meant to endanger state security. On many occasions we hid in trenches and forests to avoid death. I covered many other disasters and tragedies.
Today, with the social media, and citizen journalism catching fire, the public expects journalists to be more creative. A curious motorist or traveller will tweet a road accident before the news crew reaches the scene.
The reading, listening, and watching audiences rely on the media for not only detailed coverage of these events, but also offer answers and solutions. The 1990 brutal murder of former Foreign Affairs minister Dr Robert John Ouko; the politically instigated violence of 1992 and 1997; the MV Bukoba ferry disaster in Mwanza Tanzania that claimed over 1,000 lives; the 1997 El Nino weather disaster; the 1998 US embassy terrorist bombing; road accidents and what Australian journalist John Pilger calls slow news; famine and more famine. Even the best school of journalism will never prepare one well enough to cover a grisly road accident; a plane crash; a capsized ship or ferry; a massive landslide; a political assassination or the ethnic killings similar to what Kenya witnessed in 2007 and 2008. After witnessing these horrors in our life; most journalists of my time and contemporary ones drown their fears and anxieties with alcohol. Few media houses invest in counselling. In the 80s and 90s, we filed our stories from the field using lonely telephone booths and making reverse calls through post office telephone operators. I recall the days we would speed to the matatu termini or airports to seek out passengers who could ferry
On September 21, 2013, as the Westgate attack happened, the social media was working even faster than the traditional media in keeping the public informed and sometimes misinformed. The trained journalist and the gate-keeping editor must therefore retain an edge of creativity and originality to help maintain respect over and above all pretenders to the profession. Carole Kimutai, Editor of the Management Magazine, believes the Kenyan media have done a good job reporting disasters and tragedies given the circumstances of their work. “On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate the media at 7. There is a lot of room for improvement in getting facts right. Most media houses always report different numbers of casualties yet they are talking to the same sources! Like the police. There is need to have background information at their fingertips. When the Westgate attack happened, the international media journalists had a lot to tell audiences about the Al Qaeeda and Al Shaabab. Their research stood out and greatly influenced the Westgate narrative,” she says. Carole argues since no journalism class teaches or prepares journalist how to report disasters and tragedies, their success will be determined by the brilliance of the questions they ask, the depth of their analysis and the research they conduct in building background to their stories. Carole and others posit that media houses need to invest in personnel and equipment just to cover disasters and tragedies and improve follow-up. After most disasters and tragedies have been reported, like was the case of the Ntulele road accident in Narok, which claimed over 40 lives or the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport inferno, the media at times goes to bed and forgets to give updates and address the impacts of such national events.
A woman victim is helped after a disaster.
Perhaps the biggest weakness the media have in covering disasters, is giving wrong figures and facts. They at times subject their viewers to graphic images without warning. During the Westgate saga for instance, I watched many a television reporter torturing emotionally unstable victims with questions. Carole adds: “I have also seen some newspapers using images from social media taken by the public without crediting sources or verifying their authenticity.” Journalists and editors must invest in knowledge that informs every disaster. It was clear from the coverage of the Westgate attack that some journalists had little understanding of the discourse of terrorism. The media in some instances, failed to critically interrogate what the police and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) said. Dr Brice Rambaud, the Programme Director of Democracy and Governance at Internews in Kenya argues Kenyan media houses can be better prepared to handle disasters and violent conflicts. Few Kenyan journalists, he posits, receive safety training despite covering risky and conflict places. Says Dr Rambaud: “Few Kenyan newsrooms assess risks and analyse threat management before deploying journalists to a hostile environment. Few journalists are counselled
after being exposed to traumatic situations. We could see this recently in the coverage of various events: Tana Delta atrocities, the March 2013 elections and the Westgate attack, among others.” As soon as the Westgate attack occurred, Kenyan journalists went to the mall unprotected. They were covering a violent, armed attack clad in their ordinary clothing while their BBC and CNN counterparts wore bulletproof jackets. Mr Samuel Murunga, a researcher, believes the media have done a tremendous job in covering disasters. He says coverage of fire tragedies in Sachangwan and Sinai in Jan 2009 and Sept 2011, respectively and the severe hunger crisis that ravaged the arid parts of Kenya from June through October 2011, made the government declare them national disasters. He argues what is lacking in coverage of disasters is the fusing of live reporting with fact-based analyses. Analyses done by most journalists and media houses, he states, are mostly opinion, something the audience can also form. Dr Wambui Kiai, the Director School of Journalism, University of Nairobi says the
Kenyan media coverage of national disasters has tremendously improved. The coverage of the events as they occur, including updates on statistics, response of various agencies like the government and humanitarian organisations have been appropriate. She however calls for improvement in indepth coverage of causes of events; and post coverage analysing contexts and preparedness not just of governments, but also of citizens. She wishes that the media could dig deeper into the challenges humanitarian agencies face. During my career as a journalist, physical fitness and knowledge of martial arts saved my life on many occasions. I hope our media will, like the BBC, expose journalists to self-defence and security training to enhance their survival in coverage of disasters. The public looks at the coverage from a simplistic viewpoint. As consumers they are eager to be informed but they never understand to what length and cost journalists go to bring them that big story. Caleb Atemi is a Communication and Security Consultant. ja.atemi@gmail.com
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Securing journalists on the beat: Kenyan media’s close call The dare-devil attitude in pursuit of the story always puts scribes at great risk and it’s time they are taught how to make the right security choices, JOHN GACHIE argues here.
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ournalism is one of the most dangerous careers and professions according to many indices not least, the insurance industry. Insurers rank journalism among the top five most dangerous occupations, which require a special notation and premium. The other careers, ranking higher than journalism are in descending order; soldiers, pilots, fire-fighters, medical professionals and high risk sporting activities like scuba-diving, mountaineering and team sports like rugby, boxing, wrestling and a host of similar high octane physical individual and team sports. What in many instances distinguishes journalism from the above mentioned careers, including individual and team sports and hobbies; is the lack of/or ill-preparedness and appreciation of the inherent structural (direct) and environmental-cum-institutional (indirect) dangers they face. This cavalier and nearly certainly gang-ho, devil-may-care attitude if not fool-handy disposition most journalists display in their assignments is perhaps an off-shot their strongly held belief that they are agents of social good if not societal calling, and perhaps; borne out of misplaced belief in their divine calling if any; and possibly a fool’s courage, self-driven sense of duty, and passion if not an outright adrenalin fed-competition for a scope for personal-cum-career glory against rivals and peers. More often than not all these attributes, rationalisations and exceedingly many more triggers are in play in a journalist’s seemingly disdain for their personal safety in pursuit of story. Mercifully, despite their utter lack of preparedness (most of the time), devilmay-care attitude and gang-ho disposition many have lived to tell their tales, albeit with invisible scars and pain and little by way of physical scars.
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For many journalists, their invisible scars and pain are badges of honour they bear with deep pride and physical scars are initiation marks, indeed, they come with the territory – it’s a rite of passage of sorts. As one of Africa’s most respected journalist and best known as Editor of the Sowetan newspaper, Agrrey Klaaste emphasised especially to youngsters joining the profession “that there was nothing special about being a journalist; it was just being at the right place at the right time and recording it.” But he must have also emphasised to them to ask a lot of questions, find the right time, and the right place to do their recording and most importantly; what guided them in what they were recording and in making their choices.
Most media organisations are wary of implementing comprehensive Safety and Security plans and measures due to a combination of financial imperatives According to Christel and Hendrik Bussiek in their Tool Box 1: The Media and the law, a four part series on The Media: making Democracy Work, a journalist is in the business of collecting, analysing and communicating information – nothing special as most people do it every day – the main difference for a journalist is tow-fold, they have a bigger audience/consumer and or reader than an ordinary person in the street and hence more influence in shaping public opinion. The other aspect is they are supposed to do so on behalf of their audience as part of their public duty and social responsibility in a professional
John Gachie
manner, even though make a living in the process. The same imperatives drive other professional engagements, careers and occupations at least on the part of soldiers, pilots, firemen, medical workers and other public servants et al. But, for these professions, careers and occupations – safety personal and institutional, direct and indirect, structural or otherwise are a cardinal requirement. Safety is the alpha and omega of these professions. It is the fulcrum on which their training is based upon; their lives depend on, their progression and their efficacy if not their effectiveness. They do not adopt a devilmay-care attitude nor exhibit a fool’s courage and disposition. They seek to maximize on their personal safety, before serving the safety others for they are well aware of the consequences on the public interest that they seek to serve and they never compromise or take their safety for granted. It is heroic and indeed, a worthy sacrifice to die in the defence of your country as a soldier. But it is more efficient, practical and costeffective to let the enemy die instead; for his actions. – For then, the fewer and the less they are; the safer the country is. If it is necessary to put your life on the line to stop an enemy – then so be it; a soldier is so trained, equipped and empowered. The same principle is operative in the training of fire-fighters and indeed, medical workers. Let not the disease consume the medical workers, let not the fire consume fire-fighters. Let not the criminals kill the law enforcement agents. Let not disasters and crises natural or man-made consume the rescuers and first
For many journalists and other media workers, they were at the right place at the right time, recording, asking many questions but making many bad security and safety choices and they could have paid dearly. Thank fate, their luck held out. Thank God, the terrorists were few, occupied and engaged and possibly; poor shots.
A Kenyan TV journalist reporting live from a disaster scene.
responders. Should it happen, let not that be the norm or order. Let that not be glorified. Let that be a lesson to be avoided at all costs. And let that be a clarion call for all to be aware, wary and prepared. The above truism(s) are the guiding safety principles that inform the training of soldiers, pilots, medical workers, fire-fighters and others in their safety training ethos. For journalists and indeed many other media workers, regrettably; and persistently safety and in particular, personal safety has been substituted by being at the right place at the right time, recording and asking many questions and making wrong safety choices in the name of the story. In Kenya, this sad state of affairs of journalists and other media workers making wrong personal safety choices was brought to the fore on September 22, 2013, at the Westgate Mall terrorist attack in which over 60 people lost their lives. While the security forces were well-kitted, well armed, well-supported and well-commanded and; acutely aware of the embedded personal safety issues at the Westgate Mall terrorist siege and hostage crisis, Kenyan journalists and other media workers were conspicuous for their haste to court danger; tempt fate, grand-stand and hog the limelight. It was by fate that none of the journalists was injured – it was a miracle.
Only a few were appropriately kitted with bullet-proof vests and helmets unlike their foreign counterparts from major international media. Few were aware of the danger(s) they exposed themselves to, few knew how to position themselves in an exposed fire-zone, few knew how to position and or follow the security forces and minimising their profiles and exposure. Many especially those doing on the spot coverage and face-the-camera pieces took no appropriate, cautionary and safety measures, indeed; many took it upon themselves to shine oblivious to the danger of sniper or stray bullet fire. Many camera-people were obstructive and obtuse in their haste to get the best shots and sound-bites, many were even obstructing rescue and medical evacuation personnel including the security forces and other armed civilian engaging the terrorists. For some, the Westgate Mall terrorist-cum-hostage fiasco and stand-off, was the chance of lifetime to shine akin Chistiane Amanpour of CNN; but devoid of appropriate safety kitting and equipment and most worrisome, lack of safety training and awareness. But for some, like veteran photo-journalist Joseph Mathenge, they had presence of mind borne out of many years of covering violent/ dangerous situations to tag along well-behind the security agents and take award-winning photographic record(s).
According to 2013 Edition Attacks On the Press: Journalism on the World’s Front-Lines by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) at least 66 journalists lost their lives on the line of duty between January –December 2012, most of them in Syria (28), Somalia (12), Pakistan (7), Brazil (4). Of these 32 journalists were murdered, 24 journalists died out of combat-related deaths and nine through dangerous assignments. Of the journalist deaths, 62 were local while four were international. However and despite the worrisome performance of journalists and other media workers during the Westgate Mall attack, the bigger blame and failure must belong to media organisations in Kenya who have failed to implement, effect and ensure they have in place in-house comprehensive safety and protection measures and policies. Most media organisations are wary of implementing comprehensive Safety and Security plans and measures due to a combination of financial imperatives, including lack of professional and technical expertise. According to a national baseline survey on Safety and Protection of Journalists in Kenya: Is it Common Sense or Common Cents released in 2013, most media organisations were hesitant, ill-prepared and ill-equipped to provide comprehensive safety and protection measures, training and equipment including policies. The first step in ensuring safety and protection of journalists is awareness, the second step is training, the third step is equipment and kitting, the fourth step is ownership, the fifth step is implementation. Let not safety of journalists and other media workers be taken for granted. Let not Kenya lose a journalist or a media worker by being at the right place, at the right time, asking many questions but making wrong security choices. Let Kenya not lose journalists and other media workers, due to a cavalier, gang-ho, devil-may-care attitude for one is too many a journalist to lose. Mr John Gachie is a Media Consultant and Trainer. gachie_john@yahoo.co.uk
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Security officers help out at the Westgate Shopping Mall after the terrorists siege.
Dearth of safety and security for reporters covering disasters Majority of young Kenyan journalists are also at personal risk, but they tend to brush off that reality in various ways, often avoiding any form of counselling, writes TOM RHODES.
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n comparison to restive Somalia, where killing of journalists by militia groups and other perpetrators continues rising, a casual observer may consider Kenyan journalists free from security and safety concerns. But a Kenyan journalist does not have to travel far to face insecurity and emotional strain from their day-to-day reporting. Since August in Nairobi and in surrounding regions, reporters have covered disasters and tragedies amounting to over 120 deaths from three incidences alone, often with no security training or real support. Only 27 percent of journalists interviewed in an April national baseline survey said their news organisation maintained a safety and protection plan. Only half that participated in the survey claimed to have some training on safety and protection measures or skills to mitigate risks and threats.
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When the Westgate Mall terrorist attack took place on September 21 that resulted in over 67 deaths, editors originally thought the attack was a simple robbery at the upscale shopping centre. One newspaper editor admitted they sent a trainee photographer just to get a picture of the incident. Soon, the young photographer found herself “stepping over bodies” and so scarred from the incident she did not return to the newsroom, the editor said. “I thought it was just a straightforward thing, something I could cover in an hour,” Nation reporter Andrew Teyie recalled. “But I saw all the tension, the blood, a chaotic scene while people were being rescued and pulled out of the mall, and knew it was something else.” Teyie covered terror attacks in Nairobi before as a young reporter during the 1998 bomb attack on the US Embassy. “But this situation
Tom Rhodes
is different since it has stretched the pain, elongated suffering for three days,” he added. The veteran investigative reporter was one of the few senior journalists who happened to cover Westgate on that Saturday, he said, the majority being younger. “Most of those at Westgate were young journalists, some inexperienced and may not have been trained in covering such tragedies,” confirms William Janak, head of the media advocacy organisation, Kenya Correspondents’ Association. According to editors at the three main dailies, The Nation, Standard and Star, the average age of a reporter is 25 with 28 being the maximum. Senior reporters with past experiences of contending with major disasters or tragedies such as Teyie are a rare-breed, largely due to economics. Senior reporters, who may have the experience to help handle tight situations,
The 2007/08 post election violence.
often move on to more lucrative professions or take on administrative positions, Janak said, leaving the youth to run the riot. It is these same young journalists rushing to increasingly dangerous assignments. “Taking into consideration that Kenya is now a terrorist target – as we saw at Westgate - with a military force in Somalia and incidents such as Turkana, we are increasingly seeing it is an issue of bullets, not teargas,” said Jacob Otieno, head of photography at the Standard Media Group, a veteran cameraman, who has faced his fair share of covering disasters and tragedies. But it is not only bullets, like those found at Westgate, which can endanger journalists. While journalists cover other disasters such as the August accident in Narok where 41 people died after a bus accident along the Nairobi – Narok highway, their physical and emotional wellbeing can also be at risk. Star reporter Kiplagat Kirui vividly remembers heading to an accident without knowing what to expect. “I found people
crying for help all over [and] when I tried to help someone or take a picture, I found myself trying to avoid stepping on bodies.” Despite the emotional strain, Kirui also faced threats from aggrieved eyewitnesses after attempting to take a photo of civilians consoling a survivor of the bus crash.
Only 27% of journalists interviewed in an April national baseline survey said their news organisation maintained a safety and protection plan. “All of a sudden they turned their attention away from her and threatened to kill me.” Extracting information from a grieving public while respecting privacy is a difficult balancing act that, if not performed well, can have disastrous consequences for reporters. At times journalists do not understand the
impact of an incident fully and endanger themselves by being too direct, insensitive, Star reporter Dickson Oniti said. At other times, some individuals capitalise on the destruction to loot, he added, whereby aggression towards the press might not be necessarily emotional but rather unwelcome coverage. According to research by the Committee to Protect Journalists, a press freedom advocacy group, photographers and photojournalists are particularly prone to security issues while covering disasters and tragedies. This is largely due to the fact photographers are the most visible journalists covering tragedies and at the forefront of the tragic setting. “They face the storm most of the time,” Otieno says, largely since photographers must get the picture of the disaster or accident – no matter how callous such coverage appears to other spectators. And while Otieno suggests photographers using a telephoto lens to get distance
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between them and the tragedy, many journalists are reduced to using lighter, less expensive equipment. Photographers also sustain longterm trauma from covering tragic events, Otieno said. “When you are doing an assignment, your mind is on the photo. It is only much later when you see your photos --that is when it will hit you.” Despite the trauma and dangers photographers experience, Otieno says, few news editors appreciate the challenges and toll photojournalists take to provide images, focusing only on the final product presented. Despite the challenges journalists face, few media houses, if any, have security protocols in place, according to news editors. Instead journalists rely on a general understanding, ad-hoc system where media houses may provide support - whether medical or evacuation to a safer area - at their own discretion, the same sources said. Only a handful of media houses have safety equipment for their journalists, such as helmets and flak jackets, and often they are in short supply. The Standard Media Group, a leading broadcaster and daily, has five flak jackets and helmets for their large journalists team, for instance. While institutional support from media houses towards their staff is fairly meagre, support for correspondents or freelance contributors is essentially non-existent, news editors said. Emotional support such as trauma counselling for journalists is also meagre partly due to a lack of awareness, says psychologist Dinah Kituyi, who has worked with trauma patients for 12 years. “Sincerely, I have not heard any media house doing any initiative to provide psychological support for their staff,” she said. Even worse, many journalists tend to recognise mental issues as a weakness and hide from the problem. The Media Council of Kenya offered free trauma counselling via a hotline service for journalists who covered the Westgate Mall tragedy, Kituyi said, but no journalists actually contacted them. Throughout her career Kituyi says she has clearly seen a problem among journalists who have covered tragic assignments. “Some are characterised by alcoholism, over-working. They try to rationalise these past tragic events, sometimes shifting from one media house to another, thinking it would somehow heal when it doesn’t.” Safety and security training opportunities from several organisations do exist, local journalists said but the training offered has limited outreach and is disparate in nature. There is a crucial need to streamline such training and to make it relevant to current Kenyan journalists. Local journalists said the training programmes offered are often too theoretical and do not address local issues. The Kenya Media Working Group, a consortium of local and international media support organisations such as the Media Council, plans to address these shortfalls. The group plans to set up a journalist security-training programme that caters to national conditions and encourage media houses across the country to install journalist security protocols within their newsrooms as standard policy. It is vital to get journalists and media houses to fully accept that journalist security provisions are important, not only for the individual but the news outlet as a whole. A journalist facing threats or suffering emotional duress will self-censor and will find it challenging to work at full capacity. Preventive measures to ensure journalists’ security and wellbeing while covering disasters and tragedies will result in a happier press corps and, in the long run, better coverage. Tom Rhodes works at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). trhodes@cpj.org
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A police officer’s motorcycle vandalised during a riot.
Adrenalin-hit Kenyan media fight to be first with the story
Mark Oloo
In face of tragedies, several journalists have often crossed the ethical line to inform the world, admits MARK OLOO.
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he September 21 terror attack on the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi caught Kenya in deep slumber, and left more questions than answers in its wake. Militants from the Al-Shabaab network exploited security lapses in East Africa’s largest city to stage one of the deadliest assaults. When plumes from by the attackers’ guns and grenades finally settled down, the Westgate Mall was in rubbles, with 67 people killed and more than 100 others injured. The attack left Kenya and its allies in panic. The Government knew the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab was on the prowl but never imagined a Nairobi upmarket mall would be a quick target. The assault yanked Kenya into the reality that security issues would never be the same. President Uhuru Kenyatta and his security chiefs quickly returned to the drawing board to revise internal and external security strategies and priorities. More stringent security measures around government installations, offices housing foreign missions and other public places came into effect as police, the National Security Intelligence, the Immigration Department and the Kenya Defence Forces invested in new technologies. But in the thick of thing was the media, which security agencies accused of going ‘overboard’ in its reportage of the attack. Inspector General David Kimaiyo was the first to fire a salvo at the Fourth Estate, summoning Standard Group CEO Sam Shollei and KTN investigative reporters John Allan Namu and Mohamed Ali over an expose of how KDF soldiers allegedly looted and mismanaged the Westgate rescue operation. Mr Kimaiyo enjoyed the backing of none other than President Kenyatta, who warned journalists to be responsible, citing ‘recklessness’ in the Westgate story. He said by running footage of the mall raid, the media was being ‘unpatriotic’.
However, Kimaiyo was to beat a hasty retreat following public outcry and the military’s own admission of cases of theft by soldiers, some of whom had earlier been exonerated as having left with bottles of water only. Some soldiers actually faced disciplinary action. Opinion was sharply divided. While most Kenyans praised the media for its bold move to unravel what took place within the Westgate corridors that fateful Saturday, others,
especially within the Jubilee government, felt the Fourth Estate behaved badly. But Jubilee top guns’ fury is understandable. The goofs by the Interior Ministry were way too much and in the understanding of Kimaiyo, it was wrong for journalists to interrogate the missing links. The President announced live on TV that the terrorists were between 10 and 15 whereas Oct - Dec • 2013
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Security forces respond to a terror attack.
CCTV footage captured only four. The other was that terrorists were burning mattresses at Nakumatt supermarket within the building whereas it was cars burning at the upper parking lot. Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku claimed there were hostages and there was an “insignificant” number of bodies inside. The question was where were they and where are the terrorists’ bodies if indeed they were killed by KDF?
attention by the mass media when it comes to amplifying feelings of intense fear and anger, journalists just did what they had to — inform on what transpired at Westgate.
Uhuru made his Westgate concerns clear that anywhere in the world, “I have never seen television footage aired live as people are being shot”. But his view went against public opinion.
Other recent tragedies the media has handled include the Ntulele bus accident that killed 40 people, the Umoinner Bus-train accident in Mutinda and the June 10, 2012 plane crash which killed ministers George Saitoti and Orwa Ojodeh and four others.
While terrorists’ work thrive on the focus and
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Obviously, public interest and Government interests here ran parallel. The State wanted the goofs concealed whereas in public interest, the media went ahead to pinpoint the failures.
“In many instances, journalists sacrificed ethics at the alter of trying to rise above the competition. One newspaper went with an offending picture on page one in its Sunday edition while TV stations were awash with live broadcasts deemed likely to jeopardise security operations,” says Andy Kagwa, Standard Group’s Administrative Editor. Noting that adherence to journalistic ethics was called to question, Kagwa adds: “Some journalists also took it upon themselves to update raw information, including photos, on their social media accounts oblivious of the effects.” Mr Kagwa says the Westgate attack caught media houses unawares. He says to uphold
professionalism at all times, individual media houses should have a response plan to handle breaking news to avoid mistakes. The Saitoti-Ojode plane crash story was particularly bothering. The coverage elicited mixed reactions, and the media stood accused of serious professional breaches. Ojode’s widow, Mary, chided TV stations for going live with the story when victims’ families had not been formally informed. During Ojode’s burial, Mary said: “I know we have journalists here. I wish they could be more sensitive.” She challenged journalists to filter news and consider feelings of those affected. There were various theories to explain the helicopter crash and the media was awash with speculation. Stories covered did not only concern the crash but also the aftermath and the lessons. And while covering such a situation is always challenging, journalists were driven by desire to tell it all at the expense of basic professional rules. One newspaper published the photo of a helicopter burning mid air claiming it was the police chopper Saitoti and his team were traveling in, only to issue an apology the following day. Dr Bitange Ndemo, then Information and Communications PS, formally complained to the Media Council of Kenya, saying the picture was misleading. Newspapers also published various photos of grief-stricken friends and relatives, mostly in bad taste. Article 20 of the Code of Conduct for the practice of journalism in Kenya requires that pictures of grief, disaster and those that embarrass should be discouraged. That was not the case. Media houses also dedicated most space and airtime to families of Saitoti and Ojode, in many cases ignoring those of the two pilots and two bodyguards. While social media - Facebook and Twitter and the mushrooming of online media have had a marked effect on how tragedies are covered, disregard to ethics has remained high and issues of privacy and sensitivity to families compromised. According to veteran journalism scholar Joe Kadhi, whereas all ethical principles are important in covering every story including tragedies, the coverage of disasters and calamities requires the mastery of four
important ethical principles—intrusion into grief and shock; use of pictures and names; accuracy and fairness; and obscenity, taste and tone in reporting. Mr Kadhi says stories of tragedy can be unfair when facts are wrong and therefore journalists should always remember accuracy might need balance and even comments to be fair.
Obviously, public interest and Government interests here ran parallel. The State wanted the goofs concealed whereas in public interest, the media went ahead to pinpoint the failures. “The use of pictures of a tragedy can be challenging, so journalists need to remember the most dramatic and newsworthy picture may be unethical. Even more important for them to remember is the fact that pictures received from unknown sources could be, and very often are, dangerous. Intrusion into grief and shock is tempting to all journalists but they must also remember that, when people are grieving they should be left alone and when they are in shock they need no publicity,” he says in a paper analysing coverage of the Saitoti-Ojode crash. Take the Mutindwa and Ntulele bus accidents for instance, the media was spot on with images of families and victims, some covered in blood, with little or no consideration to their feelings. The language, with which the media reports and discusses tragedies, has on several occasions been seen as a determinant factor in informing public discourses. “Whether or not to publish images of death that are too graphic is mainly an American concern. But even in the US, the concern is mainly shown with regard to American victims, not foreign ones,” says journalist Peter Mwaura says. Mr Mwaura adds: “In Kenya, judging by the large crowds that quickly gather at scenes of tragedies, we seem to relish viewing bloody and gruesome scenes. And, by and large, when the media publish such images, we savour them. Unlike in the US, Kenyan editors do not, in the main, have to contend
with readers and viewers angered by graphic depictions of death.” Mwaura, in a blog, regrets that the provision in the code of ethics in Kenya that the media should avoid pictures of grief and disaster is largely ignored. Even though self-regulation is the best policy option for a democratic society in regard to responsible coverage of tragedies and disasters, media houses often find themselves at fault by trying to generate spicy and captivating stories. On coverage of terror-related tragedies, scholars and analysts in Kenya and elsewhere agree that the media, which places a high value on democratic freedoms should, rightly and necessarily, remind authorities of their broader responsibilities to ensure provision of security is consistent with the rule of law, respect for basic rights and social justice. “Considering the circumstances under which Kenyan journalists operate, we have performed considerably well,” says veteran photo editor Jacob Otieno. He says giving the audience what they want is a tricky affair, considering what they wants may sometimes go against the requirements of media ethics. When covering the Westgate attack for instance, the media should have known that terrorists needed them to convey their message to the world. That’s why even in trying to take the story forward, there should have been no room for unwarranted speculation. Ms Rose Howard of the International Media support says insurgent terrorist organisations use the media as a conduit for their political message to be heard by target audience, while supplying ‘exciting news’ for the media. As long as terrorists commit acts of violence, Michel Wieviorka, in The Making of Terrorism, argues the mass media will continue to scramble to cover them to satisfy the desire of their audiences for dramatic stories in which there is inevitably huge public curiosity about both the victimisers and their victims. The media in an open society are in a fiercely competitive market for their audiences, constantly under pressure to be first with the news and to provide more information, excitement and entertainment than their rivals. Mark Oloo is an Editor at The Standard Group. markoloo@yahoo.com
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Being sensitive to their audiences, being mindful of their safety and the code of conduct should always be at the back of journalists covering disasters, argues WELLINGTONE NYONGESA.
Why blind courage among scribes must be discouraged during tragedies
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he understanding of the code of conduct for the practice of journalism in Kenya among journalists came under great test during the Westgate attack and coverage thereof. The broadcast media faced the challenge of stopping the camera every minute or so from breaking the story as it unraveled live on TV. For the camera would get only blood, death and tears. The challenge was to hold that and use clever words and signposting and thus save viewers from traumatic scenes as demanded by the profession’s cannons of ethics. On the other hand it was a time for print media to make quick decisions on whether to let readers also undergo the pain editor’s go through as they select pictures of death, dismembered bodies, tears of family members and so on. While delivery of the Westgate story across media platforms might as well have been done fairly well, except for a few instances, the process of covering the tragedy especially by broadcast teams calls for a review of the methods. The anomalies range from causing trauma to immediate family members of the victims, to endangering those held hostage and their own lives as journalists. In the rush to break the story the broadcast platform in some instances during the coverage revealed a lack of understanding of the code of conduct that is the official guide to all Kenyan journalists. One of the leading television stations unknowingly revealed hostages hiding in a toilet at the Mall to the chagrin of those well
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Wellingtone Nyongesa
versed with ethical standards. Two women who had gone to Westgate to shop were roped in the attack and quickly found refuge in a toilet. There, they called their favourite TV channel. Strangely the lady anchor, who is new and upcoming, gave no direction whatsoever and let them reveal their hiding place in a live phone interview. She was unaware, or simply forgot the seventh item on the code of ethics for the practice of journalism which is; Confidentiality. It says; in general, journalists have a professional obligation to protect confidential sources of information. This is especially vital while covering events that endanger the life of a source. The two ladies hiding in a toilet at Westgate the early afternoon of Saturday September 21 called the TV station to alert the nation of the fact that the mall was under a terror attack. It must be remembered other broadcast media were reporting of a robbery at the mall and that police engaged thugs in a fierce exchange of fire. The two women were therefore sources of sensitive information touching on the delicate matter of security. In a more professional setting, their identity and hiding place would not have been revealed by media. The journalist receiving that information from them should have understood anything broadcast about them would endanger them. They should have been recorded and their voices altered to ensure their own safety. Days after the Westgate tragedy, nothing is known of the two women. Did they get out of the mall alive? While television anchors may have found themselves in such unfamiliar territory where they were forced to ‘newsgather’ since everyone had been forced to
think on their feet as all news was transmitted live, broadcast reporters who were sent to Westgate had their own cup of challenges. Instances of incoherence at on-location broadcasting on live TV, lack of broad knowledge of the event in relation to prior terror attacks, and reporters’ ability to understand the relationship between journalists and the men in uniform during a security operation.
Security of Reporters One of the glaring anomalies picked out as soon as broadcast media started live transmission of the Westgate tragedy was the danger reporters placed themselves in as they brought news into people’s living rooms. Most arrived on the scene without protective gear even though well-established media houses confirm that they have bullet proof vests and other protective clothing. Kenyans have seen such gear, dressed by journalists covering dangerous operations before, as seen during the Somali invasion by KDF. Another matter was the lack of caution among most reporters who appeared to be driven by the desire to break the story albeit at any cost, even their own lives.
roaring gunfire. Journalists must be trained to understand that you need a head on your shoulders to inform the world. You will not inform by managing an interview with a terrorist but end up without a head at a scene of operation. Journalists will do well to emulate security forces who dress in extra-ordinary gear and are commanded to protect one another. And even as they move into operation they watch each other’s back. Can the same be said of the battery of pressmen who covered Westgate? There was a time when, to become a broadcast journalist you had to be a person who KNEW, or so it was taught at broadcast classes. That listeners listen to you because you KNOW. And because of this anyone who aspired to be a broadcast journalist or ended up practicing as one, was essentially a gluttonous reader, an incisive asker of questions and would find time to KNOW all cabinet ministers, at least names of all members of parliament, the eight Provincial Commissioners, District commissioners and so on.
There was shame during the Westgate coverage when a reporter on live TV failed to identify the CEO of Brand Kenya Mary Kimonye and unashamedly asked her to introduce herself and ‘talk’. Editors who have been around media for more than a decade A security officer inspects a collapsed building after an explosion and half will confirm along Juja road. that the modern day journalist is quietly Battling with security men to get a good shot selling out his birthright and thus missing is a matter of heroism that must be divorced his identity, he is not propelling forwards from the practice of journalism. Blind courage the label of the ‘journalists/broadcasters are is discouraged even in current military people who know’. schools. It was the rule and therefore the practice when men fought with swords and While Leonard Mambo Mbotela gave the shields. Not anymore. impression of KNOWING everything about the president and his government while giving his The public that journalism serves was well commentary on any Jamhuri day in the 1980s’ aware of the danger at Westgate and will the same cannot be said of the modern day not expect a media house to send a civilian TV Commentator and reporter, he/she gives journalist at a scene whizzing with bullets and the impression of not KNOWING. This has
led to the derogatory remark that the day the autocue will fail, modern day TV viewers will only be left with a pretty face smiling at them. Obscenity and intrusion into grief As explored above Saturday September 21 was quite unexpected at least 70 people were killed and more than 200 injured. There was blood and tears everywhere. The country was in mourning. It is understandable the following day, a Sunday Kenyans were awaiting the delivery of their favourite weekly newspapers to review the sad events. Then, Sunday Nation captured the horror of the day with a close up photo of a woman in pain with her face covered in blood. Some thought it was a horrific photo that captured the magnitude of the attack and indeed the editors at the paper believed as much. However many readers found it quite disturbing and began a campaign on social media dubbed #BoycottDailyNation. By Sunday Afternoon NMG CEO Linus Gitahi issued an apology for use of the photo through his Twitter handle and on NTV. “Kenyans, we made a poor judgement on our front page photo today. We sincerely apologise for the hurt caused,” tweeted Gitahi. There was debate on social media some defending the paper others hitting hard at it. However it’s prudent for all journalists to understand that the paper flouted two key codes on the code of ethics for the practice of journalism in Kenya; Code number 9 and Code number 14 Code number 9; Obscenity, Taste and Tone in Reporting • In general, journalists should avoid publishing obscene, vulgar or offensive material unless such material contains a news value, which is necessary in the public interest. • In the same vein, publication of photographs showing mutilated bodies, bloody incidents and abhorrent scenes should be avoided unless the publication or broadcast of such photographs will serve the public interest. Code number 14; Intrusion into Grief and Shock • In cases involving personal grief or shock, inquiries should be made with sensitivity and discretion. Wellingtone Nyongesa is the News Editor at Radio Maisha. wnyongesa@standardmedia.co.ke
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Several newsrooms sent novice scribes and photographers to a terror scene only to realise it was a huge mistake much later, writes VICTOR BWIRE.
How Westgate Mall siege exposed unpreparedness among Kenyan journalists
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hieves and police had exchanged gunfire during the robbery of a bank at the Westgate Mall. That is the rumours that first reached several Nairobi newsrooms that Saturday. Some gunshots were heard coming from the luxurious shopping mall. “Trusting the source and given that our weekend papers are usually full, we only needed a photo. We sent a trainee photographer,” recounted one newspaper editor. “The girl” began to position herself to get a good picture of the scene, but soon found herself “stepping on bodies” and never took even one picture. “She has not been the same again, and is yet to come back to the newsroom,” the editor added. “I was called by the news desk and asked to rush to a robbery scene and update the editor if there was anything worthy,” a reporter for another daily newspaper told me. “I ended up facing the worst scene of human blood and deaths.” The siege of Nairobi’s Westgate Mall that began on September 21 was not only shocking and emotionally demanding; it was physically threatening, too, as most journalists learned only after they arrived on the scene or even later. At a meeting hosted last week by the Media Council of Kenya to discuss the safety of journalists, many editors admitted failures of either their own media organisations or anyone else to help properly train and prepare journalists to cover such stories. Many editors revealed the challenges they
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face just holding on to staff. One editor after another narrated how their media house was losing many young and dedicated journalists, largely due to the emotional stress related to their work. A number of editors also admitted sending reporters to the field without proper briefings, guidance or preparations. After journalists returned from this horrific assignment, the same media houses did not, by their own accounts, organise emotional debriefings or workshops, or, in most cases, even give such reporters any time off.
Nearly half of the journalists said they had received some security or related training. But none of the respondents said they have been trained on how to prepare for dangerous assignments Educators and trainers from universities and colleges across Kenya also attended the Media Council meeting. They expressed concerned that none of the courses offered to journalists include anything about personal or emotional self-care. Many editors admitted sending reporters to the Westgate Mall that Saturday without realising the nature of the attack. By the time it was over four days later, 67 people had been killed and over 300 were injured. It was the worst attack in Kenya since the 1998 twin US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, which
Victor Bwire
killed up to 212 people and injured another 4,000 in Nairobi alone. The editors and educators at the Media Council of Kenya meeting on October 5, or two weeks after the Westgate Mall siege, reached a consensus in the wake of its carnage on at least one point. The current level of preparation and training available to journalists in Kenya is wanting. Neither media houses nor any other groups offered counselling interventions in the aftermath siege. Relatively few Kenyan journalists received even brief trainings involving either physical safety or emotional self-are before it occurred. Less than one month before the upscale mall attack, in August 2013, the Media Council of Kenya released a Study on Training, Welfare and Working Conditions of Kenyan Journalists. Close to a -third of those polled said they had been given dangerous, including combat assignments without proper preparation. Less than five per cent who have been sent to cover dangerous stories said they had received protective gear from their employer. The level of insurance coverage is even worse. Only one literal respondent out of over 180 reported receiving any insurance coverage while working in a war zone. Nearly half of the journalists said they had received some security or related training. But none of the respondents said they have been trained on how to prepare for dangerous assignments, how to protect sources and sensitive information, or how to sustain captivity.
“The training was on journalist safety and protection organised by the MCK [Media Council of Kenya] and the Copenhagenbased group International Media Support.” We were also trained by the Kenya Red Cross on basic First-aid,” said one respondent. “We did a three-day workshop on personal journalist security organised by the African Child and Women’s Feature Service, a threeday training by MCK on safety of journalists, and another two-day workshop on the same organised by the Kenya Correspondents Association.” The study along with comments by individual respondents underscored the disparate nature of journalist security training in Kenya, and the lack of coordination over the curriculum. Organisations have failed to work together to streamline content and ensure less duplication, or ensure that training in many needed skills is provided. Individual journalists need to start thinking about their safety, too. Many journalists who
covered the siege did so without any safety gear. Others had safety gear but chose not to wear it. “Those things (helmets and bullet proof jackets) are uncomfortable and made me look strange,” said one television news anchor. “Guys could not recognise me, so I took them off,” he added. “This was an opportunity to make a name in journalism.” Media house managers and foreign donors alike should now be encouraged to prioritise protection of journalists including providing training for physically navigating hostile environments. Kenyan journalists need also help coping with the emotional toll of the siege. “I have been unable to be at peace with myself since that incident. The bodies and wrecked vehicles, police sirens and gun fire are ever present whenever I am,” said Ouma Wanzala of the Daily Nation. “My head is full of bodies and bomb scenes from Somali, Syria, Nigeria and whenever,
but who cares”, said an editor from another media house. Training focused on personal self-care, trauma and stress management, and preparations including adequately briefing journalists before sending them into the field, and debriefing them about their experiences whenever circumstances require upon their return, are needed. So are in-house training sessions and written guidelines on how to deal with distressing human tragedies. These measures have been neglected for years by media enterprises and journalist associations. The Westgate Mall siege should be taken as a wake-up call to commit to preparing and protecting journalists in keeping with the risks of our times. Victor Bwire is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Programmes Manager of the Media Council of Kenya. He is also a Guest Blogger at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and a journalists’ safety trainer. victor@mediacouncil.or.ke
Security officers tackle the attackers at Westgate Mall.
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Civilians get protection from a security officer during the attack on Westgate Shopping Mall.
Lenses on terror attack and how media covered Westgate siege
Amos Kibet
The Kenyan media’s frailty in coverage of terror, was exposed during the Westgate raid, hence the need to retrain journalists on their responsibilities, argues AMOS KIBET.
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and occurrences in society. The need to access information is more intense when the safety, security and survival of persons are threatened.
is to seek attention and free publicity in order to create a psychological effect on the public like fear and dread, media’s role in reporting acts of terrorism becomes a delicate act.
The media is charged with responsibility of providing information about happenings
Reporting on terrorism presents various dilemmas and paradoxes to journalists especially as they are tasked with the onus of informing the public objectively, fairly and accurately, and still adhere to the code of conduct for the practice of journalism. Considering the fact that the aim of terrorists
An important question that emerges from this is whether the way the media undertakes theatrical and dramatic reporting of terrorist acts, encourages further violence or furthers the terrorist’s agenda. Another vital question is whether the media can fall victims and become accomplices to the aims of terrorist
errorist attacks are a stark reality in today’s world, hence the huge media coverage when they occur anywhere. Besides being a global problem and scare, terrorism has become point of glare by media cameras due to its dramatic nature that has movie like characterisation. And there was no exception during the September 21 Westgate Shopping Mall attack.
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who yearn and seek cheap publicity via the media. Does the media in its reporting magnify and emphasize on the threats and fear instead of allaying fears as they report on terrorism and therefore emboldens terrorist by such acts? Former British PM Margaret Thatcher’s metaphor that media publicity is the oxygen of terrorism underlines the point that public perception is a major terrorist target and the media are central in shaping and moving it. For terrorism, the role of the media is critical There exists fears however that the news media in its coverage of terrorism, legitimise and thus encourage terrorists by giving them coverage. This may call for voluntary or even mandatory guidelines for terrorism coverage. However, the fact that coverage of terrorism may be considered desirable because it can provide an important outlet for expression of public concern and thus reduce political violence as a long-term solution strategy. Journalists who cover terrorist activities often endeavour to introduce a fresh dimension to their stories, as if they were not dramatic enough, and by doing this unnecessarily endangers human lives. What is required is accountability: thinking about the consequences of reporting. Experienced journalists can be an important factor and asset in responsible reporting during terrorist attacks. In sensitive circumstances like terrorism, it is better to have senior reporters on the scene than eager, less experienced reporters who may act without adequate judgment. The Kenyan media did live coverage of the terrorist attack at the Westgate. For four days running, TV stations in Kenya showed live scenes form the mall, which was initially seen as a way of giving viewers a real life experience of the incident. The implication of live coverage according to scholars is significant considering the fact that it might aid the terrorist in their activities. Mr Raphael Cohen-Almagor in his publication “Media Coverage of Acts of Terrorism: Troubling Episodes and Suggested Guidelines” states that for the prime reason of not endangering lives, the media should refrain from live coverage of terrorist events. He notes that this is especially true when attempts are carried out to free hostages. Live media coverage showing special security forces preparing to enter the building where hostages are held might risk the entire operation and put the hostages in jeopardy. The news media, particularly the broadcast media, give massive coverage to terrorist
The shell that remained of the Westgate Mall.
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acts because they satisfy their certain conventional requirements of live broadcasts, as they are emotionally significant or highly dramatic; compelling to view or read; involve some dramatic uncertainty; are delimited in time and space or they can be sufficiently focused to sustain the audience attentions; involve personalities at the centre of the unfolding drama-both heroic individuals or teams and anti-heroes. The Media Council of Kenya research and media-monitoring department undertook a study to establish how the media covered the Westgate attack. Based on key informants’ discussion undertook with editors, several issues came out that might have shaped the way the media covered the incident. Violation of the code of conduct was attributed to several factors as outlined by the respondents. Some of the reasons cited included; first, competition among journalists and media houses in terms of bringing out the story faster, overtly led to lack of discretion and keenness. Second, was the general excitement by journalists on the attack considering its worthiness in terms of news values? Lastly, was the novelty of attack which caught most journalists unaware as to the do’s and don’ts of coverage considering the almost similar attack last happened in 1998 but was of a different nature. The editors were able to suggest the solutions as the way forward. First, they said journalists should be specifically trained on coverage of terrorist activities. Second, they said the government should establish a centralised information dissemination centre during such incidents to avoid speculation and contradictory information from different government quarters. Third, all journalists should uphold professionalism in their coverage of such incidences and disregard commercial and competitive forces that influence their judgement and decisionmaking. Fourth, all stakeholders especially the editors hold a consultative seminar to discuss the challenges they faced and how they can deal with them collectively. Last, some respondents suggested refresher-training programmes by the Media Council of Kenya on the code of conduct for the practice of journalism especially with regard to coverage of terrorist activities. Based on the key informants discussions and
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the focus group discussions on Westgate attack, the respondents and discussants pointed out the several mistakes they thought were committed by the government,
The media was reduced to conveyor belts of government misinformation that lacked in credibility and objectivity; this was especially so with regard to press conferences by the government side. media and the security forces as well. The government made a grave mistake in its information management during the incident and the media made it worse through speculative reporting. The security forces lacked proper coordinated strategy both in their mission and also in relaying information, which made it hard to disseminate accurate and objective information through the media. The media made the mistake of being overexcited and failed to report professionally in some instances. The media was reduced to conveyor belts of government misinformation that lacked in credibility and objectivity; this was especially so with regard to press conferences by the government side. Some respondents said the media did a mistake of sending young, inexperienced reporters and photographers to the place of attack who consequently clamoured for sensational stories, lacking indepth coverage. According to Raphael Perl in his publication titled “Terrorism, the media, and the government: perspectives, trends, and options for policymakers”, terrorist organisations seek media coverage that cause damage to their target group. They want the media to amplify panic, to spread fear, to facilitate economic loss to make populations lose faith in their governments’ ability to protect them, and to trigger government and popular overreaction to specific incidents and the overall threat of terrorism. Considering his views, the “we are one” messages must have served as a unification
force against the terrorist aim of division and fear among the people through a united sense of belonging and sharing the burden of loss from the incident. The respondents unanimously agreed there were great violations to the code of conduct for the practice of journalism. Some of articles violated as pointed out by discussants included article 9 on obscenity, taste and tone of reporting, article 20 on the use of pictures and names and article 14 on intrusion into grief and shock. The editors, reporters and photographers shared the same views with regard to the violations to the code of conduct for the practice of journalism as pointed out during the key informant’s interviews and the focus group discussions as well. Garry Bryant, a staff photographer with the Deseret News, developed a checklist that he goes through when he arrives at a scene of crime or terrorism. The four are: Should this moment be made public? Am I acting with compassion and sensitivity? Will being photographed send the subjects into further trauma? Am I the least obtrusive distance as possible? Media stakeholders should discuss several issues to facilitate proper media coverage of terrorist attacks in future. This includes methods and ways of reporting and publication that can limit information on hostages which could harm them: e.g., number, nationality, official positions, how wealthy they may be, or important relatives they have; Limiting information on military, or police, movements during rescue operations; Limiting or agreeing not to air live unedited interviews with terrorists; Checking sources of information carefully as well as limiting unfounded speculation. Toning down information that may cause widespread panic or amplify events which aid the terrorist by stirring emotions sufficiently to exert irrational pressure on decision makers. The Kenyan media may be excused on how it covered the Westgate attack, being the first such incident that was shrouded in novelty, however future measures should be undertaken to ensure the same mistakes including the violations to the code of conduct for the practice of journalism, are not repeated in future. Amos Kibet is the Research & Media Monitoring Officer at the Media Council of Kenya. kibet.amos@mediacouncil.or.ke
It is high time Kenyan media houses and individual journalists put more importance in counselling sessions for those covering tragedies, advises DINAH KITUYI.
Tough outside, weak inside: Kenyan journalists and trauma handling
Dinah Kituyi
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ll over the world, journalists report on all manner of stories, including those with very graphic scenes, traumatic experiences told by eyewitnesses and where the victim is violated in extreme measures. At times these stories, which unfortunately must be told, cause traumatic episodes among the journalists. Further, journalists, not to mention other media practitioners, are indeed traumatised by the very nature of further relaying these horrific images and sounds to the public. Through both recording and relaying this information, journalists literally become witnesses of events directly by being at the scene and reporting the happenings and indirectly by interviewing the victims and witnesses of the events who inadvertently transfer the traumatic events including emotions of the events to the journalists. Due to their training, journalists have mainly put the news “capturing the event� as the mantra of their work and hence have put reporting ahead of anything else including their security and psychological wellbeing. Traumatic Events Traumatic events possess security challenges, puts demand on safety, threatens lives, or changes normal living conditions that exceeds coping mechanisms of humans thereby leading to distress. Therefore, when journalists play this important role of passing information to the public of such occurrence, they operate from an environment that easily will transfer the traumatic materials. The above may occur through interviewing affected people, helping out the affected, touching graphic materials or items at the scene, pungent smell of the scene, especially when there is serious injuries or death involved or any scent emanating from the
Journalists at a trauma counselling session organised by the Media Council of Kenya.
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scene, and finally normal observation of the scene. This level of involvement makes journalists primary witnesses of trauma hence vulnerable to traumatic effects. Be that as it may, there is little appreciation of psychological support for journalists in most media houses. Their priority is the “big story” and not the journalist. Through my professional interaction with journalists, the “big story” syndrome has cost them a lot in terms of balanced lifestyle, ethical practices and self-image. They walk and live through various trauma symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): such as: a) Re-experiencing the traumatic event • Intrusive, upsetting memories of the event • Flashbacks (acting or feeling like the event is happening again) • Nightmares (either of the event or of other frightening things) • Feelings of intense distress when reminded of the trauma • Intense physical reactions to reminders of the event (e.g. pounding heart, rapid breathing, nausea, muscle tension, sweating) b) Avoidance and numbing • Avoiding activities, places, thoughts, or feelings that remind you of the trauma • Inability to remember important aspects of the trauma • Loss of interest in activities and life in general • Feeling detached from others and emotionally numb • Sense of a limited future (you don’t expect to live a normal life span, get married, have a career) c) Increased anxiety and emotional arousal • Difficulty falling or staying asleep • Irritability or outbursts of anger • Difficulty concentrating • Hyper vigilance (on constant “red alert”) • Feeling jumpy and easily startled Beyond the above three major symptoms of PSTD, other common symptoms include: anger and irritability; guilt, shame, or selfblame; substance abuse; feelings of mistrust and betrayal; depression and hopelessness; suicidal thoughts and feelings; feeling alienated and alone; and also, physical aches and pains. ‘Self-treatments’ and Impact of Trauma
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However, due to lack of knowledge on the subject matter, most journalists have resolved in their own ‘self-treatments’ such as having multiple sexual partners, indulging in alcoholism, taking sleeping pills, tough selftalk such as chest-thumping phrases similar to, ‘I am a journalist, I can do this’. All these ‘self-treatments’ are supposed to help them suppress the emerging emotions. They indulge in these ‘self-treatments’ to avoid idle mind that could trigger memories of traumatic events; they over work to keep the mind busy and the body tired lest they both start re-expressing the traumatic events and so on. Journalists, and media houses in general, lack counseling services to deal with the post trauma and are often suffering from self-denial due to lack of knowledge of the central role counseling plays in creating a healthy working environment for journalists.
In their bid to cover the “big story”, many journalists physically and emotionally exposed themselves to danger and intruded the emotional space of the victims For instance, during the post-election violence witnessed in Kenya in 2007/8, many journalists were heavily traumatised. When such a journalist continue working without a healing mechanism, it weakens their natural internal self-being to cope with any other trauma or ordinary stress. Most recently, this was evident in the coverage of the Westgate Mall terrorist attack. In their bid to cover the “big story”, many journalists physically and emotionally exposed themselves to danger and intruded the emotional space of the victims, sometimes with very little sensitivity. This is a clear symptom of a journalist, who experienced trauma in the past but has never healed through undergoing counselling, and therefore, sensitivity to personal safety and those of victims’ emotions is at its lowest ebb. The psychological impact following traumatic events, include: shock, horror, denial, disbelief, rationalising, fear, panic, anxiety, anger, guilt, disgust, hopelessness, and helplessness among others.
The reactions reported by journalists, who have covered traumatising incidents, include: depression, loss of motivation, insomnia, loss of appetite, crying spells, guilt, irritability, inability to concentrate, poor memory and stupor. Usually, such states’ of mind are temporary and recovery is natural, but if stress is prolonged it can have disastrous effects. Training and Support on self-care Having no prior experience or knowledge of handling such disorders, journalists need to be trained and made aware of the symptoms they are likely to suffer from in covering traumatic events. It is therefore paramount that psychological support for journalists becomes integral in the training and practice. Some basic ways to provide support to minimise vulnerability of journalists is briefing before, during and after coverage of an event. These are described below: a) Before-assignment • Before any assignment manage the existing stress since covering any event when your stress levels are high already compromises your quality for self-care. • Always have a bottle of water which helps to calm you down and serves as a symbol of reminder to take care of the self. • Have a security briefing with your supervisor and have their number on speed dial, in case of emergency or being emotionally affected. b) During-assignment • Always ask yourself, am I safe? • During an interview of traumatic events, take pauses, drink your water and take deep breaths allow emotional release • Always ask yourself, am I respecting the person I am interviewing? It helps in your recovering when u have respected your interviewees • Be aware of your emotions during the assignment c) After-assignment • Write down your events and things that aroused your emotions • Have someone to re-live your story with • Ask yourself, how well have I taken care of myself, what do I need to improve on • Be aware of your emotional, physical, mental and spiritual reaction • Seek help if and when getting stretched. The conclusion is simple: an emotionally healthy journalist is a responsible journalist. Dinah Kituyi is a Counselling Psychologist. dinakituyi@hotmail.com
Centrality of social networks in disasters and tragedies Social media has become a management tool, conducting emergency communications and issuing crucial warnings, writes PHILIP OGOLA.
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n the new digital era of smartphones and social media it’s fundamental that aid responders, government and journalists, have the skill set and knowledge to rapidly and reliably verify information in the wake of a disaster. In crisis situations, people’s lives depend on timely, fact-based information so they can take action, and humanitarian aid can be provided to areas that need it most. That is why it’s critical for journalists, Government and aid organisations to crowd source and sift through mass of updates and report back to the public with accurate, fact-checked information.
With the absence of a fully-fledged emergency Hotline, Kenyans are now leveraging on social media platforms to communicate crisis information when major disasters strike. The Kenya Red Cross Society’s Emergency Operations centre hotline 1199 receives over 300 calls daily, a lot of operator’s time is wasted trying to authenticate and verify incidents during disasters. But with the uptake of New Media posts published on social media can be automatically crowd sourced, filtered and triaged thanks to Data Analytics saving operator’s time. Crowdsourcing is not only familiar in Kenya it has recently been embraced by Kenya Red
Philip Ogola
Cross. For instance, they used the power of the crowd during the aftermath of Westgate Mall attack to not only get situational analysis but also offer critical humanitarian support from issuing timely safety alerts, recording and tracing missing persons, mobilising for blood donations and fundraising, thanks to Social Media. On the fateful September 21, Kenya Red Cross twitter feed reached a staggering audience on 50 million globally and over 15,000 queries while the #WeAreOne hashtag trended worldwide for a week. The Red Cross also got verified by twitter as a sign of one of the most trusted sources during the Westgate attack.
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Kenya Red Cross social media has hugely been boosted with the unveiling of the #iVolunteer online Virtual Volunteers, who are Citizen Journalists who report emergencies real time on social media thereby increasing response time. #iVolunteer reports offer Red Cross with the Social Environment of the disaster as public now tweet information about how many people and/or animals are affected by a crisis. Another notable insights from social media is Red Cross can now get information on overall state of infrastructure around the disaster such as collapsed buildings and blocked roads. The social media data Red Cross collects, map and cloud that come directly from the #iVolunteers on the incident site help their Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) make informed decisions about community needs
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before responding to a disaster and helps communities in the vicinity boost the early warning system. Facebook, instagram and Twitter have become a must use tool during emergencies. Red Cross now connects communities and share life saving safety and preparedness information thanks to the #iVolunteer’s who are ordinary citizens who now know their communicating a situation update will make a difference. Red Cross leverages on #iVolunteer’s virtually volunteers on social media to identify, process, and comprehend critical elements of an incident or situation. Obtaining realtime information as an incident unfolds can help response teams determine where people are located, assess victim needs, and alert citizens and first responders to changing
conditions and new threats. Social networks are playing an increasingly larger role of informing the public about disaster response/recovery with the youth at the core of these developments. Kenya Red Cross uses social media as an emergency management tool to conduct emergency communications and issue warnings. Through social media it has been easy for Kenya Red Cross to issue realtime advisories to help public prepare for and prevent further disasters. Early this year, Red Cross used social media to issue Countrywide Flood Alerts. By engaging the public it was able to receive timely reports of marooned families from far flung, hard to reach areas. Ahead of the 2013 General Election, Red Cross heavily leveraged on social media as
an early warning tool to monitor sentiment analysis online under the uchagizi platform by Ushahidi. It was easy to avert disasters as possible threats were picked over 5,000 verified reports documented countrywide.
advocacy of road safety. The Kenya Red Cross Society is using their social media presence to advocate for road safety and the public predominantly youth as the watchdogs to for reckless drivers.
Kenya Red Cross emergency operations centre now uses social media as a communications tool to disseminate information and receive user feedback in real time as alerts and advisories happen. Social media has become a management tool to conduct emergency communications and issue warnings and has cut down the number of calls to report emergencies as a good percentage of the public now report emergencies via social media.
This has created an interactive platform especially among the youth who have seen the need for improved road safety. The public now report accidents real time, which has boosted response time for Red Cross Ambulance service and reduced emergency calls to the dispatch centre.
Through social media Red Cross publishes information to help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Red Cross is able to receive and respond to victim requests for assistance in crisis times i.e. blood donations, relief and non-food items on social media. It is now possible to monitor and cloud user activities and postings to establish situational awareness, get insights of trends, tonality, statistics and demographics of the Red Cross target audience. Additionally, success has been seen in the
Through social media Red Cross reaches out to young Kenyans, who are often victims of road crashes. The platform allows Red Cross to provide road safety advisories. As a result, there has seen behavioural change and attitude on road safety. The medium was last year used to promote car pooling during the matatu strike, when stranded commuters sought transport home or to work via social media. Kenya Red Cross connected with stranded commuters on their route and offered them transport to their destinations under the #CarPoolKe campaign.
300 of them being school children sitting final exams. This success also showed true brotherhood. Another example is a group of University of Nairobi students on a tour at the Tsavo National Park where they got stuck in mud and once a student tweeted, Red Cross quickly got in touch with Kenya Wildlife Service and a rescue mission was activated. In conclusion, social media Brings credibility at a time when it is likely to be most needed as conversational and transparent allowing near real-time information to be disseminated to concerned citizens and media prompts discussion, debate and feedback from the very people who most care about the disaster and are more likely to shape lasting perception of the incident. Red Cross uses social media to connect to thousands of people seeking comfort, and safety information to help get them through the darkest hours of storms. Kenya Red Cross social media feed is now reference point for disaster information by international and local media. Philip Ogola is a Digital Humanitarian. philipogola@gmail.com
A total of 1,032 cars helped over 6,000 stranded commuters get ride home with over
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Brave reporter recounts his four-day coverage of the Westgate siege The scene was horrific with dead bodies and gunshots renting the air and though majority of us, Kenyan journalists, had no protective gear, we still fought to get into the ‘danger zone’, writes OUMA WANZALA.
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ust before one, a colleague told me robbers had raided Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi and there was a heavy exchange of fire. I had never been to the upmarket shopping mall. After a few minutes I left office for lunch. On the news bulleting, I heard NTV’s news anchor Victoria Rubadiri giving a brief on the attack and talked to two women reportedly holed up at the mall. In my mind, as I was watching the news I thought this could be just a normal robbery synonymous with Nairobi. After lunch I returned to the office with some
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colleagues as we talked about what was going on at the Westgate. In the office, the discussion was the same about the incident and I turned to social media to get more information. On the screen was an alert about three people dying in the criminal attack. On twitter, I saw a picture of two young women shot dead lying on the front of a vehicle. After about an hour our photographer arrives in the office with several pictures of bodies full of bullets, scattered all over. There were children and women crying while other people believed to be taxi drivers hiding under their vehicles.
Ouma Wanzala
I realised this was now serious and not a mere robbery. After seeing the photos I got so scared that I did not watch to see them anymore and I had to keep off social media in particular. In about an hour’s time I was asked by the news editor to go to the scene and join my colleges dispatched earlier on. The driver, two other colleagues and I head to Westagate. The driver had been to the place and he navigated through several places and within a short time we are at Oshwal Visual centre. He directs us to use the small gate and enter the scene.
Journalists assess the damage wrought on the Westgate Mall.
On our way, we came across several Asians with bulletproof jackets and walk talkies as they direct traffic along several roads heading to the scene. On several occasions, we had to introduce our press cards to be allowed to pass. On arrival, several Asians again are directing traffic from the scene and in particular ambulances carrying victims. Several armoured vehicles with soldiers are also arriving and several people are busy taking pictures with their phones. Several journalists are also scrambling to get the best shots while others are busy with their
phones probably updating their respective newsrooms. About 50 metres from the scene are several journalist doing live coverage and others getting shots of those being rescued by the Kenya Red Cross Society staff and other rescue operators. The place is full of people trying to catch a glimpse of what is going on irrespective of the danger. Several gunshots are heard from a distance and we take cover after by advised by the police. Several cars have been abandoned at the scene and we take cover under them. A number of people claim they are looking
for their relatives. “Whenever you hear any gunshots please do not run away instead lie down,� a police officer advises us. Most Kenyan journalists do not have bulletproof vests unlike those from the foreign media. Once the gunshots are over, we move closer to the building to get close up pictures as the police try to push us away. The BBC crew and other foreign media have a rough time with the police who were cautioning them against live coverage given that it was getting darker and they were using powerful lights.
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“Please do not go live as it is dangerous to yourselves and security of other people around here,” said a security officer, but they could hear none of that as they could dodge him and go live. Those in the live coverage more so from the foreign media are only keen to interview white people.
the office given the confusion witnessed at the scene. You could not tell if sympathizers of the attackers were among the members of public milling around the scene and who were walking in and out freely without any security checks. At the scene several Good Samaritans are giving free water and biscuits
The coverage exposed the security forces at the scene as terrorists could monitor the unfolding events and were also able to update through the social media. More ambulances keep coming in as well as pick-ups most likely carrying bodies. Interior and National Co-ordination Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku, Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo and other senior security officers are at hand to brief information hungry journalists.
The place is full of people trying to catch a glimpse of what is going on irrespective of the danger.
However, information coming from Mr Lenku is conflicting given that having seen the number of bodies coming from the building it could not be about 11 people as he was saying. Those coming from the building tell of a no nonsense woman commanding the attack, but again Mr Lenku said there was no woman among the attackers. At about 7.30pm word went round of a possible secondary attack to aid the attackers to flee. We immediately called our driver to return to
to journalists and security personnel. On Sunday morning, I left office for the scene and as usual we went through Oshwal Visual centre but this time round security was tight. You had to be either at the centre or Peponi road and onlookers were kept far away from the scene. Several journalists pitched tent at the centre while victims being rescued were given first aid before being rushed to hospital. At the centre there was no information for the media and one had to be alert. Whenever there was a siren we rushed to the centre basement to witness arrival of those rescued.
A businessman comes to terms with the aftermath of a blast.
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Covering the military personnel who had been injured during the operation was the hardest task, their colleagues blocked journalists from taking pictures. “We are here to inform the world what is happening, kindly allow us to do our job or you are hiding something,” several journalists protested. Getting stories on the second day was hard and one had to be creative with some relatives and friends of victims unwilling to talk. There was also food and water served to security officers and journalists. On the third and fourth day things were a bit different. Journalists were kept far at Peponi and Westland roundabout by no nonsense security officers. “You can use all this space to do your interviews but please do not go past this point,” said a senior police officer. Only security and Kenya Red Cross vehicles were allowed in. KBC crew tried to get its way, but too they were turned away. Only the presidential communication team was allowed to enter the scene. They took pictures, which were later circulated to various media outlets. Ouma Wanzala is a journalist and Works at Nation Media Group. owanzala@gmail.com
My experience covering Westgate Mall terror attack As journalists, we may have made our fair share of blunders covering the siege, but we surely came out with important lessons, argues JUDY KABERIA.
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he September 21, 2013 attack on the Westgate Shopping Mall is the worst terror strike in 15 years since the August 1998 bomb-blast in Nairobi. As a journalist, I learnt many lessons amid the shock, confusion and the grief of witnessing people I had seen alive lying dead with gunshots wounds. It was Saturday morning and like many other weekends, the day was “dry” for the media. We did not have many events to cover nor were we expecting big news. At around 9.30am, my editor informed me of a robbery at the Westgate Shopping Mall and that he needed a reporter to go find out what was happening.
A few minutes later, I was outside the main entrance of Westgate Shopping Mall. Most television stations were already reporting that several customers had been held hostage by robbers. Some television presenters were even calling hostages and asking where they were hiding and how many they were. I tried to push my way inside the mall like the rest of the journalists. There was fear, uncertainty, feeling of insecurity and scenes that looked to be far from reality. It looked like a horror movie. There were several mutilated bodies some covered in blood. There were people coming out of the mall some without injuries, others with deep gunshot wounds. Some collapsed and died while others made to ambulances parked near the mall. At that point, I realised this was not the usual robbery. Gunshots rent the air as people scampered in all directions trying to save themselves from what they didn’t know. Others were curious onlookers who wanted to see what was happening. Police had a difficult time trying to chase away the curious crowd that sometimes got dangerously close to the building.
Judy Kaberia
After engaging some survivors who had come out of the mall, we knew it was a group of gunmen shooting at anyone they came across in the building. Listening to stories of the survivors, it was hard to come to terms with the kind of brutality they went through. It was a struggle to try to be in their shoes even for a second. They described images of the callous gunmen and what they told them before shooting them or their relatives and friends at close range. They narrated their miraculous escape from the attackers. The images of the brutally murdered victims constantly replayed in my mind as I tried to make a report of the episode. Sometimes it was so hard to keep off my feelings and I became attached to the survivors. I got a new friend, Rachael who was shot on the left leg. She has since been amputated. I kept on visiting Rachel while she was admitted to Mater Hospital. I have been following her and communicating with her asking her how she is coping. The first day I visited her in hospital, she told me how the gunmen shot her at the ankle and Oct - Dec • 2013
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then shot dead the people she was hiding with, in one of the shops at the mall. She was lucky to survive. I did not cry as she narrated to me her story, but later that night, I wept. When my twoyear-old daughter asked why I was crying I told her I had stomach pains. Since the attack and events that followed, I could not sleep properly for many nights. I would wake up sweating and breathing hard because of nasty dreams of an encounter with Samantha Lewthwaite, the British widow, suspected to have been in the company of the gunmen. Watching ambulances picking bodies, seeing relatives watching and praying that their loved ones were not among the dead broke my heart. It was agonizing to see children too innocent to comprehend what was happening coming out of the mall, scared and confused. As I held my microphone ready for interviews, I kept wondering why there are heartless and barbaric beings out to kill innocent people. I could not understand why they killed even children, some were not yet born but they died by the bullet. As some Kenyans complained that the media was misreporting on the Westgate attack, all I know is that, we too have feelings. We lost colleagues in the attack, we mourned with relatives who lost their loved ones and we
A journalist taking notes at a terror attack scene.
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celebrated with those who survived. At the same time, we had to do our job of informing the public. That does not mean we did not learn some lessons.
The images of the brutally murdered victims constantly replayed in my mind as I tried to make a report of the episode. First, it was unprofessional for the media to call hostages and ask them where they were hiding. It was a terrible mistake on our side because if the terrorists were following our updates, which I think they were, we would have aided them to know where to go and kill more people. Before finding out what was happening at Westgate, some of us misguided the public by saying it was a robbery. The police who should have been better informed than us proceeded to the venue with the perception it was a robbery. We should have quenched our thirst and competition for breaking news and waited to find out what was really happening. We got conflicting reports from the government side and most times we had to rely on our own findings, which were sometimes inaccurate.
After the initial rescue mission the government confirmed that 67 people had died. Later, some bodies were retrieved. Has the number of 67 changed? What happened to the report on the Westgate attack? The government also said there were 15 terrorists, other days they said they were 10 and that they were holding some of the suspects. According to the government, five of the terrorists had been killed, to date, the country is in darkness, where are those five bodies? How many terrorists are still being questioned? On the part of government, it was a bad score in terms of its duty of providing information and a sense of direction to the public and the media. The media are also not without blame. I wondered what point we wanted to prove by showing grisly images on television screens and publishing them on newspapers. Besides the finger pointing, Good Samaritans like Naivasha Flower Firm gave us flowers and told us they understood that it was hard to camp outside Westgate for so many days, waiting to report sad news. The Media Council of Kenya and some families also took their time to provide us with breakfast, lunch and dinner during our days and nights outside Westgate. Judy Kaberia is a journalist at Capital FM. judy.kaberia@gmail.com
Emotional Support crucial in coverage of disasters Research indicates most journalists are often in denial and while these coping mechanisms are vital, they can harm someone’s career or personal life, argues NJOKI MWARUMBA.
Njoki Mwarumba
A past road accident scene.
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ournalists often bear first witness to extremely traumatic events because the nature of their work demands they capture and relay fleeting moments at increasing speed. Their profession demands long, irregular work schedules, fierce deadlines and competition, especially with the advent of social media. Journalist pools are not known for sparing the ‘faint of heart’, as their workplace implicitly expects they mute their personal struggles to get the job done. More often than not, journalists have minimal guidelines on how to maneuver trauma
associated with reporting. They inhabit the very spaces where unspeakable atrocities are committed to men, women, and children, sometimes risking their lives to record and tell the stories. After covering horrendous events such as gory accident sites, PEV and more recently the Westgate carnage, journalists literally never really just ‘walk away’ from a story. While we have snippets, and snapshots here and there from the carnage and horror, they have a moving reel complete with the smells, touch, look, feel, and sounds of the horror. Long after a disaster has ended, journalists
inadvertently sometimes end up being part of the blame assignment matrix. Albeit with the benefit of hindsight, the public begins demanding information and clarity, while also questioning decision-making processes by journalists and media houses at large. While this is a conventional process, the means by which they get the stories might unjustifiably pre-dispose journalists to additional pressure. Similarly too, after disasters, journalists bear the brunt of officials because in the process of demanding intelligent information, they are implicitly or explicitly sidelined or harassed. The end of a disaster does not connote the Oct - Dec • 2013
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culmination of a need to know. While official inquiries of investigations are set up, the resultant information is often not within reach of the masses, and once again journalists are called upon to relay the findings.
dismiss these as ‘typical’ coping skills in many a workplace, keep in mind what they experience at their workplace, as well as what empirical research indicates is in the case of wars and disasters, extreme by all measure.
In some cases, this continues to place journalists at crosshairs between the public, disaster victims and officials report because of real or perceived bias. Journalists must simultaneously negotiate professional expectations and possible long-term trauma of a story long after an event.
Not to mention that they bear this with minimal training on matters psychological. Consider too that professions such as the police, fire fighters, and various medics are typically better equipped through training, at handling socio psychological trauma. Journalism has not received the much-needed holistic support for posttraumatic stress in Kenya and around the world.
To negotiate these landmines, journalists have been known to be a quirky lot. They develop coping mechanisms to go through physical, emotional and psychological harm. Research indicates that journalists are often times in denial or not fully cognizant of the posttraumatic stress they inhabit. Findings in studies of war and disaster journalists, by Feinstein, Owen and Blair, (2002) and Buchanan and Keats, (2011), are categorical that journalists tend to be surprisingly naïve about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They believe they can come out of the carnage unscathed. While this denial may be necessary to survive their workplace environment, and the gruesome scenes, the effects sooner or later show up in their personal and professional lives. Journalists’ attempts at social psychological recovery, tends to be a landmine of dos and don’ts. They handle trauma based upon an unspoken yet shared belief that their profession requires they ‘detach from the story’ as a process of objectivity, and ‘move on quickly to the next story’. This gives the impression that their trauma ‘comes with the territory’ of the work, and time and resources need not be allocated to dealing with what’s ‘normal’ to the profession. In an endeavour to handle the trauma journalists go through during extenuating circumstances, they create coping mechanisms that range from the seemingly mundane to extreme. Research indicates these processes include developing dark humour, stifling emotions and memories, isolation, physical exercise, and substance abuse. Before we quickly
A mantra in the disaster circles guarantees that it is not a matter of if another disaster happens but rather when. As a result, we must by all means, hold accountable some of the highly unprofessional reporting, and images portrayed in the media where mutilated bodies or people writhing in pain made headline pages after Westgate.
In an endeavour to handle the trauma journalists go through during extenuating circumstances, they create coping mechanisms that range from the seemingly mundane to extreme. The accountability for these repulsive decisions should be laid squarely upon the top brass with mandates on what makes news and what doesn’t. The buck does stop with them. We must also look at culpable journalists at the ground and re-evaluate what their training or lack thereof is and expect competent reporting without utter disregard for the norms of the injured, and the dead. This was widely deemed as unconscionable. But we cannot stop there. We have a quickly closing window of opportunity to address and demand that training, and recourse invest in journalists’ disaster preparedness become enforced. While we can appreciate the dogged journalist who attempts to do the hard work of gathering and reporting information, we cannot fully comprehend what factors and pressures exist
during fast paced disaster events. Under ‘blue sky’ regular days, the decision making process journalists and media houses go through is more likely to benefit from a structured protocol. This quickly changes when breaking news necessitates fast thinking and response to an evolving dramatic scene. Preparedness and training is the default mode they should have as a buffer. Keep in mind that at Westgate, neither the journalists nor the first responders had a frame of reference to default to. Much of what was going on was unprecedented. Disaster research is replete with evidence that disasters bring to the open already existing malfunctions and inequities. The systemic unpreparedness of journalistic endeavors during the Westgate siege did not create any new issues, but exposed them. At a granular level, individual journalists were seen risking life and limb, and at times inhibiting search and rescue operations. Majority journalists reporting ‘live’ from the active scene did not have any personal protective equipment. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so the attempts they made to get information was initially perceived as overreach. Government agencies, also reeling from unpreparedness, were reticent at releasing non-classified yet pertinent information in a timely manner. They did not for several hours provide a centralised trustworthy message. Kenyans and the world at large, did not expect to receive real time classified information, but basic information that was consistent, precise and trustworthy. Eventually, by the time any form of public information was forthcoming, rumours and facts had mingled to fill the vacuum, placing official informers on a defensive footing. The balance journalists and media houses have to achieve during such events can only be mitigated through systemic and comprehensive national disaster preparedness. In the meantime, individual journalists, and journalism academia must do the honest work of acknowledging and responding to socio psychological needs existent in the profession. Njoki Mwarumba is a disaster management specialist. Njoki.mwarumba@okstate.edu
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Accreditation Pursuant to sections 4, 6(h), 23(c) and 46 of the Media Council Act No. 46 of 2013, the Media Council of Kenya undertakes Annual Accreditation of journalists practicing in Kenya for purposes of compiling and maintaining a register of journalists, media practitioners, media enterprises and media training institutions in Kenya. Accreditation fees • Local Journalist: Ksh 2,000 • Foreign Journalist: Ksh 10,000 • Foreign Journalist (Short Term - 3 Months): Ksh 5,000 • Student: Ksh 300 Requirements for Accreditation • A letter from the employer; • Freelance/journalists accrediting for the first time are required to produce a letter of reference from the organisation they correspond for, a portfolio of work done and proof of professional training; • A clear passport photograph taken on white background; • Accreditation fee (Ksh 2,000 for local journalists, Ksh 5,000 for foreign journalists staying for less than a year, Ksh 10,000 for foreign journalists staying for 1 year and Ksh 300 for students). Students should produce a letter from school and a student ID. • Foreign Journalists are required to provide the following: • A letter from the employer • Professional Certificate that is either a Degree of Diploma in Communication from a recognised training institution • Portfolio of work done either in Print or Broadcast ( Please provide the work not website links) in addition to a clear passport size digital photograph, a valid work permit and Passport IMPORTANT TO NOTE 1. Certificates and portfolio should be provided by ALL journalists accrediting for the first time with the Media Council of Kenya 2. First year students are not eligible for accreditation. Training institutions are advised to issue them with introduction letters when carrying out filed based assignments.
In case of any queries, contact us at: accreditation@mediacouncil.or.ke
reporting?
Under the Enhancing and Up-scaling Media Safety and Journalistic Professionalism in Kenya project, the Media Council of Kenya with support from the International Media Support (IMS) responds to the needs for mechanism and capacities related to ensuring the safety and protection of media practitioners in Kenya. The MCK runs a web based alert system for journalists in distress and carries out a rapid response operation for journalists based in Kenya.
+254 702 222111
safety@mediacouncil.or.ke
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