Overview
The media reporting of the Ethiopian Famine in 1984-5 was an iconic news event. It is widely believed to have had an unprecedented impact, challenging perceptions of Africa and mobilising public opinion and philanthropic action in a dramatic new way. The contemporary international configuration of aid, media pressure, and official policy is still directly affected and sometimes distorted by what was - - as this narrative shows - - also an inaccurate and misleading story. In popular memory, the reporting of Ethiopia and the resulting humanitarian intervention were a great success. Yet alternative interpretations give a radically different picture of misleading journalism and an aid effort which did more harm than good. Using privileged access to BBC and Government archives, Reporting Disasters ex- amines and reveals the internal factors which drove BBC news and offers a rare case study of how the media can affect public opinion and policymaking. It constructs the process that accounts for the immensity of the news event, following the response at the heart of government to the pressure of public opinion. And it shows that while the reporting and the altruistic festival that it produced triggered remarkable and identifiable changes, the on- going impact was not what the conventional account claims it to have been.
Full Product Details
Author: Suzanne Franks
Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
Imprint: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
Dimensions:
Width: 13.80cm
, Height: 2.30cm
, Length: 21.60cm
Weight: 0.408kg
ISBN: 9781849042888
ISBN 10: 1849042888
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 31 August 2013
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Temporarily unavailable
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.
Reviews
'Reporting Disasters makes a powerful case for a better understanding of the causes of hunger. Franks shows how the way starving people in Ethiopia were portrayed on TV - the famous 'Biblical famine' of 1984 - distorted the world's response, inspiring aid deliveries that may have done more harm than good. The coverage failed to understand the politics of famine. This is the best kind of history - one that challenges stereotypes and asks uncomfortable questions.' - David Loyn, BBC International Development Correspondent
Author Information
Suzanne Franks was for many years a news and current affairs journal- ist with BBC TV. She left to found an independent production company and also completed a PhD. She is now Professor of Journalism at City University in London and has published widely on the coverage of international news and the history of broadcasting.
