| The people who run newspapers and television stations are a peculiar bunch with a peculiar job: they arbitrarily decide what is important and what is not important for people to know. Unfortunately, they often decide badly. As the late journalist G.K. Chesterton insightfully pointed out: "Journalism is popular, but it is popular mainly as fiction. Life is one world, and life seen in the newspapers is another."
This is true both in our city and outside it, especially when it comes to human suffering. Recently, the media has been obsessed with Asian nations affected by the tsunamis, while other nations suffering from more devastating crises like AIDS have been all but ignored.
Here at home, something similar is often passed over: the large numbers of Calgarians who are visibly concerned about AIDS in Africa. Many of them were present when Stephen Lewis spoke at Mount Royal College in April 2004. Lewis, the United Nations’ AIDS envoy and one of the great orators of our time, believes that the death of more than 6,000 Africans per day (that’s 2.3 million people, or more than double the population of Calgary, per year) constitutes an emergency that demands a response from the rest of the world, including Canada.
The small theatre at Mount Royal was packed to capacity for Lewis’s talk, and latecomers were led into another room to watch him on a television screen. The audience was captivated by Lewis’s eloquent and poignant stories of devastation and hope, tears and laughter. And while he chided western governments for their relative indifference to the crisis, he praised the citizens of Canada for their generosity and compassion.
Again, in December, Calgarians showed their concern and interest. Globe & Mail reporter Stephanie Nolen was in town on World AIDS Day to talk about what she’s seen while reporting on AIDS in Africa, and the lecture was full (this time at the University of Calgary’s Red & White Club). A surprisingly cheery and optimistic Nolen shared her experiences with the eager audience, and when she opened the floor to questions, many came forward to ask variations of the following: What can I do? How can I help?
Doomsday prophets might say that no one cares about the AIDS crisis, but that’s not really true. People in our city care – no one goes to hear someone talk about something that they find uninteresting or unimportant.
It’s strange, then, that Africa is still obscenely absent from our newspapers and newscasts. We hear about the continent only occasionally, such as when world leaders meet to discuss the continent, like they did at the recent World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, or when violence flares up somewhere where westerners are in danger. But the 6,000 human beings that die every day in sub-Saharan Africa consistently fall into the unfortunate category of "not news."
When CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge was in Calgary several days after Nolen, one topic was raised repeatedly at a public question-and-answer session: AIDS in Africa. One person asked why the CBC doesn’t have a reporter in Africa, and another wanted to know why Africa is never on the news. Mansbridge answered by explaining the logistical challenges. Mainly, he said, it’s too expensive. Media organizations like the CBC are strapped for cash, and are supposedly not at liberty to send even one correspondent to a place where more people die each day than in the terrorist attacks of 9-11. They would need to buy vehicles, broadcast equipment and so on. There are too many challenges.
Strange, then, that the Asian tsunami disaster was like a magnet for reporters, and money was no issue. The international media descended on the area like bolts of lightning. Financial and logistical challenges were overcome. The tragedy achieved headline status for weeks. As a result, the world – both citizens and governments – opened their wallets and gave generously. The coverage has also had positive political impacts. There has been serious talk about debt relief for afflicted nations. There has been discussion about aid and prevention systems. This has rightly been deemed "news."
But what of Africa? Despite much talk about debt relief for African nations – a topic that surfaced once again at Davos – action is taking a painfully long time, and it's quiet business. Sure, Bono made Africa newsworthy for a day when he took out his iPod earbuds and talked about it at Davos, but typically, the media is mostly silent. Thankfully, there are some reporters like Stephanie Nolen who are committed to writing the "not news" pieces when the world’s media is obsessively preoccupied with one crisis. Nolen is one of only three – three! – western journalists assigned to report on the AIDS pandemic.
In a story she wrote in early January, Nolen reports that the staff of international aid agencies in Africa are "marvelling at the outpouring of money and offers of help for Asia, and wonder why other problems, particularly the AIDS pandemic, have failed to strike the same chord."
The generous giving of money for tsunami relief is, without question, a good thing. The media attention is also good, and has done more to prompt donations than any kind of advertising. Still, a big question lingers: why Asia and not others, particularly Africa?
That’s a question that many people are asking. At some point someone will have to give a real answer – right now, the excuses don’t hold up. People in Calgary and across Canada want to hear stories from Africa. Those stories should be told. |
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