Do we report news to aid those in need or to further patronise them in their times of need?

#rublogs Are you tired of Africa being the victim when Western countries are playing the heroes? check out http://tinyu...less than 5 seconds ago#rublogs Are you tired of Africa being the victim when Western countries are playing the heroes? check out http://tinyurl.com/ygr6t7e


Journalists are writers who aim at a mass audience and they advocate a point or express a viewpoint. What happens when journalists exploit their creative power of writing to elevate other people at the expense of others? Many articles and news clips have been produced about African countries being in a state of need and the Western countries being the heroes of the atrocities that occur. The ironic matter is that, Africa is not the only continent in the world that has social issues. However the media always seems to highlight the disasters that happen in African countries rather than in other countries. Journalists do report on cases of disaster in Western countries, such as hurricane Katrina in the U.S.A. The point is not what journalists report; it is how they report it. When hurricane Katrina struck the U.S.A there was immense media coverage, however the Americans were portrayed as survivors not as victims of the disaster. An article was posted on the 15th of October 2009 about LRA (Lord Resistance Army) attacks in the Congo. The headline was: Northern Congo 'needs urgent aid'. The article stated that 400000 thousand people have fled their homes but not one of those people were interviewed and asked about their experience or survival , instead a woman named Katharine Derderian from a Western organization which offered help was interviewed. Our task as upcoming journalists is to report news that doesn’t place power on others while patronizing others; the question is we willing to?