Africa is besieged for generations with negative media coverage. In my country, Kenya, we have had two pivotal events bringing the work of the media into sharp attention. The first was the presidential elections of 2007. By the time the presidential results were announced, the nation was in disarray and people took weapons to hack one another.
Neighbors who had lived together for years suddenly became sworn enemies, killing each other mercilessly. Hundreds of thousands fled their homes to create what we call internally displaced persons and over 1000 people lost their lives in the mayhem. We cannot comprehensively aggregate the property lost, the lives shattered, the destruction that followed in the wake of those events.
The Media Criticized
Retrospectively, many observers of the events at the time say the media had a strong role to play in fuelling false expectations or in fuelling ethnic animosity. Indeed, it comes as no surprise that one of the indicted at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the post-election violence is a radio presenter of a radio station broadcasting in local lingua.
In the next election held earlier this year, 2013, the media was very careful about predictions, and preempting the results of the election. They largely kept silent and interestingly, they still came under heavy criticism for this silence.
In the same season, Kenyans on social media were very vocal stating that they had no tolerance for international journalists in the country. The general thread being foreign journalists, specifically those from Western countries come with negative eye goggles to report on African events.
The cry was against generally presenting an Africa of highly malnourished babies, and one of nothing except greed, genocide, bad governance, and wanton crimes against humanity. There resentment towards that type of journalism is growing with many feeling fatigued of being portrayed as a continent filled with rot and decay.
Can Africa Create Her Own Voice?
Obviously, Africa’s image has a greater challenge than just media and professional journalism. It is a well known fact that he who pays the piper calls or dictates the tune. There is nowhere this is more starkly clear than in media management in Africa.
A recent incident in Uganda brings this out very well. Government operatives protesting a story seen as anti the establishment raided a major media house. Obviously, there is more to this account than appears on the pages of the newspapers and TV screens.
In its most simplistic presentation, if we assume the owner of the media house is in media as a business meant to generate profit, the company can ill afford such raids. Subsequently the journalists will tend to turn a blind eye to malpractices. Following closely behind the silence of the media is gross acts of impunity. Thus the really untidy and unpleasant can only increase. A media house bent on profit also has little time for features and documentaries to paint a positive picture if such reporting will not pay the bills.
In its more complex form, Africa still depends a lot on the West for financial resources. If I was to write an account of my village town and go to all the successful women in business, youth in small-scale industry who are thriving at their level, is there any chance of ever getting funding to that village?
Which brings me to my question, what then is the role of media in Africa? To maintain the ugly picture for economic expediency, or to shine a torch on the negatives and keep us looking very bad to any observer? In either case the writer and the national economy stands to gain. Therefore, does the media have any place in changing the perception of wide-spread rot in Africa? Can they paint a new picture?
Topic: What is the Role of Media in Africa? (Read 2138 times)
