by Uche Nworah

Created on: December 22, 2006   Last Updated: February 26, 2009

Global Media Imbalance And Michael Peel's Africa

Global Media Imbalance

The developing world, Africa in particular has always argued against the imbalances and injustices in the coverage of their affairs by the western media. Such coverage is not only paternalistic but most times grossly unfair, and serves only to sustain the imperialistic interests of the developed world.

Such imbalanced, negative and biased reporting is bound to continue because of the concentration of global media networks and resources in the west. It is indeed sad that 26 years after the UNESCO sponsored McBride Commission and Report, the recommendations are yet to be fully implemented; the most significant of which is the suggestion for "the progressive implementation of national and international measures that will foster the setting up of a new world information and communication order".

If anything, the information divide between the developed and developing countries has widened even further especially in this digital age which is being driven by globalization and technology. Africa and the rest of the developing world have found themselves again lagging behind the west. However, a little goodwill and responsibility on the part of the western media is really needed at this time to prevent the continued psychological scares and damages, leading sometimes to feelings of inferiority complex on the part of the African as a result of continued sensationalisation and criminalisation of everything African.

Not all Africans are criminals, rapists and savages. Also, there are many good things about Africa. Not all Africans live in slums; neither do they all scavenge rubbish heaps for food. Africa has also produced intellectuals and academics that can stand their own in the western world. Agreed the continent still faces peculiar challenges but so does the rest of the developed world.
A situation where little efforts on the part of African governments and their people to take control of their destiny are either unreported, misreported, under-reported or acknowledged with cynicism by the western media is unacceptable, and does not indicate respect for the continent, neither does it reflect the ideals of partnership, a concept that Western leaders have been touting lately. But why do the western media still thrive on a culture of negative and biased reporting of Africa and her people? It could be as a result of the need to improve ratings, which can only be achieved by satisfying the mundane voyeuristic

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