SECTOR 1 1.12 Media legislation evolves from meaningful consultations among state institutions, citizens and interest groups. Generally citizens are not involved in the process of formulating legislation. “People only hear that there is a new law in parliament and have no information about how it got there.” More recently, there have been stakeholder meetings related to the formulation of new legislation but citizen participation has been minimal. Even when there is visible consultation, the resultant legislation often does not reflect the inputs of interest groups outside the government. “Since the passing of the new constitution, there has been a deliberate effort to get people talking about laws and bringing in ideas but as soon as they walk out, those views remain in the room.” The outcome of consultation on several media laws, including the FOI Act, cannot be judged at this point because the legislations are yet to be enacted. But there has been a strong involvement of the media in the formulation and amendment of the Media Act. Initially the government tried to “ambush” the Kenyan Media Council by introducing a clause stopping it from receiving outside grants, yet not making provisions for government grants. The Kenyan Media Council preferred alternative funding to that provided by the State to ensure that there was no government influence. Following consultation with the media fraternity that included groups like the Editors’ Guild as well as parliamentary committees, the Act was later amended to guarantee government sponsorship of the Media Council but with the proviso that the organisation continue to act independently and outside of government influence. 24 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER KENYA 2012