Media Flaws

The Centre for Conflict Resolution recently hosted a public dialogue themed Afro-pessimism or Afro-realism? Western Reporting of Africa. Chaired by City Press editor, Ferial Haffajee. One by one each speaker (Alex Duval Smith, Toby Selander and Mark Paterson) rose to reiterate what each preceding speaker had said: The media is not Afro-pessimist it is Afro-realist, media applies same standards worldwide, speaks to stereotypes and stories are commercial products, etcetera, etcetera.

I wasn’t there. I listened to audio files of dialogue here.

But let me go back and run with what the chair, Haffajee, said in her opening remarks whereby in which she narrated her interaction with African media scholars who have left her with the impression that “…somehow African journalism was meant to be a little less robust, a little more patriotic, a little more respectful, it was more able to explain and justify corruption perhaps, as a cultural norm…” all of which to her is absolute “bunkum” - journalism is just that, journalism. Right. It seems African media scholars have a lot of mist to write through then.

What Haffejee et al fail to understand is that in speaking of an African media one does not necessarily invoke African patriotism and less robustness. It doesn’t mean underreport corruption and poor leadership. To speak of an African media is to speak of a media that carries African interests at heart.

What are these African interests?

That, I am afraid, is a lazy question solely intended to trivialize. But to pander to such pedantry anyway: African interests, to my mind, are interests of the majority of this country or whichever African country journalists work in. It is not the interests of a select few with buying power. Yes, there are diverse interests which can be accommodated through niche media – community media, native language media and even tabloids. "It is not the mainstream media’s burden..." some would say. To say such would be naiveté at its best. It is through this mainstream media that national discourse is shaped. National discourse is not shaped by tabloids or some community radio station in eMqanduli. What sets tongues wagging is not some community newspaper in the Northern Province. What sets national discourse and how people experience one another in this country is mainstream media. And for as long as presumed market demands, often leaning towards minority interests, drive media content, I'm afraid we'll be stuck with the Malema-this-Malema-that bunkum we read for a very long time – bunkum that simply pushes an image of blacks as corrupt, inefficient & criminal way too hard thus eroding our national psyche.

What our media lacks, which African media can offer, is a developmental aspect. We need a media that is grounded in conscience and context. Journalism cannot be just journalism under a single set of universality. Journalism must and can be malleable; journalism cannot be driven by traditionalists who cannot see beyond their own sets of ideology. To be so rigid in one form of ideology means you at no stage are open to reality.

Such is dangerous.
Such is damaging.
Such is self serving.
Such is narrow-mindedness.

So how do we head towards an African journalism? One thing’s for sure it will not be done by the current lot of black journalists in newsrooms. They are probably too far gone by now. Although in interacting with some there’s a glimmer of hope. My visits to newsrooms and other centres of media production have at times made me question the camaraderie therein that inevitably gives rise to unified visions of what the end product should be. You’ll find that black journalists have been swallowed into these shared senses of what news are and how to write for the small gallery. They essentially become constrained by dominant professional norms. These norms become the norm in their construction and navigation throughout their journalism careers. If they go against this or pursue angles that are somewhat counternorm they then have to explain themselves, defend even, or at the worst settle for a thoroughly edited version.

In using black journalists as an example I by no way infer that to be African is to be black, but I am now extending myself to the reality that the majority of this country and many African countries are black. Claptraps of “we are all the same and have same interests” are simply unfounded in this regard.

Such is self serving.
Such is narrow-mindedness.

We need to think beyond the ambit of our own toes when in Africa. What is the reality of the majority? What are stories of interest to them? What would be the best ways to convey these stories to them in mainstream media? And thereafter, how do you make them consume such? What are their patterns of media consumption? To what extent do cultural norms play a role in the manner in which they receive media? Simply put, why are the interests and particular styles of African narrative being disavowed?

Again one will ask: what are these African interests? Africa is not a country, no? What are these African forms of narrative? The answer to these is that: If you were truly African in your grounding (and interests) you would know the answers to these. You would know what an African identity is and its value systems. You wouldn't run to say “but there are so many” – instead of excuses you'd look to find common threads of commonality amongst Africans. Try establish this. You’ll be amazed how much the majorities share in common, regardless of language differences. It should be the majority's discourse that sets national interest, not the minority's. No?

Having reached an understanding of what African media might be, the next question would be:
 
But will it sell?

That there are commercial pressures on media producers is a known, but to be driven by such to depths that tear societies apart is also unacceptable. The British events around News of The World have shown the extreme end of such market pressures. The ideals and/or ways of media are grounded on similar pursuits as those of News of the World staff. That they hacked phones is neither here nor there – but a simple illustration of the dearth of humanity when tasked with market pressures. Moral pressures subside. I will not dwell much on News of the World as there are many Western media dissidents who’ve already caught on and ridden this wave.

To understand why the media needs to change one need only look at its historical origins and match those with present as well as the media’s expanding seat in higher education. It is by no coincidence that journalism / media studies are now taught at centres for higher education. It has changed.

What I will conclude with however is that media strategies need to be evaluated, sources of revenue and what constitutes media narrative need to be assessed via context and effect. We cannot be held at ransom via one set of ideals. The media in Africa must change. It begins with a conscience. It begins with the current lot of media owners being accountable to a reality of difference and fully understanding that the media exerts more power in society than we can have ever imagined. People know through the media. People talk, think and do according to the media whether they like it or not. That, I am afraid is a very powerful tool. A tool that can no longer be left in the hands of people who tripped over it as some form of vocational activity – much like gardening. It cannot be left in the hands of under-educated, yet experienced and passionate scribes. No. What we are dealing with here is something far bigger than governments. We are dealing with core ideology merchants.

How do we change that?

How do we get journalists operating in Africa to fully understand the severity of their ink and pixels? Does the media actually know how much hatred it sows? How many stereotypes it affirms? And exactly what type of discourse it creates beyond the confines of their bustling newsrooms, in Africa? No. I am afraid by the time people point to media as source of rot, it will be too late. The least we can do is change the way Africa does it.

Please note: This is a work in progress.