SECTOR 4 order not to create passions.” Journalists were partly blamed for the post-election violence and they are in constant fear of provoking social tension through their work. Communities may also boycott a paper or broadcast service that they deem unfriendly. “Not everything would go into a story. Sometimes, you are confronted with realities.” Self-censorship is also extended to advertising. Ahead of the 2007 elections, media owners banded together to decline political advertising that they judged unacceptable and capable of inciting violence. 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: 1.7 (2005 = 2.5, 2007 = 3.1, 2009 = 1.9) 4.6 Owners of established mainstream private media do not interfere with editorial independence. Ahead of the 2007 election, editors of The Standard, switched sides and decided to support the opposition, even though the paper is owned by publishers that are considered pro-government. The result was a withdrawal of government advertising to The Standard. Subsequently the executive editor was fired along with several other line editors and the newspaper’s board was reorganised. Since media owners are often politicians, they try to use the media to run their political agendas and so regularly interfere with editorial decision-making. In some newspapers, stories are often reviewed by a committee to align them with the owners’ desires. Owners also impose political endorsements on the editorial team. A good example is that of Royal Media, whose proprietor often rallies editors and reporters to ask them to support one politician against the other. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER KENYA 2012 59