Culture Trek

Archive for the ‘Media’ Category

David Kobia just went live with his new brainchild, I Have No Tribe. This site is dedicated to positive discourse on the Kenyan conflict from around the world and it has been met with great response in the form of debate, poetry, hope and support.

In early January, Kobia contributed to tech development of Ushahidi, a forum for civilian reporting on acts of violence through electronic means during the Kenyan government’s (recently lifted) ban on media. That project was the brainchild of bloggers Kenyan Pundit, White African, Afromusing, and Mentalacrobatics.

What’s wrong with using the word “tribe” in Western media? A lot more than meets the cultural divide, it seems.

AfricaFocus.org posted a fabulous argument about the particulars. I include the introduction here along with a link to the full length piece. This position has recently been brought to the attention of the New York Times’ Executive Editor, Bill Keller, in response to journalist Jeffrey Gettleman’s Kenyan election coverage. While Gettleman, after receiving letters of criticism, seems to have adapted his writing style, Keller was less than obliging. You can read his bitter response as posted at allAfrica.com below too.

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