Where's the good news from Africa? 20 Jun 2008 15:20:00 GMT

Written by: Joanne Tomkinson
An Afghan boy reads a newspaper in front of a bookstore in a market in Kabul February 27, 2008. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood (AFGHANISTAN)
A lot has changed in Rwanda since the 1994 genocide. The country has seen impressive economic growth, has made great strides in democracy and education, and now ranks first in the world in terms of the number of women elected to parliament and in cabinet. So why don't we hear more about Rwanda and other stories of progress in Africa?

That's because poverty, instability, disease, illiteracy and corruption dominate Western press coverage of the continent, according to New African magazine this month (subscription only). Taking the Western media to task for their biased and distorting reporting of the continent, the magazine looks at why so little good news makes it out of Africa.

Historical baggage and domestic interests are probably the biggest reasons for the Western media's distorted view of the continent, Editor Baffour Ankomah argues. Foreign policy concerns at home often influence the subjects chosen - Zimbabwe's elections rather than those in Nigeria, for example - and history pervades even the most enlightened articles.

Ankomah draws attention to an article in Britain's Guardian newspaper by correspondent George Alagiah in 1999 in which he said: "I have a gnawing regret that, as a foreign correspondent, I have done Africa a disservice, too often showing the continent at its worst and too rarely showing it in full flower."

Though he pleaded for his colleagues to abandon historical baggage relating to Africa, it's ironic how the paper chose a headline suffused with negative historical connotations - "New light on the Dark Continent" - Ankomah says.

Elsewhere in the magazine, South African President Thabo Mbeki draws attention to a Boston University study which looked at seven major U.S. newspapers between 1994 and 2004. It detailed how little coverage looked at economic growth, the decline in civil wars, or increased access to education.

Disasters in Somalia, Rwanda and West Africa dominated, while transitions to democracy in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique and elsewhere were ignored according to the 2005 study.

With few media organisations employing more than one reporter based in Africa, much of the continent's news goes unreported, Mbeki says.

Wanjohl Kabukuru argues this year's coverage of Kenya shows how Western media coverage gets carried away with negative imagery.

"During the country's worst moments of shame - the post-war election violence that erupted between December 2007 and February 2008 - the Western media tore Kenya into shreds. For the two months, the hitherto peaceful Kenya found itself painted in the worst of adjectives.

"Four decades of solid achievements after independence were totally forgotten," Kabukuru writes.

Kabukuru quotes the comments of African media executive Norman Mudibo who said in Kenya's Business Daily that he was shocked by CNN's coverage and how it equated the violence to tribal warfare.

"There could be ethnic tension, exacerbated by the alleged flawed electoral process, but it is unfair for the international media to trumpet messages that give the impression that Kenya has already gone to the dogs," Mudibo said.

For Regina Jere-Malanda, the problem is that good news doesn't sell. What does sell can be encapsulated by the acronym "PIDIC" - poverty, instability, disease, illiteracy and corruption - a term coined by Nigerian journalist Pascal Eze.

Jere-Malanda says: "No one else but Africans ourselves have a duty to shake off this stigmatising image." The African media should be at the forefront of the effort to change Western minds about what the continent has to offer, she concludes.

In a satirical piece for literary magazine Granta, Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainaina hits on some of the stereotypes regularly found in writing about Africa.

"Among your characters you must always include "The Starving African", who wanders the refugee camp nearly naked, and waits for the benevolence of the West," he says. "Broad brushstrokes throughout are good. Avoid having the African characters laugh, or struggle to educate their kids, or just make do in mundane circumstances."

What's your view? Is the Western media fixated on the worst stories from Africa? Do we hear enough good news from the continent?

What are the reasons for the way the West reports Africa? Who's responsibility is it to challenge entrenched images? Is the Western media just doing its job and reporting reality?

What do you think?

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8 responses to “MEDIAWATCH: Where's the good news from Africa?”
Please note that comments should not be regarded as the views of Reuters.
Maggie Schoch says:
20 Jun 2008 21:43:08 GMT
As an American currently living in Europe, I find that the coverage of African news here is far better than in the US. In the US, one has to struggle to find any reporting on Africa at all in large daily newspapers, apart from the NY Times, WA Post and LA Times. The BBC probably is the best source of news on Africa in the US. I agree with the author of this piece, most African news stories are about the starving African on aid or the cruel dictator in country x.

John says:
21 Jun 2008 11:02:47 GMT
I agree that most news about Africa concentrates on starving Africans harassed by bandits/militia/guerillas/tribal warriors. The general theme that strikes me is "Loathsome whites, where's your money?" I suppose that Africa is so marginal to Western interests that the only people interested enough to write something are the do-gooders, so their point of view is never contradicted.

Trish says:
22 Jun 2008 22:32:44 GMT
I agree that most "Western" news focuses on negative stories out of Africa. Part of the reason for this is likely history, colonialism, racism. Another large part of this is essentially because of the way the news business works. First of all, bad news in the West or other parts of the world is also reported far more than good news. In addition, as Maggie points out, the news media has very few correspondents in Africa to cover the stories. Because of the unfortunate cutbacks in the amount of money spent on solid journalism these days, (including at the BBC, though they are still head and shoulders above most other broadcasters) there are simply not enough reporters out there to cover good news stories in addition to the dark news audiences expect.


Perhaps this deficit could be alleviated if Western news media were more willing to use local African journalists as freelance reporters, or better yet, spend more money on news reporting in Africa.

Terri says:
24 Jun 2008 08:53:53 GMT
I don't think it has anything to do with Africa at all. Bad news sells better than good news, and that applies to all continents. Disasters and catastrophes will also get bigger headlines than successes and triumphs.

Andrew Mack says:
26 Jun 2008 07:59:47 GMT
Check out the 2007 Human Security Brief for the untold story of an extraordinary decline in political violence in sub-Saharan Africa since 1999. Wars are down by more than 50%, fatalities by more than 90%. See www.humansecuritybrief.info.


Andrew Mack Director Human Security Report Project Simon Fraser University Vancouver


Mary Rajkumar says:
08 Jul 2008 15:50:12 GMT
The Associated Press did a seven-part series on just this subject in December. It was sparked by the observation of two veteran reporters that in fact the good news in many parts of the continent doesn't get reported. The stories looked at business development in Ghana; the low AIDS rate in Madagascar; a single school that is succeeding against the odds in Malawi; former enemies who have reconciled in Rwanda, etc.


Mary Rajkumar, Project editor, The Associated Press

Katharine H says:
12 Jul 2008 09:06:52 GMT
I often hear this kind of criticism, and think it is justified - to an extent. But it is also often made by people who would rather take western journalists to task than the leaders who are stealing and repressing their own populations. Wanjohl Kabukuru may talk about "four decades of solid achievements after independence". That is not the full story. Violence does not come out of nowhere, and Kenya has also had four decades of corruption, political thuggery, and politicians who exploit ethnic divisions for political gain. Does Moi's reign count as a "solid achievement"? Also, to talk of Nigeria as a democracy is laughable. I interviewed Nigerians teargassed as they stood in line to vote, militant leaders who threatened to murder (and did) policeman because they were not paid off enough to vote, etc etc.


Someone once said "it is the job of journalists to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted." I'm happy to do positive stories on Africa - covering the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia was one of my favourites. But I also think a key part of our jobs is to take governments _ both African and Western - to task when they fail the people they claim to serve. The most rewarding thing as a journalist is to write a story about an injustice, and see it make a difference for a small amount of people, for a short time.

Alain Toussaint says:
13 Jul 2008 21:41:01 GMT
Bravo Mary Rajkumar!!!I am Mauritian and living here now, but spent all my youth and the best part of my life in Malawi. It has also occurred to me that the "Know It Alls" will not come to the rescue of a country that strives to survive for as long as "Their" idea of democracy appears to exist. If as much money was spent assisting the "Good Boys" in Africa as is being spent airing the wrong doings of the "Bad Boys", perhaps it would be worth our while. But if indeed the "Good Boys" were officially recognised,assisted and, eventually,the "Bad Boys" were no more, then ,hundreds of camera-yielding,pencil-pushing half-baked reporters would go on the dole - or perhaps throw on the old rucksack and come to Malawi - we'll give you a hoe FOC - at least you won't have to pay in gold, ivory,leopard skins or other trophies