Media power, economic justice
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Media Power
and Economic
Justice
Guy Berger, Rhodes University
South Africa, 3 August, Caux
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Economic justice
For much of the world, it means poverty.
So, what’s the relevance here in Europe?
– There is some poverty here;
– There are a host of economic relationships with
places where people are poor – from investment,
banking, migration.
– There is a “fair trade” agenda.
– There is bird flu… etc.
There is human solidarity, not just materialism.
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Economic justice
• What’s bad about poverty?
– People are “less” - cashless, foodless,
homeless, landless, illness, powerless.
– Bad to have Aids, worse: poor + Aids
• Many indirect effects:
– Poverty doesn’t cause crime, terror or
Aids, but it does contribute.
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A rights issue – it’s political
“Poverty is the cause and the effect of the denial of
human rights.
• Systematic violation of these rights degenerates
rapidly into poverty.
• The most acute moral question of the new century
is to understand how such massive and systematic
violations, day in, day out, do not trouble the
conscience.”
- Pierre Sane, Unesco
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Words of Kunda Dixit (Nepal)
“Poverty reflects deep structural
problems. Media isn’t a solution,
but perhaps the way it is practiced is
a part of the problem? ”
“ The media can’t end poverty. But if
we in journalism don’t cover it
intelligently (with attachment and
outrage), media will be an obstacle
in alleviation.”
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Problems in journalism
Poverty does not have to be covered.
Poverty needs enterprise reporting
– Few press releases! Few lobby actions.
We fixate on elite success and celebs …
– And European-centric stories.
Solutions-oriented journalism is atypical.
Events easier to cover than processes.
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Blindspots and absences
Often: Implicit, rather than explicit
Often: Should be there, but isn’t.
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•
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Cold snap coverage – what of the poor?
Unrest – no poverty info on background.
Very little on how “development” relates.
Poor scrutiny of investment statistics.
No debate about nature, extent, causes,
remedies.
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“Poverty” has many faces:
•
The term is a generalisation:
– Hunger shelter health-care schooling
illiteracy unemployment fear crisis death
loss water powerlessness (World Bank).
– You get singular stories: manifestations
(eg.streetkids) or a broad concept (eg.
poverty resolutions), and no linkage.
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Critique of the Charity angle
• Agency by the poor is under-played.
• Their status is projected as being objects to
be pitied and uplifted by others.
• The poor are seen from a consumption, and
not a production, point of view.
• Paradigm of poor as “in deficit”:
Survival achievement & potential unrecognised.
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Critique of demons & angels
• A political football
– President or G8 promises relief
– Opposition accuses President of neglect.
– Little independent media follow-up.
• Glorification of the correspondent
– Sympathy is created with the journalist, not
poor people.
• Absence of voices of the poor themselves.
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Critique of disengendering
• Disaggregation not common – eg.
Unemployment statistics.
• In SA, only 6% of articles had an explicit
gender angle, or linked gender & poverty.
• In another 12% of stories, there should have
been a gender angle - eg. stories on pension
queues; jobless youth; land restitution.
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The matter of agency
Causes:
Backwardness Bad luck Cruel nature, or:
Slavery/Colonial/Apartheid/IMF legacies
(Affects the kind of remedy suggested)
Solutions:
Who is primarily responsible for
addressing the problems?
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Whose “responsibility” is it?:
Solutions – “Delivery mindset”:
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Government (nanny state)
By default: Civil society organs (churches, NGOs)
Non-poor individuals via charity
First World
Let off the hook:
 the rich, business people
 global system
 the poor.
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Who should address poverty?
Solving poverty is seldom painted as
concern of all stakeholders:
• poor people;
• civil society (ngo's, churches, etc.),
• employers/business
• government; educational institutions,
• individuals,
… and media.
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Appeal to journalism:
• Journalism ≠ social marketing, but a
conscious and pro-active approach can
enrich poverty-related news and its impact
on policy and people.
• “We’re not asking journalists to become
activists and start waving the flag, but they
shouldn’t just be passive observers anymore
to the misery and deprivation around them.”
Kunda Dixit
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One day, perhaps, we
will not have this
economic justice
problem to report
anymore.
Thank you
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