Guy Berger
Rhodes University
South Africa
1

 Aids?
 Digital divide?
 Corruption?
 Women/child abuse?
 War and strife?
 Fundamentalism?
 Despotism?
2

For me, one problem stands out as our worst pest, and we need value-driven journalism work in order to tackle it
3

Let’s look at:
1. Why Poverty is Public Enemy no. 1
2. The journalism of poverty
3. The poverty of journalism
4.
Conclusion: what’s to be done?
4

SECTION B: Public Enemy No 1 .
• What’s bad about poverty?
– People are “less” - cashless, foodless, homeless, landless, illness, powerless.
– Note: job-less ≠ poverty
– Bad to have Aids, worse: poor + Aids
• Many indirect effects:
– Poverty doesn’t cause crime & Aids, but it does contribute.
5

Pinpointing whose problem it is:
– the poor?
– government?
– civil society?
– business?
– individuals?
– media?
6

• An act of God, or
• an act of man?
• Quiz: What are the underlying causes?
• A local issue, or
• a global issue?
• Quiz: UN Millenium Goal for 2015?
7

• 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
8

• What’s the delay in ending poverty?
• What are the solutions?
• Who is part of the problem?
• Can media be part of the solution?
9

• Poverty reflects deep structural problems within societies. Media isn’t a solution, but perhaps the way it is practiced is a part of the problem?
• Let’s be realistic: the media can’t end poverty. But if we in journalism don’t cover it intelligently (with attachment and outrage) the media will be an obstacle in poverty alleviation.
10

•
The term is a generalisation of specifics:
– hunger.
– lack of shelter.
– being sick and not being able to see a doctor.
– not being able to go to school and not knowing how to read.
– not having a job.
– fear for the future, living one day at a time.
– losing a child to illness from unclean water.
– powerlessness, lacking representation & freedom. (World Bank)
11

• “ Hard to link the different aspects:
– So therefore you get singular stories: manifestations (eg.streetkids) or broad concept (eg. poverty resolutions), and no linkage.
– In SA, the one-dimensional focus is more common than the multidimensional one,
– Examples of reporting on one angle, moreor-less in isolation of others, are in land and housing/homeless stories.
12

• Poverty is often hidden under other frames – crime, gender,
Aids, strikes, unemployment.
• But poverty coverage often hides aspects like gender, and power.
• Challenge is to cover a condition with many causes
13

SECTION C:
Looking for answers :
“Development journalism”
… has failed
Free market media in
USA/India … has failed
14

• It reinforced man-made poverty.
• Was bad journalism: “lies, easy victories”
• Responsibility, no freedom.
• Clearly
– this model lacks democratic values, plus real compassion.
15

• USA: poor people invisible in news,
• Middle-class audiences resent it.
• Indian media “consistently panders to the consumerism and lifestyles of the elite and rarely carries news of the reality of poverty.”- Palagummi Sainath
• Freedom, no responsibility
16

• Stereotypes of lazy, failed people.
• Racialisation: “poverty = black”
• Individual, rather than govt/societal issue.
• “Deserving poor” victims vs blameworthy.
• Absence of voices of poor people.
Clearly:
Elitist model lacks solidarity value
17

Journalism of poverty: disconnect
• Dichotomy:
– Stories of people who are poor
– Stories of “poverty” (often policy promises)
• Reports of manifestations of poverty, do not ID these “exhibits” as constituting
“poverty”.
• Yet, linkage is necessary to grasp poverty as a generalised condition with interdependent and mutually reinforcing
18 dimensions.

Journalism of poverty: Charity angle
• Examples of headlines:
– Africa wants debt cancelled
– Rejoice R40m to uplift poor
– Little too late, G8
• Result: agency by the poor is under-played.
• Their status is projected as being that of objects to be pitied and uplifted by others.
• The poor are thus seen from a consumption, and not a production, point of view.
• Paradigm of poor as “in deficit”:
– No recognition of their achievements & potentials
19

Journalism of poverty: political soccer
• Examples
– President promises relief
– Opposition accuses President of neglect.
– Little independent follow-up.
• Glorification of the correspondent
– Sympathy is created with the journalist, not poor people
20

Journalism of poverty – hidden
Often: Implicit, rather than explicit
Often: Should be there but isn’t
Blind spots:
• Cold snap coverage – what of the poor?
• Protests – no poverty info on background.
• Very little on how “development” relates.
• Poor scrutiny of statistics.
• No debate about nature, extent, causes, remedies.
21

– Absence of poor voices on policy issues.
–
In SA, 60% of poverty stories did indeed provide a platform for poor voices.
– Yet these were overwhelmed by the voices of people in authority. Thus, government officials constituted 47% of sources.
22

• Disaggregation not common – eg.
Unemployment stats not broken down into male and female.
• In SA, only 6% of articles included an explicit gender angle, or linked gender and poverty.
• In another 12% of stories, there should have been a gender angle - eg. stories on pension queues; plight of jobless youth; land restitution.
23

Causes:
 Bad luck
 Cruel nature
 Apartheid
 Backwardness
Solutions:
• 25% of poverty stories = the responsibility of poor people themselves
• 32% gave government the responsibility.
24

Solutions – “Delivery mindset”:
• Government praised or panned by politicians
 Government by default (in: charity stories)
 Civil society organs (churches, NGOs)
 Non-poor individuals
Let off the hook:
 the rich, business people
 global system
25

Solving poverty seldom painted as something where all stakeholders play a part:
• - poor people (they are not "objects" to be pitied and uplifted through pure charity),
• - government (elected bodies supposed to deal with it),
• - civil society (ngo's, scholars, students, churches, etc.),
• - employers/business/educational institutions,
• - individuals.
26

SECTION E:
Poverty of Journalism
• Spinning the story:
– Our journalism in general needs changing –
– Why and how.
27

• Poverty does not have to be covered.
• Poverty needs enterprise reporting
– Few press releases! Few lobby actions.
• We fixate on success and celebs …
• Survival not seen as an achievement.
• Events easier to cover than processes.
• Solutions-oriented journalism is atypical.
28

What’s 2B done?
– Conscious editorial strategy:
• Driven by values
• “
Demand more time, agitate for more space, revisit the subject”
29

• 1.Agenda setting: Sensitise readers, listeners, viewers so as to put the issue higher on the public agenda:
• 2. Aim to impact on the policy of institutions
(eg. councils, business, provinces,, etc.):
• 3. Impact on individuals who have power: persuade them to engage.
Coverage that moves them emotionally, empowers them with ideas and information, encourages them to give time, money, skill.
30

• 4. Be a watchdog :
Expose exploitation, abuses, corruption.
• 5. Inspire entrepreneurship:
Publicise business achievers.
• 6. Empower:
Ensure that stories are educational as well as informative.
• 7. Resources for poor people:
Provide user information - where to get relief, skills, loans, jobs.
31

• Poverty is everyone’s problem.
• While media must be free , it can well keep responsible spirit of developmental journalism.
and
• Avoid elitist role of free market media.
• Inform, expose, debate, hold accountable, give frontline voices, inspire, educate, empower.
• Even break hearts.
32

Good coverage can impact:
• On policy of govt, business, schools, etc
• On practices of these institutions
• On economic strategies
• Conscience of rich people
• Empowerment of the poor
• On local-global compassion & solidarity.
33

• Journalism ≠ social marketing, but a conscious and pro-active approach can enrich povertyrelated news and its impact.
• “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
34

• P: Press can play a role
• O: Only if you’re pro-active
• O: Organise a strategy
• R: Reap the results - reduce poverty!
• Journalism should be a full part of the rich resources for reconstructing our humanity.
35

One day, perhaps, we will not have this biggest problem to report anymore.
Thank you
36