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

Colonialism to war lords, democracy, anarchy….

African countries

Africa in the news today  Somali pirates take Americans hostage Somali pirates take Americans hostage  Al-Quaeda pr in Africa oryId= oryId=  Who is Al-Amriki? mansoor-al-amriki-american-mujahid.html mansoor-al-amriki-american-mujahid.html

Lara Pawson: speech and book chapter  Close your eyes…  Does her study apply to “embedding” of journalists? How?  The hunt for a good story—even if it’s been a story for three years?  Are we too embedded in our own race? Why is Zimbabwe more important as a story than Niger in Pawson’s estimation?  How can a correspondent cover Africa and Iraq? Remember the dozens following Paris and Britney?  Why don’t we care about the complexity of Africa?

Lara Pawson continued  Is it “gobbets of news” that are the problem?  Or is it the “lazy public?”  Do you think media can effect “moral change” in an audience?  Why is a war in Iraq or Kosovo more important than a war in Angola or the Congo to the media or to the public?  What do you think of journalism—and the BBC (often considered the best in covering the world)—after reading Pawson’s chapter?

South Africa: “Forced Busing”  How did controlling the press benefit apartheid?  What impression do you have of apartheid after reading “Forced Busing?” What if you were a white South African reading this—would you support apartheid after this?  Does apartheid make sense when it is written about as Lelyveld writes about it?  Do you see any analogies in this country to how we don’t pay attention—therefore we don’t have to care?  Lelyveld does his best not to be “embedded.” How do can see this in his writing? Pg. 162?

Bono, Madonna, Angelina  “Real” Africa vs. “reality tv” Africa?  Why doesn’t the media relate the statistics that William Easterly relates in his piece “What Bono doesn’t say about Africa”?  How is the media being used by celebrities and non-profits?  How does this article relate to “information as a basic human right?”

Hate Media—Agree or Disagree?  Can media be a weapon of war?  Do you see any analogies to the kind of “hate speech” that came out after 9/11 from television and radio commentators?  What do you think of John Floyd’s statement: “a setback for freedom of speech.?”  Why is Rwanda different from the United States when it comes to hate speech or media?

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)

Next two weeks  On Wednesday, April 8, we will continue discussing Africa and press freedom in a lecture. I hope to leave time for blogging, but I'd also like to discuss the stories that you have chosen to blog on about Africa so you may need to blog outside the class time. This will be our final blog of the semester.  April 8, handout for requirements for the final essay. Final essay due in class April 20.  Please be prepared on Wednesday by reading Joseph Lelyveld's piece "Forced Busing" in the Granta Book of Reportage.  Next week, we turn our attention to the coverage of the Mumbai attacks and their significance in how technology is changing the way we cover events and affecting the free flow of information around the world--as part of a segue into the discussion on the final question: "Is access to information a basic human right?"