Africa: Stories to Be Told
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 ….”
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, along with world-class coverage on Africana. com and Africa IPLC.com. Also available are news and commentary about Africa on Western media Web sites including BBC.com, CNN.com, Alertnet.org, and the Washington, D.C.-based AllAfrica. com, which has specialized in reporting on the continent for more than a decade.
