http://synchrono.us/2008/01/09/english-language-newspapers-online/ Thinking on globalization and global networks Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:25:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 http://synchrono.us/2008/01/09/english-language-newspapers-online/#comment-17 synchrono.us » Blog Archive » Good Analysis of Biases In Kenyan Election Coverage Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:21:43 +0000 http://www.synchrono.us/2008/01/09/english-language-newspapers-online/#comment-17 [...] As I mentioned the other day, it behooves us to look further than our local news for information on events like the ones unfolding in Kenya. Pursuant to that, I have found this analysis by John Barbieri which focuses on the myths surrounding the situation in Kenya: First, this is not ‘ethnic conflict.’ Similar to the way that most African conflicts get reported, there is the ubiquitous framing of the situation as conflict solely being driven by ethnicity. This is most profoundly seen in the statements of ‘tribal conflict’; it must be made clear that this is an extremely racist, antiquated and inaccurate depiction of the situation. Though there has been an ethnic factor to some of the conflict, this factor is largely overemphasized at expense of the more pervasive factor of the rich/poor and the gross inequities in resource distribution across and among ‘ethnic lines’ (that is as if such lines could be so clearly drawn). As many have more articulately said elsewhere the situation must be re-framed as a political conflict. [...] […] As I mentioned the other day, it behooves us to look further than our local news for information on events like the ones unfolding in Kenya. Pursuant to that, I have found this analysis by John Barbieri which focuses on the myths surrounding the situation in Kenya: First, this is not ‘ethnic conflict.’ Similar to the way that most African conflicts get reported, there is the ubiquitous framing of the situation as conflict solely being driven by ethnicity. This is most profoundly seen in the statements of ‘tribal conflict’; it must be made clear that this is an extremely racist, antiquated and inaccurate depiction of the situation. Though there has been an ethnic factor to some of the conflict, this factor is largely overemphasized at expense of the more pervasive factor of the rich/poor and the gross inequities in resource distribution across and among ‘ethnic lines’ (that is as if such lines could be so clearly drawn). As many have more articulately said elsewhere the situation must be re-framed as a political conflict. […]

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