Reacting to the sudden outbreak of violence in Kenya and the mounting pressure on media following the disputed presidential election on December 27 2007, International Media Support (IMS) together with Article 19 and Reporters Without Borders carried out a mission to Kenya in the early days of January 2008 to assess the needs for support to the Kenyan media community. One of the findings of this assessment mission was the need to promote the concept of conflict sensitive journalism among Kenyan journalists – most of them reporting for the first time in their life on such widespread conflict. This handbook in conflict sensitive journalism - special edition Kenya - is part of IMS’s response to the needs expressed during this first and following assessment missions to Kenya. The handbook is designed to be a practical everyday guide, which seeks to contribute to the theoretical refinement and practical realisation of conflict sensitive journalism as a tool for Kenyan media practitioners covering conflict. The Special Edition builds upon the work of Ross Howard and his handbook in conflict sensitive journalism, first published by IMS in 2003.

The book includes the following chapters:

• Understanding Conflict - What is conflict? What causes conflict?
• Journalism and Conflict - Yhe power of the media, the role of journalists, and conflict analysis.
• Good Journalism Around the World – What it good journalism and what should it include.
• Conflict Sensitive Journalism - A checklist and examples related to conflict sensitive journalism.
• Newsroom Cultures - Professionalism versus patriotism and newsroom diversity.
• Code of conduct for Kenyan journalists - Extracts from the Kenyan Media Act relevant to reporting conflict situations.

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IMS website on November 23 2008.