Why western media overlooked a massacre in Nigeria

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[Commentary] When gunmen murdered 17 people in Paris earlier in January, it seized the world’s attention. When Boko Haram militants killed hundreds in and around the Nigerian town of Baga the same week, the mass killing scarcely garnered a mention in the Western media. The discussion about why the killings in Nigeria were ignored underscored an old problem: News from sub-Saharan Africa is underreported. Covering the crisis in Nigeria’s north is crucial, but it ought to be one part of a more complete approach. “In absence of coverage of the ordinary Africa, we get coverage of Africa in crisis,” says Ethan Zuckerman, director of MIT’s Center for Civic Media. “In 2014, all we know of Africa is Ebola. Now, all we may know is Boko Haram. If we had ordinary narratives to counterbalance the extraordinary, we might see the attacks in Baga as shocking, instead of unsurprising.” The explanation for the dearth of coverage involves a range of factors. Reporting in remote areas with poor infrastructure is difficult. Many argue that race plays a role. Stories related to US government involvement, or with American or other Western characters get more attention than those without. Relate-ability is also a factor. MIT’s Zuckerman suggests the explanation has to do with “cultural distance.” He says, “It’s a broader sense that stories in Africa are often hard for readers to project themselves into because most readers have so little sense for what life in a West African city is like.”
[Jared Malsin is a freelance journalist based in Cairo]


Why western media overlooked a massacre in Nigeria Honor every death: Paying attention to terror in Baga, Nigeria as well as Paris (Ethan Zuckerman)