The African continent is diversely rich land with dynamic stories beneath its surface, stories beyond that of Afropessimism—the turmoil and hopelessness often displayed in today’s media. I recently re-read Charlayne Hunter-Gault's New News Out of Africa and was as inspired as the first time around. In her book she lays out the role that journalists play in sharing the new and hopeful news of Africa. In the first section of her book she recounts her award-winning coverage of South Africa. The second part of New News out of Africa tells a story that’s often overlooked by the foreign media. Hunter-Gault uncovers a renaissance movement that is sweeping across Africa, the new and hopeful news. For decades now, Africa has been portrayed to the rest of the world in the context of the four D’s—death, disease, disaster and despair—which has created an overwhelming “Afropessimistic” attitude towards the continent. But rising up from the ashes of famine, genocide, poverty and dictatorship is a new generation of African leaders. This continent stands in the shadows, anxiously waiting for the world to see its potential. And it’s up to the journalists to paint hope into picture the world sees.
In her last section, she discusses the role of the media in this new renaissance. “If there is to be an African renaissance, we, the media, remain a vital part of it,” Namibian editor Gwen Lister said. In the last decade, independent media voices have increased and strengthened, and they are paving the way for new news. Hunter-Gault writes, “the emergence of the African journalist also holds out the promise of influencing the perspective of international journalist, who all too often continue to feed the world distorted pictures of the continent.” She notes that many international journalists perpetuate the four D’s—death, disease, disaster and despair—in their coverage of the continent. Often editors only want the “bleeding” stories, or journalists’ coverage of an issue is shallow because they only “parachute” in long enough to gather some sound bites and facts to report back.
Hunter-Gault calls the foreign media to be vigilant in their coverage of Africa. When democracies fail and the freedom of the press is restricted within a country, the responsibility falls on “journalists outside the country both to make contact with the beleaguered journalists inside and to keep the country’s story alive in their media.” But again, there is new news here. The African media is progressing, and finding a new independence. They, like government leaders, are taking ownership. “African journalists are now being seen as the first line of defense when it comes to making sure there are checks and balances on their individual governments,” CNN Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange said.
As Hunter-Gault ends her book, she asserts that African journalists will best tell the new news out of Africa. We need to encourage Africans to tell their stories, the stories they live, the stories that will “give rise to a new generation of Africans and also to a new generation of the world’s people who will understand the continent in a way that will them to embrace is as the mother of us all.”
