Ben Affleck makes the DRC cool again

The New York Times, in its infinite wisdom (it comes with being The New York Times), decided that one of the paper’s reporters, one Brooks Barnes, should write what amounts…..

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10 mins read

March 12, 2013

The Western Journalist in Africa

In 1982, as the air force-led coup attempt in Kenya unfolded, we sat glued to our transistor radio listening to the BBC and Voice of America (VOA). In fact, the…..

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4 mins read

March 2, 2013

So, has the media gotten anything right reporting the Pistorius murder case?

We’ve blogged here about what’s been wrong about the coverage of the murder of the relatively unknown model Reeva Steenkamp by her boyfriend, Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius. A ratings bonanza,…..

1726

7 mins read

January 24, 2013

Would Susan Rice have been a good choice for US Secretary of State?

Remember Susan Rice, the U.S. Secretary of State who wasn’t? It might seem old news now, as Senator John Kerry sits in front of his colleagues seeking their constitutionally-mandated “consent”…..

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10 mins read

December 31, 2012

2012’s SMH (also known as “Africa is a Country”) Moments

There are times we shake our heads or roll our eyes. When we could not invent some of the things that we spot in the media. For some reason especially…..

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2 mins read

December 3, 2012

Gaborone is not a bore

Typing in ‘Gaborone’ in the New York Times search engine and taking a look at the first 21 articles makes for some curious maths. Of these first 21 pieces, 5…..

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2 mins read

September 17, 2012

The world’s media watched (sort of) as Angola votes

The three most interesting things about the recent Angolan elections were: one, that we knew the result before election (the question was by how much). Two, why did the Angolan…..

1515

3 mins read

July 20, 2012

Lesotho gets the Kristof Treatment

Earlier this month, on his latest escapade to the African continent, the illustrious New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof paid a visit to the Kingdom of Lesotho. The occasion was…..

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5 mins read

June 25, 2012

African Asylum Seekers in Israel

Guest Post by Anonymous* If you follow current headlines, you may have noticed a seemingly new conflict arising in the Middle East. Recent migratory trends in Israel have led to…..

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6 mins read

June 13, 2012

The New York Times goes to Zimbabwe*

Lydia Polgreen’s recent New York Times article “In Land’s Bounty, a Political Chip,” while a good introduction to one side of the indigenisation policies of ZANU-PF, is far too nice…..