Africa: Stories to Be Told

Journalist’s Trade: Africa: Stories to Be Told

Journalist’s Trade “Africa: Stories to Be Told” Introduction (Fall 2004)

By Melissa Ludtke• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

Africa is portrayed in the Western media by its extremes, observes Ugandan journalist Charles Onyango-Obbo, a managing editor with the Nation Media Group in Nairobi, Kenya. Stories about its civil wars, human rights abuses, government corruption, disease and poverty abound, but these have been joined by Western reporting that, in Onyango-Obbo’s opinion, can be too willing to celebrate the promised reforms of emergent leaders for whom greater journalistic scrutiny should be applied. The result: “… the leadership in Africa became not only complacent, but also used the flattering international coverage to muzzle internal critics and vigorous independent reporting ….” Read more

Seeking Balance in a Continent Portrayed By Its Extremes

By Charles Onyango-Obbo• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

‘The patronizing reporting one witnesses today is as bad as the condescending work of the past.’ Read more

Africa Web Coverage

By Charles Onyango-Obbo• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

Among the strongest Web sites displaying the complexities of the continent and her news are South Africa’s News24. co.za and Africamediaonline.com. There is a relatively new and ambitious site, Africaalmanac.com, which is a fact-filled destination for those in a hurry, … Read more

Trapped in a Time-Warped Narrative

By Fergal Keane• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

A BBC foreign correspondent pleads with journalists to move past their relentless focus on Africa’s misery.   Read more

When Reporting a Story Turns Into Running From a Riot

By Jason Beaubien• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

‘This is the thing about covering places like the Congo—things can be incredibly unpredictable.’ Read more

African Radio Reporters’ Tool Kit

By Jason Beaubien• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

Lots of cash in hundred dollar bills, plus some fives to cover the small things. There’s no sense carrying twenties. Several thousand dollars in twenties gets bulky. A headlamp flashlight for when the power goes out. A Leatherman or Swiss … Read more

Weighing the Moral Argument Against the Way Things Work

By Marcus Bleasdale• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

‘We have covered Africa this year, so we won’t be doing anything for a while.’ Read more

The Numbers Game in African Reporting

By John Donnelly• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

Statistics don’t matter when disease and disaster exact such high human tolls in Africa. Read more

Revealing Lives Behind the Statistics

By Davan Maharaj• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

‘We would work to capture and convey the human dignity not often found in stories painting statistical portraits.' Read more

Journalists and Humanitarian NGO’s

By Hilaire Avril• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

In our ‘symbiotic’ relationship, aid workers become sources, gatekeepers or eye openers. Read more

War Crimes Tribunals in Africa and Sleeping Press Watchdogs

By Thierry Cruvellier• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

‘… there is an obvious need for independent press scrutiny to hold these tribunals accountable.’ Read more

Photographing a Nation Under Siege

By Carolyn Cole• Visual Journalism• September 15, 2004

In Liberia, a photojournalist finds death, despair and destruction. Read more

Journalism at a Crossroads in Liberia

By Gabriel I.H. Williams• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

War devastated the nation’s independent media, and now the job of restoring the foundation for news reporting begins. Read more

When Being a Photojournalist Is About Surviving

By Gregory H. Stemn• Visual Journalism• September 15, 2004

‘Journalists could never be sure they would be alive to cover the next assignment.’ Read more

Africa Through the Eyes of African Reporters

By Geoffrey Nyarota• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

If local journalists reported more of the news to Western audiences, their sources and the story’s context would be different. Read more

No Easy Life for Journalists in Africa

By Shyaka Kanuma• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

Working for an independent press is an act of extreme courage in many of the continent’s countries. Read more

When African Governments Stifle Press Freedom

By Luckson A. Chipare• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

In many countries in southern Africa, journalists face harsh consequences when they try to hold governments accountable. Read more

Transforming Journalism as Democracy Emerges

By Pippa Green• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

‘Ten years into democracy, many journalists are struggling to redefine their relationship to government.’ Read more

Managing Media in Times of Crisis

By Gwen Lister• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

Gwen Lister, editor of The Namibian, an independent daily newspaper in Namibia, spoke to delegates at the UNESCO conference on “Freedom of Expression and Conflict Management in Crisis Situations and Countries in Transition,” held in May 2004 in Belgrade, Serbia. Read more

Priorities in the Struggle for Press Freedom

By Gwen Lister• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

There are areas at The Namibian that we’ve possibly failed to address rigorously but that should be made priorities in the struggle for press freedom. These include the following: Advocacy: Although The Namibian began as an advocacy newspaper—in its consistent … Read more

Lessons in Managing Independent Media

By Gwen Lister• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

At The Namibian, we’ve experienced successes and some failures due to a number of factors both within and outside our control. Our success in ensuring the survival of the newspaper has involved a great deal of management during times of … Read more

The Government Silenced Zimbabwe’s Only Independent Newspaper

By Yvonne van der Heijden• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

‘Revealing the facts about their corruption and mismanagement really makes bad rulers mad.’ Read more

International Network of Cities of Asylum

By Yvonne van der Heijden• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

Since the fatwa was issued in 1989 against Indian-born author Salman Rushdie, writers from five continents have been convened each year by Car-refour des Littératures in Strasbourg, France to discuss how to respond to increasing outbursts of intolerance. In July … Read more

Using the Internet to Examine Patterns of Foreign Coverage

By Ethan Zuckerman• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

African events are often not reported because Western news coverage is strongly connected to a nation’s wealth. Read more

African Stories In Need of Reporters

By Sarah Hagedorn• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

On the eve of the World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2004, the United Nations Department of Public Information launched “Ten Stories the World Should Hear More About.” Half of these under-reported stories deal with humanitarian emergencies and conflict or … Read more

Emotional Connections to African Reporting

By Frank Green• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

Zambia’s orphaned children portray many dimensions of the human toll of AIDS. Read more

A Mid-Sized Newspaper Connects Its Readers to Africa

By Rex Smith• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

Times Union journalists traveled to Malawi to trace the links of local citizens to the people of sub-Saharan Africa. Read more

Hope in a Can of Green Beans

By Paul Grondahl• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

The Times Union special section involved a series of short stories written by Paul Grondahl. A story follows: Two thousand hungry villagers have been sitting cross-legged in the red dirt for four hours, still as statues, pressed tightly, shoulder to … Read more

When Tragedy Is No Longer a Good Enough Story to Tell

By Wilson Wanene• International Journalism• September 15, 2004

An African journalist chronicles his life and revisits some of Africa’s major news stories of the 1990’s. Read more