REPORTING AFRICA
SIR,—Congratulations on your editorial comment 'Reporting Africa' (November 16). It raises a number of important questions (unfortunately hardly ever dis- cussed) which should concern everybody who cares about relations between Britain and Africa—as well as with the Arab and Asian States. since much of what you say about reporting Africa applies equally to them.
The British press, with honourable exceptions, is today the principal culprit in promoting ill-feeling be- tween ourselves and the Afro-Asian world. The accus- ation against an important part of the British press is (i) tendentious and selective manner of reporting news; (ii) baiting certain 'unpopular' countries and personalities; Mangled reporting; (iv) ignoring what happens in vast parts of the continent; (v) editorialis-
ing without adequate facts. (This applies to papers of the left and the right.) If our press were providing an adequate back- ground of information against which to form an in- dependent judgment, one would be much less con- cerned about the impact made by those British poli- ticians who, out of prejudice or genuine ignorance or both, are helping to set up the Afro-Asian States as Aunt Sallies of British public opinion.
These criticisms, let me add, apply equally to large sections of the African, the Arab and the Asian press. But we are not in a very strong position to complain so long as we. who pride ourselves on the quality of our own press, refuse to acknowledge our shortcom- ings, and to do anything to remedy them.
Can one hope that some public-spirited institution will be inspired to follow tip the questions raised by you, either by undertaking a full inquiry or by bold- ing a conference, suitably balanced between establish- ment and non-establishment representatives? The International Press Institute did attempt something along these lines in Paris recently; but this should be regarded simply as an opening shot. I am aware also of an inquiry in this field by a responsible Canadian journalist. What is needed now, however, is a positive and sustained effort to examine how our press is dis- charging its responsibility in adequately reporting the Afro-Asian world.
Like you I am not asking for less criticism of what happens in the Afro-Asian countries. Equality of treatment demands that we should apply the same standards to them as we do to Europe or to the United States. This we are not doing. Reporting the Afro- Asians is too often a question of prejudice. and of projecting home-made editorial policies into the vision of those engaged in the actual job of reporting in Africa, Asia and the Middle East—allowing always, of course, for the exceptions.
COI IN I EGUM
40 Park Road. NWI
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