MEDIA PERCEPTIONS: MAINSTREAM AND GRASSROOTS MEDIA COVERAGE OF REFUGEES IN KENYA AND THE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL REFUGEE POLICY

This media analysis article aims to reveal, by a qualitative examination of the content of two well-established grassroots media outlets (published in English by refugees living in Kenya's two largest refugee camps) and four mainstream media outlets, the stark differences that exist between what camp refugees in Kenya identify as critical issues versus topics that Western media outlets perceive as important. The grassroots newspapers, published online from inside Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps in Kenya's northern border region, have the potential to be fresh, innovative new actors in shaping global refugee policy, a counter to the mainstream media perspective that largely ignores - or oversimplifies - the refugee voice. Mainstream news outlets in the UK and the US have not highlighted the refugee voice in Kenya, nor taken note of topics of importance in refugee-run media. This article argues that these differences in coverage support the idea that refugee-run media have the potential to be emerging voices for understanding the effects of global refugee policy, and can perhaps offer more insight than Western media sources, which may be missing the mark on exposing both the successes and failures of said policy.