The Worldfocus signature series on Liberia’s Long Road Back featured uplifting stories on African women making a difference.

Though a common saying about news is “if it bleeds, it leads,” Martin Savidge shares some of the more cheery stories that have uplifted the world recently, including Worldfocus’ signature series on Liberia’s Long Road Back. 

When times are bad we all yearn for good news.

This week had plenty. Two stories in particular dominated: A courageous crew and a singing Scot.

The actions of the crew of the Maersk Alabama — and particularly the selfless offer of Captain Richard Phillips to be taken hostage to protect his ship from Somali pirates — inspired many of us. We followed the drama and his daring rescue. For days, network news programs tracked the crew’s return and swarmed to exclusively interview them. Now, a similar quest will no doubt spoil the weekend of many reporters as they head to Vermont to try and get the first words from the captain himself as he arrives back home.

For many people, the shots of the Navy snipers were welcomed, seen as the first concrete action after months of frustration as the pirates hijacked ship after ship. It went down the way many Americans prefer: Fast and precise, with only the bad guys getting hurt. Unfortunately, those are not likely to be the last shots in this conflict at sea. In fact it may well trigger a new level of violence…but let’s stick with the good news.

Then there was Susan Boyle of Scotland. I dare anyone to watch that clip of her on YouTube from “Britain’s Got Talent” and not get teary. Thanks to the Internet, the woman who proclaimed she had never been kissed is now loved by many throughout the world. I think I’ve watched her song half a dozen times, and each time I cheer.

When she first walks on stage, we see so many of life’s knock-downs and stigmas reflected in her. Though we are raised to “never judge a book by its cover,” we did. She was a middle-aged, plain Jane who seemed a bit quirky. In our modern-day zeal to instantly peg a person, we had her nailed…until she sang. Her first notes shamed us and the rest lifted us to our feet.

I saw those two stories everywhere.

But only on Worldfocus did I see a week long series by Lynn Sherr from Liberia on the triumphs of women who are working to lift that once war-torn country.

From President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female leader, to the market women who spawned a movement that helped to force former dictator Charles Taylor into exile, to the former girl soldiers and sex slaves of the civil war now are trying to forget their past and start new futures. Lynn introduced us to all of them, and in doing so, taught us much about a continent we thought we knew.

Most Americans think of Africa as a land of endless disease, war and famine. Our signature stories showed that this stereotype is wrong. Liberia inspires and teaches that the United States does not lead in all areas. In fact we ranked 56th of 130 countries [PDF] in the World Economic Forum’s 2008 survey of female political empowerment — trailing behind Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania.

These are the stories we love to bring to viewers…they inform and uplift.

It’s good news, and we know there’s a whole world of it out there.

- Martin Savidge

But unlike networks and newspapers that have cut foreign coverage from their budget, the new Web site GlobalPost aims to expand the reach of media to all corners of the globe.

Martin Savidge speaks with GlobalPost executive editor Charles Sennott, who spent 15 years in the Middle East as a correspondent, about the need for Middle East coverage that is more conscious of history and ways for the U.S. to engage with the Middle East.

China’s Xinhua News Agency may launch a television channel geared toward an international audience.

A Chinese newspaper reported that China has set aside 45 billion yuan, or $6.6 billion, to expand the country’s media outlets and improve its image in the foreign press.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency plans to expand its overseas bureaus and staff.

Cam MacMurchy hosts “BizTraveler” on Tianjin Television and launched the public relations and media company Performance Internationalis. He writes at “Zhongnanhai Blog” about the likely effect of the government’s investment on foreign conception of China.

China spends 45 billion to extend media’s global reach

“There is a big gap between China’s image among foreign people and its idea of itself.”

Renmin University Journalism Dean Yu Guoming is bang on in his observation, an argument we have been making here for quite some time.  Many of the problems which arose during the Tibetan protests and torch relay controversy came from Chinese surprise that people overseas could have such strong feelings on these subjects — and feelings that were anathema to China’s official view.  China was able to “reform and open” over thirty years, but it’s been far less successful in convincing those abroad of its global views and context.

The South China Morning Post (all articles behind a paywall) has run two stories today about Beijing’s RMB 45 billion investment in Chinese media organizations which target global audiences. The first, “Beijing in 45b yuan global media drive“, says the cash will be available to agencies which come up with worthwhile projects to enhance their global image. [...] The plus side for media people in China is a plethora of new jobs, according to the second article, “Big offers for English speakers in media jobs.” [...]

As with Communism itself, this media plan is good in theory.  There’s no doubt that there is a gaping need for more Chinese viewpoints in the great discussions of the day.  If Qatar can have an internationally-influential television channel, surely China can too.  And there’s no reason why the New York Times, the Guardian, BBC, CNN et al should have a disproportionate sway on what we see and hear.

China’s point of view and context for that point of view are sadly lacking, as I’m reminded of each time I’m asked to guest on a foreign radio station.  But before we start considering an international Xinhua TV channel, what happened to CCTV 9?  Isn’t CCTV 9 supposed to present China’s view to the world? Is there a point in lauching a second one without fixing the first?

The problem isn’t lack of TV channels or media outlets that present China’s case to foreigners, it’s the lack of any media outlets that present China’s case well.  If Xinhua’s new TV endeavor is run in the same manner CCTV is, with the same group of life-long communist party members in bad suits calling the shots, it will be doomed to failure.  In fact, I’d go one step further:  any mainland Chinese run media outlet will be taken less seriously as long as general media controls are in place.

Which brings me to my second point: the credibility of the media in China.  China could open a hundred news organizations and blanket the world with China’s point of view, but it would be greeted with just as much suspicion as it is now because China, despite all of its advancements, remains a one-party state with absolute control over all domestic media.  This investment in more coverage may help to a degree: sure, we all know that China Daily is a government mouthpiece, but we read it because we get to know what the government thinks and it provides a decent (I’m being generous) roundup of what’s going on in the country. A new Xinhua TV Channel or Global Times newspaper may provide the same.  But at the end of the day, it’s a lot of money being thrown at the symptom. China can’t buy itself credibility.  Not even for 45 billion.

To be successful, in my humble opinion, the new international TV station or newspaper must be given free reign to cover what it wants.

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The views expressed by contributing bloggers do not reflect the views of Worldfocus or its partners.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user xiaming under a Creative Commons license.

Pakistan’s media has grown in recent years.

Pakistan’s media sector has grown in the past few years, with the government citing its increased deregulation as a reason for the expansion despite accusations of censorship. However, the press has come under fire for slanted or misinformed coverage.

Aziz Akhmad writes at the “All Things Pakistan” blog about the Pakistani media’s inaccuracy and lack of accountability.

Who will keep our media honest?

While I am writing this, a young, attractive woman appears on the TV screen, on a Pakistani channel, her head partially covered in a headscarf and her wide eyes dyed in kohl. She looks into the camera, with her and delivers the following message in Urdu to promote her own talk show:

”Khabar woh jo sachi, tabsara who jo khara, tajzia who jo haqeeqat ke qareeb-tar …” Roughly translated it would be: We present news that is true and views that are sound and based on facts …

How one wishes this were true!

While the number of newspapers and news channels in Pakistan has vastly increased, as has their reach, thanks to the Internet and satellite communication, sadly, however, the quality of their reporting and commentary has not.

For example, a widely read columnist, writing for a leading Urdu daily, made the revelation that President Bush had recently threatened the US Congress with martial law if it did not approve the $700 billion bailout package for American banks that Bush had proposed in an effort to overcome the current financial crisis. Not only that, the columnist added, the troops were deployed in several American cities to make the threat real.

Actually, when I read this, I looked out of the window of my apartment, in New York, where I presently live, to see if there were any troops on the streets. The only people I could see, in uniform, were the police and postal workers, doing their routine beats. And this is how it has been for as long as I can remember.

Since no one questioned the columnist’s claim, he repeated it a few days later, on a TV talk show. Surprisingly, neither the host of the show nor any of the participants in the program challenged the claim.

To read more, see the original post.

The views expressed by contributing bloggers do not reflect the views of Worldfocus or its partners.

Photo courtesy of Muhammad Adnan Asim under a Creative Commons license.