MEDIA ROLE IN KEEPING PEACE.

I was watching a television interview the other day where Narok senator Hon Ledama Ole Kina was a guest together with NTV investigative journalist Kennedy Mureithi. They were hosted by Mark Masai on the Press Pass. They were debating on the contibution of media in conserving peace especially in our country Kenya which has not been spared the rod of sporadic violence majorly on the account of divisive politics.
The media, needless to say, is a major stakeholder in the bandwagon that seeks to maintain peace in any jurisdiction all over the world.
I say this on account of the fact that the media has the capability to be used to advance either extremes; peace promotion or havoc-creation. In 1914, during the World War 1, the media was actively used by the European governments as a vessel for the propagation of propaganda as a way of manipulating the public to alter their opinion regarding the war.
World War 2 proponents like wise used the press to persuade the public to help in the war efforts.
Ryan Guiboa, in his publication on June 6th 2003 asserts that psychology has proven beyond reasonable doubt that people too often tend to accept the information provided by the media to be factual and true than it really is. Media alters the psychology of its consumers. Perceiptions can be manipulated.
It has often been advanced by proponents of media freedom that information is power. Yes indeed, it is. Insight impacts on public discourse. And so as such, the media, mainstream or social, has got a huge role to play in altering public discourse from havoc to tranquil.
The mainstream media should ensure that all its broadcasts are free of malice and hate and venom-spew. In this, the media may find it problematic in balancing between preventing harm caused by hate speech and upholding its legal obligation of providing apt information for mass consumption. But still, it should make the sieve so narrow as to lock out any speech or publication that could lead to creation of a wedge between the people, because as already stated, people tend to believe whatever is aired by the media.
Politicians have found solace in the media as it has too often given them a platform to propagate their hate for one another and ethnic or geographical profiling of the regions which they think impede the quest for their unsavoury desires. This ought to be brought to an end if tranquil is what this country desires.
Just to give an example, the post election violence of 2007 erupted only fifteen minutes after Rt Hon Raila Odinga held a press conference to refute the election results and asserted that he would not move to court to contest. Needless to say, public opinion was manipulated and the multitudes took his statement as a leeway to fight amongst themselves.
There is also another ‘sub group’ of the media which I’d like to refer to as the ‘silent media’. These are the writers and makers of art such as paintings, drawings and etcetra. Silent in the sense that their information is cast on paper and involves no sound. This group of media is prevalent with the third generation. Professor Adu Aharoni of Egypt upon noticing the agony of the war victims in different parts of the globe like the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, founded the International Forum for the Literature And Culture for peace.
This is a forum which has given children age 6-18 from all over the world an opportunity to engage in works of art which seek to advance the maintainance of peace. It has even set up writing competitions on the same premise.
Professor Aharoni herself publishes an anthology of peace-oriented stories and poems every two years. Through her works of art, people have been inspired. Peace has been brought to her country courtesy of her ceaseless efforts as an ambassador for peace.
In one of her anthologies, she says that “Art and literature can convey what no political speech can convey.”
Hence, the media ought to stand up strong in the campaign for the prevalence of peace in our country.

@oiraqaleb esq