MEDIA

Tuesday, February 4th, 2014

The day South African news media ate crow

South Africa’s official opposition the Democratic Alliance (DA) wasn’t the only one left exposed and scrambling to save face when Agang leader Mamphela Ramphele decided to withdraw from a proposed deal that would have seen her pack up her new, barely-opened-yet-already-flagging political enterprise to throw in her lot with and become the ‘presidential candidate’ of

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

Kenya: The monster under the house

At the end of my first term in high school, I watched a screening of Steven Spielberg’s Poltergeist, the tale of an ordinary family unknowingly living in a house built over a graveyard without the bother of...

Sunday, March 3rd, 2013

How (not) to report on Kenya’s elections

Kenyans vote today (in some places voting have already started). And somehow, as in any election in any African country, the cliches are not far behind. “Will Kenya fall into mayhem after the results of the general...

Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

When Nelson Mandela goes

Yesterday we tweeted my friend Herman Wasserman’s guide to the media on how to cover Nelson Mandela’s hospitalization (it’s good advice if you’re a journalist). This morning I asked Nathan Geffen, a South African media activist (and author) whether...

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

The Sartorialist goes to Johannesburg, and likes what he sees

Scott Schuman, better known for his blog The Sartorialist and as a street style photographer, took some heat after accepting an invitation to Fashion Week Africa in Johannesburg and being underwhelmed by what he saw. Instead he...

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

African media and gay rights

Though Western media used to be egregious with their gay stereotypes, they’ve gotten better over time. Though there are slippages. Here‘s an example. Anyway, gross stereotypes about gay people are generally not acceptable on the airwaves, on...