How Western Media is Failing Ethiopia

Jeff Pearce
Aug 31, 2020 · 20 min read

If you want to know the history of modern journalism in Africa, it starts with “Doctor Livingstone, I presume?” A news article about one white guy going off to find another white guy, a missionary, in what today is Tanzania. In the newspaper account, the Africans were pretty much scenery.

The situation did not get better with time. The correspondents who showed up to cover Ethiopia’s confrontation with Italy in 1935 were disappointed when talks at the League of Nations dragged on and the shooting wouldn’t start. They were pissed off that there was no spectacle, so…

To keep reading this story, get the free app or log in.
Read the rest of this story with a free account.

You’ll also discover more fresh thinking personalized to your interests and can follow your favorite authors, publications, and topics.
Open in app
Or, continue in mobile web
Already have an account?

Learn more.

Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours.

Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore

Share your thinking.

If you have a story to tell, knowledge to share, or a perspective to offer — welcome home. It’s easy and free to post your thinking on any topic. Write on Medium

About

Help

Legal

Get the Medium app

A button that says 'Download on the App Store', and if clicked it will lead you to the iOS App store
A button that says 'Get it on, Google Play', and if clicked it will lead you to the Google Play store