It was a pretty futile search. It seems difficult to find an African leader or African journalist who has not, at some time, been either fiercely critical or quietly despairing of the way in which the continent is depicted by the western media. The first thing to notice about how Africa is portrayed by the media is that it generally is not. If the western media has done anything for Africa, it has tarnished her image and causing more havoc for it. It seems difficult to find an African leader or African journalist who has not, at some time, been either fiercely critical or quietly despairing of the way in which the continent is depicted by the western media. Even when Western media outlets do stories on Africa, they tend to have a slant. Out of Liberia came a torrent of wire copy about fighting in Monrovia along with assorted atrocity stories, but pinning the emphasis on the plight of foreign nationals (especially Britons and Americans) and the role being played by the USS Guam in air-lifting them to safety. Imprint Routledge. . From the start, PANA has been dogged by financial and management problems. . The Image of Africa in China: The Emerging Role of Chinese Social Media LIANXING LI Abstract: While the debate on Africas image is sliding into two extremes in the Western world, either too desperate or too optimistic, Chinas narrative on this continent remains politically oriented and does not fit the fast growing economic and trade relationships between two sides. Newspapers that show a 'lack respect' for the ruling party are frequently shut down. Postmodern Primitivism: Images of Africa in the Western Media . Images of Africa in the Western Media. ; 2002. This is why the BBC World Service has come to enjoy such a high reputation in many parts of Africa. And it’s not just the media. Similar claims were made by Okigho when he wrote that while CNN and other satellite organisations have 'revolutionised international news coverage', the most common images of Africa still depict internecine warfare (in Angola, Liberia, Somalia), pogroms in Rwanda, political violence in Sierra Leone and ethnic conflicts in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa. The Unheard African Voices. Egypt was featured after its government accused Sudan of harbouring a 'vipers' nest of terrorists'. of Africa as constructed by the Western media in the emerging Communication Order after the intensive NWICO debate of the 70s and early 80s. Yet in their minds, they have some certain images about Africa that they believe to be real or true this because of the Western media which represent Africa through television programs, magazines, newspapers and journals. They tend to cover wars and disasters in the Middle East, and wherever because bad news attracts a lot of attention.That's the same reason why they tend to show more of the bad side of Africa. Nor is the West unaware of the work of certain African musicians and film makers - indeed, it has been influenced by them. Their grievances have come to form part of a now familiar litany. In pursuit of the NWIO idea, endless international conferences were held, declarations passed and ritual attacks made on ' western media dominance'. Okigho: 'National Images in the Age of the Information Super Highway. … The paper begins with a brief review of the rise and the fall of the NWICO debate. Even if we generously assume that 20% of the news is focused on international events (it rarely ris… ), Egypt, Liberia, Somalia, Sudan and South Africa - together with stories of alleged financial irregularities in the World Health Organisation in Africa. The selection criterion used by the western media when choosing what stories to cover about Africa is based on their commercial, political and sociocultural interests. But a vigorous local and national media, Africa-wide, would be good for Africa and the best barrier for resisting outside media influences. This chapter discusses the neglect and/or negative portrayal of Africa by Western media, Africa's contribution to its negative coverage and possible corrective measures, arguing that the immensity of Africa's problems and its potential to affect the Western world politically and economically can no longer be minimised. Click here to navigate to parent product. It takes little effort to find an article in current affairs about the poverty, conflict, corruption, and disorder that exists on the continent. To begin with, there is no doubt that African critics have a case. The first is to do with western 'news values' or rather a failure to appreciate how they work - whether in relation to Africa or anywhere else. First and most obvious, is the undeniable brute fact that global news and information flows are dominated by a small number of multinational operators, nearly all of whom - especially since the end of the Cold War - are western owned and controlled. In the first place, not all news out of Africa fits into the syndrome the critics complain about. The presentation of African news by Western media convinces the audiences in United States, Europe and other parts of the world that the entire continent of Africa is hopeless, poverty and … 9,1995. To try and give PANA a new lease of life, UNESCO are backing a rescue package, which would allow for private investors to be shareholders along with state-owned African national news agencies. By Ezekiel Makunike . For instance, on one day during the study period, the former was offering ten picture feeds; only one was from Africa (on the C.A.R.) Most African countries, with weak and undercapitalised information infrastructures were never in a position to take on the market leaders in the global news business. The NWIO project has chased even more impossible dreams. These realities help explain why some of the maligned western media are turned to by those Africans who want something more than state propaganda from their newspapers or broadcasters. Several African countries have been left in crisis after military interventions and biased reporting by the western media, which cements stereotypes that Africa has a leadership crisis and the continent incapable of producing outstanding leaders. By Michael Janis. Robust national communication structures in Africa will not, of course, alter the balance of global media power. Much of the media in Africa - especially the broadcast media - remains under state control. Is Africa becoming once again a dark continent; one largely excluded from the glare of western media coverage? They are just showing what they think will engage their users. The major clients for their output are western news organizations. Claims are made that the reporting of Africa is now almost entirely in terms of what has been called a'coup, crisis and famine syndrome', and that the western media focus only on 'bad news' out of Africa and ignore the 'positive' achievements of many African countries. ), Hugh Grant arriving by boat at the Cannes Film Festival, footage of the Monaco Grand Prix and a 'fun run' in Sarajevo (whether or not pictures are available, the idea of a 'fun-run' in Bosnia still seems a difficult concept to grasp) But what these studies show is not the whole picture about Africa which circulates in the West. And it will be a long time before most Africans becomes travellers on the 'information superhighway', since this, in essence, is an extension of existing computer and telephonic communications, which the continent lacks. Any attempt fundamentally to change the global news order was always going to be beyond countries with severe national communication 'deficits'. When one is asked to think of Western images that come to mind when thinking of Africa, the overall mental images are of primeval irrationality, tribal anarchy, hunger/famine, civil war, managerial ineptitude, political instability, flagrant corruption and incompetent leadership. Similarly, there is plenty of reporting of Africa's sporting successes (such as South Africa's Rugby World Cup triumph). The dominant image of Africa in the colonial discourses of Western explorers has been persistently negative, stereotypical, and demeaning. They will be able to do little to stop the international news agencies reporting Africa in the way they have done in the past. Pages 30. eBook ISBN 9780203942284. Although how Western media represents Africa has received a lot of academic and media coverage over the years, what is remarkable is that the issue stills persists even today. Citation: Michira J. UoN Websites Search. Africa’s Media Image in the 21st Century is the first book in over twenty years to examine the international media’s coverage of sub-Saharan Africa. In the same vein, a 1991 World Bank report not only pointed to the increasing 'communications gap' between Africa and the developed world, but went on to suggest that most of the continent offered poor prospects for those wanting to invest in telecommunications projects. Finally there are those Africans who are concerned about 'western cultural imperialism' undermining traditional African values and culture. The main source of information PANA traded in was material from the domestic news agencies of OAU member states. Much criticism has been levelled at western media for negative coverage of Africa. The media and “humanitarian” agencies do an incredible job of misrepresenting the birth of civilization and projecting it as a down-trodden place of mishaps and has-beens. In this, the EU can play a leading role, working through the links established under the Lomé Convention. On a Polish TV station last weekend, I was asked to comment on a documentary depicting life in the slums of Katanga, Uganda, aired in the context of what was described as a "demographic ticking bomb" facing the east African nation. Reports from the C.A.R. R. Malik and K. Anderson: 'TV: The Global New Agenda Survey', intermedia, January-February 1992. Introducing the findings of a 'Global News Agenda Survey', Malik and Anderson noted: 'For the rest of the world, Africa means coupe, and largescale killings (covered usually only in the first few days), almost ritualistic famine relief... and the occasional travelogues in the guise of saving something or other'. Even in instances when authors have no intention to malign the continent, some of the pictures used in some of the western books, cover images, and titles show Africa as a lost cause. Yet there is a particular image of Africa in the Western mind. non-governmental agencies as well as other institutions . They portray a no there there: no culture, no history, no tradition, and no people, an abyss and negative void. And even if 'positive' coverage is sometimes hard to find, the critics may still be missing some key points. But its most important area of domination was the mental universe of the colonised, the control, through culture, of how people perceived them-selves and their relationship to … Third, the attempts made by the African states to try and take on western dominance of global news and information flows, have been misjudged. For example, a great deal of the coverage of South Africa has been 'positive' (if we trace the reporting of that country's transition to majority rule). The US-China war over control of Africa’s resources actively makes its coverage of China in Africa a major role. Much of western media coverage surrounding Africa tends to focus on negative attributes or problems. negative images of Africa in Western media is the . Uchanganuzi wa Toni Katika Ushairi wa Kithaka wa Mberia. by Geoff Mungham. Lara Logan was criticized for her 60 Minutes story on the brave medical workers fighting the Ebola virus in … The continent has recently been described as one of the 'least dynamic regions in the global economy, where buying power of consumers is low' and in which many countries are burdened with crippling debt payments. Too many African journalists have been, and are being, harassed, imprisoned or killed by their own governments. Profiles Home | Frequently Asked Questions | UON Home | ICTC Website, University of Nairobi A world-class university committed to scholarly excellence, Uchanganuzi wa Toni Katika Ushairi wa Kithaka wa Mberia, African hip hop as a rhizomic art form articulating urban youth identity and resistance with reference to Kenyan genge and Ghanaian hiplife, Uchanganuzi wa Tafsiri za Kiwavuti katika Ujifunzaji wa Kiswahili kama Lugha ya Kigeni: Mfano wa Google Translate, A Stylistic Analysis of John Habwe’s Pendo la Karaha, Narrative Techniques in the Swahili Novel. the entire realm of the language of real life . They have been accused by some of ignorance and racism. Their grievances have come to form part of a now familiar litany. Why Africa is NeglectedThe neglect and/or negative portrayal of Africa by the western media is both methodical and deliberate (EBO, 1920). The parading of malnourished and naked African children in front of cameras and images of lions and gorillas in the jungle, have dominated most Western media news outlets over the past two decades. As Hans Dieter Klee (former Head of the Africa Service of Deutsche Welle) has rightly argued, what Africa urgently needs is large-scale international media aid to help strengthen its own media. Academic analysis, videos, and other writings about Africa is also to blame for this negative image. The staple diet of much of the global news flow is about 'bad news' and, in this respect, Africa prob ably fares no worse or better than other parts of the developing world. In many cases, this criticism is … As he puts it, '...a newspaper reader in Botswana, for example, is not much interested in reading detailed reports from Morocco.'. This article originally appeared in Issue# 61. It brings together leading researchers and prominent journalists to explore representation of the continent, and the production of that image, especially by international news media. Nonetheless, most western media tells a different kind of story about Africa depicting it as a dark continent. Are some of the correctives suggested by different African leaders worse than the problems they are complaining about? Puri (a Tanzanian journalist and Managing Editor of Newslink Africa) presents other reasons why African editors are interested in what's happening in the West. An Illustrative Analysis, Language, Resistance and Subversive Identities in Matatu Sub-culture. Because these enterprises are subscription-based there will be a clear bias in take-up towards upperincome groups; and - certainly in the case of Multi-Choice - the output will have a 'strong UK/USA programming flavour'. Many people in the West have never been to Africa, and they will never go there. These criticisms go hand-in-hand with accusations that Africa cannot ' tell its own story, in its own way', because the global news market is dominated by powerful, westerr-owned corporations, who have their own agenda for reporting Africa.
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