Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By Austen Uwosomah
Africa is a continent that has been or I should say is still being plagued by
litany of economic and socio-political woes. This is evidently seen in the myriad
of the man made and natural problems that every now and then trigger off there. No
wonder why it has become veritable laboratory for western media journalists to
perfect systemic unhealthy journalism that portrays Africa as perpetually ugly,
bad and no good.
Salisu Koki writing on ohmynews.com, says “regrettably enough, the once valued and
highly regarded Western media have slipped a bit from its renowned tradition of
fair and balanced reporting, most especially when it comes to reporting issues
pertaining to Africa and Africans.” Reiterating, Raymond Belleh (2006) adds “the
western media continues to have a field day at Africa's expense, doing a great
disservice to Africa undermining its history, rich culture and tradition and
overall historical contribution to world affairs.”
Western media may not entirely be at fault for the gross discredit it makes on
Africa. Perhaps the audience back home is desirous of nothing short of lampoons
and sarcasms which they have from time immemorial become wont to. Assenting, Sis.
Margaret (2008) says: “Africa simply lives in their imaginations because the media
fathom their audiences and do very good job telling them what they want to hear,
see, or read… No one can blame them for selecting stories and images their people
like.”
Proffering sop to the way forward, Sis. Margaret enthuses that what the continent
needs is its own media to tell its own stories, carve its own image so the western
audience would have heard that the news reported on Africa via “binoculars view",
whatever the merits, only helps to reinforce the age-old stereotypes. And to begin
finding solutions, Africans need their own independent media, financially strong,
professionally managed, deciding contents and context, and capable of competing
with other media. Without this, Africa is interpreted by others who scarcely
understand it.
So when next time the so called “global Big brothers” sit at the conference table
to deliberate on how to find global remedies to Africa’s epidemic, endemic or
pandemic outbreaks, they should as well discus possibilities of helping to sustain
a continental media for it. So that Africa can use it to add the emended fairness
and objectivity that is void in the reportage western media makes on it. Unless
the powers that be in the global arena of where resolve on panacea to Africa
problems consider this continual surliness of western media reporting on Africa
part of the continent’s problems and make it point of global responsibility to
address it, then perhaps the continued stereotype reports on Africa by Occidental
journalists will not be thawed.
References
1. *Salisu Ahmed Koki (2006) Western Media and Africa: Balanced Reporting?
www.english/ohmynews.com
2. *Raymond Tarek Belleh (2006) The Western Media and Its Exploitation of
Africa www.africanevents.com
3. *Sis. Margaret (2008) Poverty in Africa: The solution
http://cozay1.blogspot.com