SECTOR 1 Communications Amendment Act 2008, to forestall the Presidential assent to the Act that was seen to be gagging the press. Media give platforms to civil society to highlight issues of the day and articulate certain causes. Some of the media lobby groups are: Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK), Media Council of Kenya (MCK), Media Owners Association (MOA), Kenya Correspondents’ Association (KCA), Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ), Kenya Community Media Network (KCOMNET), Alternative Media Network (AMNET), Kenya ICT Network (Kictanet), African Women and Child Feature Service (AWC), and Kenya Editors’ Guild. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country minimally meets aspects of the indicator. 3 Country meets many aspects of indicator but progress may be too recent to judge. 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator. 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator and has been doing so over time. Average score: 3.5 (2005=4.4; 2007=3.8) 1.12 Media legislation evolves from meaningful consultations among state institutions, citizens and interest groups. Analysis Civil society and interest groups (see sector 1.11) are actively involved in advancing the cause of media freedom and media legislation processes. However, media practitioners do not engage meaningfully. They hardly even read media laws. At best, they only “cover” events discussing media law but do not participate in the events. In this regard, they behave like “fire extinguishers” who rush to the “scene” of the issue when it has exploded in their own face. A good example is the street protests early in 2009 over the Kenya Communication Amendment Act of 2008, which by the time journalists took action, had already reached the final stage of AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER KENYA 2009 21