Abstract:
Everywhere in countries around the world, there is an urgent call for governments in
Nations to enforcement democracy for its citizens. One of the measures of democracy
is in an election where citizens are able to freely elect the leaders who govern them. In
such times, the media in general play a vital role in among other things, informing the
voters, providing a forum for debate and acting as a watchdog to ensure that election
malpractices are not carried out. Further, as purveyors of truth, the media is expected
to give balanced accounts of the political parties contending as well as debate the
promises of the candidates and parties in question. In Kenya’s 2002 elections, the
voters depended on the media to effectively play out its role as a purveyor of
information, and also set the agenda for what was deemed important.
This research report is an examination, an analysis, which looks into what Kenya’s
leading newspapers reported about the elections in 2002. In this report, I will not only
be looking at the overall picture the newspapers painted but further, I will examine the
themes that played themselves out in the newspapers over the election period. The
theories of news production as well as the role of media in democracy and
subsequently in election coverage will aid the arguments in this paper. Further, I will
also debate the notion of objectivity in media coverage in order to ascertain whether
private media can be the standards set for the industry. In doing this, the research will
be examining the role of media in democracy and subsequently in an election
coverage.
