Nov. 19, 2009  Media journal for next week: citizen journalism— choose a blog or other form of citizen journalism from your country and discuss the differences between this form and traditional journalism  Press freedom in Iraq—better or worse? Press freedom in Iraq—better or worse?  Lauren—news of the day  Laurel Kline—midterm presentation  Africa discussion and lecture

Nov. 23, 2009  Return midterms and comments on media journals  Read Chapter 7 in International News Reporting  “Mumbai” by Suketa Mehta  Lecture on last year’s bombings in Bombay and how citizen journalism—Twitter, text messaging, cellphone photos—changed the way we covered the bombings.  News of the day?

Africa and Press Freedom Where access to information can mean life or death.

International News Reporting  Chapter 14  Alert Net from Reuters Alert Net from Reuters  Can you think of a natural disaster that was coming for years—in the U.S.—but for which we were unprepared?  Can journalists be too dependent on aid organizations or sources for their stories i.e. Tom Clynes’ work on the eco- mercenaries?  Embedding with non-governmental organizations? Just as problematic as embedding with the military?  We go when Mia Farrow or Angelina Jolie make stops in Darfur?  Do we tell too many horror stories? Do we tell too many horror stories?  Whose story really matters?

Forced Busing  Apartheid’s long tail Apartheid’s long tail  What are the compelling images Lelyveld “paints” for us in “Forced Busing?”  Why is important for a white American to write about South Africa—when as he writes “how could he know what it is like to be a black” living in South Africa?

Colonialism to war lords, democracy, anarchy….

African countries

From more free than the U.S. to …  Namibia—more free  Ghana—more free  Somalia—less free  Democratic Republic of Congo—less free What are the consequences of such a range of freedoms? How could one country affect another? Kenya— more free—shares a border with Somalia—very restrictive?

External issues facing African media  Lack of interest from the world— despite a combined population of almost 1 billion with natural resources of gold, oil, diamonds, etc.  War, poverty, disease tend to take the headlines  Focus shifts quickly when a new war, famine, disease spreads  One bureau—often located in Johannesburg, South Africa is the only outpost of Western media in Africa  Coverage is too often “superficial and cliched” in the words of Laura Pawson, who worked as the BBC’s Angola correspondent in the 1990s.

Internal issues facing Africa’s press  Each country has a different set of laws governing the media—ranging from South Africa with its Western-style media to Zimbabwe where broadcasters are state- controlled and reporters are jailed and harassed.  Use of “hate media” has forced discussion of how much control a government should have over media. In Rwanda, journalists have been found guilty of inciting violence during the 1994 genocide.  While most countries have enshrined press freedom as a right in their constitutions—as well as signing on to the UN Charter—how press freedom is practiced is driven by social, cultural, and historical imperatives  Lack of funding for the press is a major issue with only a few countries such as Kenya and South Africa having a middle class that will support an advertising-based model of the press

Kenya—Moving toward a more democratic press

Kenyan press freedom…or?  President Mwai Kibaki refuses to sign media legislation that included a requirement for journalists to name their sources  Onerous media legislation has been voted against…  Kibaki appears to support a more open media system with few controls by gov’t.  One man’s story of life in Kenya One man’s story of life in Kenya  But following his Kibaki’s election there was a media blackout ostensibly to keep election violence from getting out of control—but news got out through SMS messages  Jail sentences and fines still remain for defamation  The government told public sector groups not to advertise in the papers of the Standard Group. This followed stories that a government minister had had discussion with Armenian crime syndicates to have the former president’s son murdered.  Politics and media are intertwined.

Somalia—from international news story to deadliest place for journalists outside Iraq

Somalia—press battleground  Seven journalists killed in 2008, second only to Iraq  Journalists die in crossfire covering the fighting, but also are targeted specifically by the various factions  60 journalists arrested, many with no formal charges  Often are subject of attacks after reporting on human rights abuses on both sides of the conflict

Somalia—can anarchy uphold press freedom?  No effective government sinc 1991—ruled by transitional government backed by Ethiopia—but the capital and country often raided by Islamic militants and various militias  Declaration of martial law has caused the shutdown of numerous television and radio stations  Journalists often caught in the crossfire between militant groups. Also have been kidnapped and held for ransom  Stations were allowed to start broadcasting again…if they would “protect national security interests and to cooperate with the government.”  Al-Jazeera has been targeted, told to shut down not long after it had requested a debate between a person who was against Ethiopia’s intervention and the chairman of the ousted Islamic group that had held sway in Mogadishu.  The impact of Somalia in America The impact of Somalia in America

Somalia—and by extension all of Africa— is the place that desperately needs an independent press  The competing interests in the region make it difficult to make sense of—who is right, who is wrong?  Access to independent, neutral information could help Somalis determine what government would be good for them.  Access to information can help get drugs, food, and clean water to people  But in 2007, RSF painted a dismal picture of Africa. Even countries that had been models of press freedom have backed away from support of an independent media.  The idea of an independent media as benefit may be slipping away as leaders see advantage in controlling the press.

Sources  International Press Institute country=/KW0001/KW0006/ country=/KW0001/KW0006/  Committee to Protect Journalists press-2007-somalia.php press-2007-somalia.php

Discussion  What drew you to this story?  Why do you think it was covered by the press?  Does it change your view of Africa?

The final question Is access to information a basic human right? (particularly in a region where information can keep you safe and keep you alive)