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Sent: Monday, February 28, 2005 9:03 PM I think NYT times needs a pat in the back for doing some advocacy journalism for Africa. That is surely great work. My comments below in no way belittles the effort by NYT. The problem of Africa in Western Press is not that the Western press does not report enough of the calamities that befall the continent. It is that it hardly report on the "good news" from the continent. All the "bad news" from the continent have already been given prime time news headlines. Now it will be naive to think that by giving prominence to "bad news" from Africa, the continent will receive aid of tsunamic proportion. Who in the West does not already know of the African problems. If we have to do advocacy journalism for Africa, we should focus of the "good news." When democratic developments are taking place, we need the cameras to focus on Africa. Elections are not held only in Eastern Europe. In the past decade several African countries have made giant strides in democratic development. The world is not told about them. So when disaster strikes and it receives headlines, the world gets to have the impression that we are incapable of nothing save killing ourselves. Thus the "bad news" hardly generate sympathy of tsunamic proportions. The issue of "good news" vs. "bad news" from Africa in the west become topical in the 1970s and 1980s discussions in International Communications. The bad press we get as a continent has purchased for us what marketing professional call "very low brand name equity." Africa is therefore not seen as a place for investment. The name Africa invokes failure in the public imaginary in the West. There is more poverty in Asia than in Africa, but ask anyone in European or north American capitals and they will say Africa has more. The reason why they opened their wallets and heart to Asia is not simply because of the press coverage. Let us wake up from this simplistic view. International news has a logic. There is no conspiracy (but I still appreciate NYT effort). When events happen, their ability to make it to the headline news depends on 1. how they affect "elite" countries You know how many first world citizens perished in the tsunami. Take Canada. Last year when natural disaster struck Haiti, Canada refused to activate its military DART team to go to its aid, citing the heavy cost involved. Paul Martin did not think twice before activating the DART team to leave for Asia when the tsunami hit. When the aid was pouring in for Asia, Toronto Star carried a cartoon that showed aid trucks rushing to Asia and passing needy Africa by. That captured the spirit of what I am trying to say. Now I am not denying that the proportion of the disaster helped. Hmmm, why didn't they open their hearts and wallets when Rwanda and Burundi happened. Then sat in New York debating whether to go or to come. It is not a conspiracy, I repeat. There is a better explanation. But I have to go now. Amin Alhassan (Ph.D.) Assist Professor of Communication York University Toronto --- "Colleen A. Vasconcellos" <colleen@MAIL.H-NET.MSU.EDU> wrote: > From: Brian Coyle > [mailto:bricoyle@nature.berkeley.edu] > Sent: Monday, February 28, 2005 6:32 PM > > It appears this discussion may go around in circles. > The NY Times' made news > with the headline 10,000 Africans die every day. The > article was inevitably > trite. The headline was itself the story, by showing > what a daily newspaper > would look like if Africa's pain got the attention > it deserves. If papers > had this headline everyday, each day they could run > a different analysis or > anecdotal portrait. While these analysis would be a > significant step - and > probably cause heated reactions from Africanists - > the most important result > would be an awareness that only emerges on the > public's radar from redundant > exposure. Thus it is the meta-message that is most > significant. > > I hope that those who have deep concern for African > issues will rise to the > challenge and push news media to create a daily > headline like the Times ran. > Wouldn't it be something if next to the paper's > table of contents there ran > a daily chart enumerating the day's deaths, by > region and reason. Perhaps, > to make the numbers comprehensible, they could use > symbols: say, one > jumbojet for every 300 deaths. Or perhaps the 4,000 > who died from malaria or > AIDS could have their own symbols. Because it's > these details - the symbols > that people get used to - that slowly etch their way > into ordinary > discourse. > > Brian Coyle > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Read only the mail you want - Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
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