‘I found myself sent there on a three-day mission to investigate a startling story: That sub-Saharan Africa is not just a region of starving children and warring dictators.
The assignment was at the behest of guest editor Mo Ibrahim who strongly feels that the Western media portrays Africa in a monotonously negative light. Could that really be true?
“Now I don’t want to paint a ludicrously one-dimensionally optimistic view of the country. It is no paradise….We wouldn’t want reporters to act as cheer leaders for a continent and we don’t want them to always be seeing glasses as half full. That would perhaps stop us trying fill them to the top.
But if we only ever see half empty glasses, that can be demotivating too. It can nurture a dull fatalism that assumes doing anything is a waste of effort.’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9668000/9668347.stm
Perhaps on the flight back he could have stopped off in Israel and found out if the Israelis are really all warmongering terrorists stealing Arab land? Shame to have them painted in a relentlessly negative light.
David, from what you have reproduced above, it leads me to conclude that Mr Davis can’t escape from his role as propagandist. Surely, it’s not the job of a jounalist (if that is what he is supposed to be) to change things, it is to accurately report on situations and events; to present the facts, primarily, rather than opinions. Mr Davis, appears to think it is his job to manipulate facts to fit into a preconceived narrative.
A little more reporting, and a little less knee jerking based on the ‘strong feelings’ of editors like Mo might help arrest the BBC’s plunge from respected journalism to blatant, derided propagandist advocacy, but I suspect it’s a bit late for theat.
If you want to find out about what is going on in the world the very last place to look is the BBC. All the BBC will tell you about is what is happening in the mind of middle class public school educated Leftists.
That the poor hard up bbc (5 billion http://www.tvlicenceresistance.info/the-bbcs-income-is-around-5-billion-not-3-6-like-they-wish-people-to-believe/) can afford to send reporters to Africa to examine the veracity of Mo Ibrahims (billionaire) assertion that 50 out of 54 african countries are doing ok has convinced me to cancel my £2 a week to Oxfam. They obviously dont need my help!!!
If you really want to help Africa your first move should be to stop giving anything to Oxfam. All the Charidee sector does is put off the day Africa sorts out its own problems. Its like giving money to a drug addict. It just delays them getting off drugs and getting back their life. Oxfam like many so-called charities is evil dressed as good.
I hope he didn’t pick up anything nasty there…