Media in Kenya
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Kenya enjoys a more diverse media scene than many other African countries, with a large middle class providing a base for substantial advertising revenue. The Kibaki government came to power promising further media liberalisation, but some incidents since then have alarmed observers.
In 2003 there was a crackdown on unregistered newspapers. Months later, a court criticised the information minister for harassing the popular private radio station Kiss FM. Then in March 2006 armed police, acting on government orders, stormed the offices and presses of the Standard media group.
The raid shocked many Kenyans and alarmed Western donors. The government said the action was aimed at protecting state security.
There is a tradition of a relatively independent press, although newspapers often had to practise self-censorship during the era of Presidents Kenyatta and Moi. The print media is dominated by two major publishing houses, the Nation and Standard, both of which also have substantial broadcasting operations.
Most Kenyans rely on the broadcast media, particularly radio, for news. Until recently the liberalisation of broadcasting had a limited impact outside Nairobi but some private radio and TV networks now have wide coverage of much of the country. TV viewing is substantial, but few Kenyans are regular internet users, owing to cost and access problems.
Full-time FM relays of the BBC World Service are on the air in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, and some BBC programmes are also rebroadcast by private Kameme FM. The Voice of America has an FM relay in Nairobi and Radio France Internationale is relayed on FM in Mombasa.
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