Discussion:
Avoiding problematic narratives in international reporting
The thing is, news is often—inherently—bad news. That just logically follows from the very definition of news.
So the question is: how do you report the news, but avoid falling into the trap of playing into these tired tropes/stereotypes of coverage?
How to Write About Africa as performed by Djimon Hounsou
.@60Minutes Tells us the Americans regard the Liberian support staff as heroes, but Lara Logan doesn't interview a single one.
— Howard French (@hofrench) November 10, 2014
How to Write About the Middle East
Dismantling Visual Cliches in the Palestinian Territories
When Anti-Cliché Photos Turn Out To Be Clichés
How to Report on Cuba Responsibly
Famine babies and crying war widows: unpicking the cliches of conflict photography
New Narratives: Africans Reporting Africa
Ruddy Roye’s commentary on IG photo of naked schoolboy
The problem with photojournalism and Africa
Deconstructing the Visual Cliches of War Photography
Look! I’m Just Like Lawrence of Arabia
Assignments:
For Monday, read the prologue of Guns, Germs and Steel and write a short blog post (about 300 words) about how the history of your chosen country fits into the historical patterns discussed, and reflecting on how this history may shape some of the common narratives you sometimes see about these countries in the press.
Final draft of story #1 due next Wednesday, 3/15
Pitches for story #2 also due next Wednesday, 3/15