Out Of Control Usa Analysis

“Out of Control”

Africa has come a long way from when it was assumed to be a continent that housed dangerous diseases and even more dangerous hooligans that wreak havoc. Africa’s media image has gradually progressed from being the ‘dark continent’ to that of a ‘rising’ Africa. The reporting of death, rape and war was replaced with stories of hope, investments and reaching economies. The rising of Africa was seen as a victory over Afro-pessimism, which is where rather than celebrating blackness as a cultural identity, it shames it. The new positive narrative also came with criticism. Critics stated that it perpetuated a neo-colonial framing of Africa, insisting that Africa is a site for resource removal and international dominance. This was

Wainaina wrote his piece in a heavily sarcastic tone, but it seems as if it was taken in the literal sense by some Western journalists and writers, as they continued to describe Africa in a pessimistic manner. The arrival of the Ebola virus only fuelled the return of the negative tone and the stereotypes that Africa thought it had shed. Stereotypes tend to prevent us from seeing things in a broader, deeper, and richer context. The power of media and the central role of language results in the perpetuation of stereotypes, norms and values. This can be dangerous, as seen in the case of Africa, as it can encourage oppression by those in power. The way news agencies frame their reporting and use agenda-setting, shapes assumptions and guide us to the decisions we ultimately make. The article I chose was published online by The Washington Post, and written by Lena Sun, Brady Dennis, Lenny Bernstein, and Joel Achenbach. It is titled “Out of Control”, and has the image of poor, lonely, african child reflecting off the screen. Just the image and the title alone, give off the impression that this could have been a story published 10 years ago, where afro-pessimism was

This article was written and composed by several notable journalists: Lena Sun; Brady Dennis; Lenny Bernstein; and Joel Achenbach. Noticeably missing are the persons of colour or from African descent amongst the authors. Indicating from the start that there would be an unavoidably high chance of Western perspective. This echoes the media ownership in the reign of afro-pessimism, where little to no local input was found in the reporting of Africa (Bunce, Franks and Paterson, 2016). Today, vast majority of news outlets depend on the three main international newswires (AFP, AP, and Reuters) to receive their foreign updates from, as they don't necessarily have many foreign correspondents on the ground. The mix of local and international reporters on the ground improve credibility and balance in the newsroom. The expansion of major international media organisations, like Doha-based Al Jazeera and China’s Xinhua, give different views on African stories. Al Jazeera’s main objective is to give a “voice to the voiceless”(Figenschou, 2010). Besides the diversification in the newsroom, the development of technology and its accessibility in Africa has resulted in an increase in citizen journalism. Platforms like Twitter allow locals voices to be heard and recognised, so that the reporting is not one-sided. Breaking the stereotype that there is no technology in