SECTOR 4 There is also visible discrimination against people with disabilities, with only two handicapped presenters on television in the entire country. Newsrooms are not built to accommodate people with physical handicap. “Employers prefer full-bodied people because they can multi-task, which may not be the case for people with disabilities. They would rather not deal with the inconvenience of disabilities.” Even though there are many albinos in Kenya, there are none on television. Television channels also tend to hire people who are acceptable and good looking. “Many consider television to be for models.” An applicant for a Kenya Television Network (KTN) lost his job because he came to the interview in dreadlocks, even though he was more qualified than all the other candidates. But, the number of people from all major religions - Christians, Muslims and Hindus – is increasing in the media. Christian, Muslim and Hindu stations have also emerged over the past years. 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: 3.6 (2005 = n/a, 2007 = n/a, 2009 = 2.2) 4.5 Journalists and editors do not practice self-censorship. Kenyan newsrooms are very sensitive and do not want to be seen as offensive. They come under a lot of pressure from advertisers, owners, public officials, politicians and social tensions lingering from the post-election violence of 2008. Most media organisations in Kenya are owned by families and journalists/editors find it difficult to report on issues that involve these media moguls or their enemies without the fear of getting into trouble. Reporters are also apprehensive of tribal tensions and drug dealers. “Many journalists have been threatened in the past and the general rule is to be careful. Since the 2008 violence, you will hear things like ‘two communities’ without any mention of those communities. People practice self-censorship in 58 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER KENYA 2012