Running head: NEWS CONSTRUCTION IN THE TIME OF EBOLA
News Construction in the Time of Ebola: Newsweek Case Analysis
Joy Adam
American University of Beirut
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Abstract
This paper seeks to analyze and critique Newsweek’s reporting on the current Ebola outbreak in
Liberia. In particular, it analyzes the magazine’s August 29, 2014 issue cover image and story,
entitled “Love in the Time of Ebola: Meeting the Locals Struggling to cope with an Epidemic.”
Like previous observation and research regarding Western media frames of Africa and thirdworld epidemics, the reporting here could be considered formulaic. It embodies a news frame
that simplifies, categorizes, and disregards the root causes of Liberia’s problems and adversities.
However, one could argue that there is some truth to these stereotypes, especially when it comes
to the corruption of the local government and its inefficiency in improving the country’s social,
economic, political, and educational structures.
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News Construction in the Time of Ebola: Newsweek Case Analysis
To the media literate, Western framing of foreign news is all too familiar. Westerncentric frames of reference, dramatic language, and overly-simplified figures of speech and
imagery have become trademarks of the business (Moeller, 1999). Most of the world’s mental
images of Sub-Saharan Africa- a homogeneous stretch of poverty, emaciated children, and warravaged cities- are in large part a product of these frames. What happens when Newsweek, an
American weekly news magazine, decides to cover the condition of Ebola in Liberia and its
effects on the population? The coverage is not far from the norm, but it also could be said to be
less “standard” than expected, specifically when it comes to the kind of language used.
The issue cover is like a self-fulfilling prophecy. The cover image is that of two African
individuals’ clasped hands, locking in an act of solidarity-in-calamity. They are set in a
background of blue-gray earth, like two of the few survivors of an apocalyptic world. To make
matters worse, the word “contagion” is spread across the cover, with the sub-headline “Reporting
from Ebola’s front line.” The word “contagion” brings about images from the 2011 thriller film,
in which an identified virus kills two Americans and then spreads worldwide and proceeds to kill
millions, followed by intense societal apprehension and chaos (IMDb, 2011). One would assume
that the story’s main aim, hence, is to highlight the American connection, whether through
reporting the deaths of American journalists/doctors/aid workers, and the probability of more
Americans contracting the disease. Surprisingly, the article text shows no relevance to the
audience. The two American doctors who contracted the disease are dead (Young, 2014), so the
possibility of the virus reaching the US is practically nil.
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According to Moeller (1999), plot simplification efforts “tend to exaggerate the agency of
Western aid and to minimize the involvement and efficacy of indigenous efforts (p. 2).” The
article references government corruption and bureaucracy several times, and it considered that
corruption and nepotism were the root causes of all of Liberia’s troubles, not only the Ebola
outbreak. One could say that there is a slight but nonetheless pertinent difference from normal
coverage here. Normally, the direct and immediate cause of Ebola would be considered
government malfeasance, but in this case, the article took on a broader, more comprehensive
viewpoint. Some references to government inefficiency include “healthcare facilities remain
closed,” “lack of leadership,” “a history of exploitation, corruption, and war,” “monopolized
politics and government,” “mistrust of government messages…” (Young, 2014). The article also
emphasizes the millions of dollars in aid that the US has donated to the Liberian government
with the latter spending it on tribal wars among local leaders that lust for power.
The American media are notorious for trying to establish the moral worth of the various
parties involved in a story or conflict, and of course that evaluation is based upon certain
political and economic interests. “The media so fix a conception in our minds that we cannot
disentangle the stereotyped characterization of a group or person from the facts (Moeller, 1999,
p.2).” In this case, the “bad guys” are the corrupt, lazy, greedy government officials, the “good
guys” are the American institutions and organizations that donate financial and humanitarian aid
to Liberia, and the victims are the poor Liberian civilians, forever stuck in this vicious system,
incapable of action due to their lack of education and basic work conditions and economy. As
expected, there is no mention of the long history of colonialism that Liberia and most African
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countries suffered from and the effects of that period in the deteriorated situations in these
countries.
If I were to design a substitute cover image for the article (surely in an ideal context), I
would flip the arms’ position so that they’d be in an upward instead of a downward inclination.
As for the background, I’d choose to put an image of an African and a white social worker aiding
an Ebola patient. The headline would be “together we will achieve.” At this point of the
epidemic, we must remember that the media can give people images of hope in cooperation. In
this way, wealthy, educated Liberians and Africans (those who may read Newsweek) can be
encouraged to offer financial donations to charity organizations, hospitals, and research
institutions. Also, the image may encourage international social workers to remain in the country
and make bigger efforts and strides towards a positive outcome.
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References
Moeller, S. (1999). Four Habits of International News Reporting (Director of Journalism
Program). Brandeis University.
IMDb,. (2011). Contagion. Retrieved 19 September 2014, from
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1598778/
Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/2014/08/29/love-time-ebola-meeting-localsstruggling-cope-epidemic-265615.html
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Appendix