SECTOR 4 million (about US$625,000). Even though it is set up within the MCK, the CC works independently of the council. The Complaints Commission is able to retain its autonomy because it is not bound by the Evidence Act and “except as expressly provided in this Act or any regulations made thereunder, the Complaints Commission shall regulate its own procedure.” The media actually prefers dealing with the Complaints Commission, which can impose a fine of up to KSh 200 000. “The commission’s primary objective, though, is mediation. Most complainants often want only an apology. Since its creation, only two or three cases have resulted in fines.” Court proceedings, on the other hand, are quite expensive and fines could reach KSh 500 000 (about US$6.250). There was a case where the Complaints Commission of the Media Council slapped a fine of KSh 1.4 million for breach of the Code of Ethics and another case was KSh 1000000 and another was KSh 800 000. Since its creation, the CC has been quite busy. It has presided over 70 complaints over the last year leading to March 2012. At the time of this report, it was handling at least 25 complaints. One of them was filed by a minister who filed for defamation against a weekly newspaper. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 3.5 (2005 = 3.3, 2007 = 3.7, 2009 = 2.6) 4.2 The standard of reporting follows the basic principles of accuracy and fairness. Kenyan media reporting is considered acceptably accurate but not always fair. Unfair reporting is influenced by politics, ethnicity and advertising. The media will rarely ever report negatively about an advertiser and give less space to businesses that are not regular advertisers. There are many examples that demonstrate sloppy reporting in the media. A court had to stop The Star from reporting a murder case after the paper revealed the AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER KENYA 2012 55