What new ideas, challenges, or other issues have you encountered with regard to your project (this might include data collection, information that contradicts your assumptions or the assertions of others, materials that have enriched your understanding of the topic or led you to change your project, etc.)? How have these ideas or challenges shaped the bigger picture of your research? Has the scope or focus of your topic changed since you began this project? If so, how?
When I started my research, I thought that Kenyan media framing of femicide may have contributed to a negative perception toward women’s agency. This, however, has changed over the course of pursuing this research and conducting interviews with anti femicide activists. I have gotten to see how Kenyan media is actually doing a relatively great job in reporting femicide cases when compared to other countries. For one, media houses do not have a political leaning. This enables them to report news without bias, preventing echo chambers and polarization. This said, there is still the issue of financial incentives in reporting, where sensationalized stories get their way to be headline news because they would get more clicks, which lead to higher revenue. With sensationalism comes the problem of desensitization of the public. But given that sensationalism sometimes goes hand in hand with transparency (a new approach taken up in reporting that veers away from objective and neutral reporting) a new question that I now have is where to balance between transparency and avoiding sensationalist reporting of femicide cases. I hope to ask news editors this pertinent question moving forward.
Where does your research take place--or where is a favorite place to conduct your research? Post a photo!
I personally like working in my room