1. Contact local and national media and complain.
- Write a letter, send an e-mail or make a phone call to the editor or ombudsman for print media, or the station manager or producer at a broadcast outlet.
- Write to the letters pages of the local newspaper or call/e-mail radio and TV stations who air audience response and state your case to the public.
- Pen an opinion-editorial piece that takes time to explain what you don’t like about coverage and how you think it could be improved.
- Join a citizen advisory panel for the local media. Many media now have such bodies which consist of community representatives.
2. Use alternative sources of information. Seek out original research reports from organizations that collect information about Africa. These might include Nongovernmental Organizations such as Human Rights Watch. Other groups specializing in Africa include the African Policy Information Center (APIC) in Washington, D.C.
You can also check out government reports from the U.S. and other countries produced by various agencies such as the U.S. State Department, or the United Nations.
Read or listen to African media for African perspectives on events. There is more of a range of opinions in the African media today than in times past. Some will represent government points of view, others will provide an oppositional take on what’s happening in specific countries. Be aware that many African media are dependent upon Western news media for much of their information, especially about other African countries.
Read Africa oriented blogs.
Seek alternative Western or global news sources. These include groups such as Inter Press Service, an international news agency that seeks to have local journalists give a voice to alternative views and perspectives especially from Southern Hemisphere regions such as Africa.
3. Become media literate. Educate yourself, your family, and concerned friends about how the media work, how they are organized, how they create meanings and what influence they have over our lives. You can take a class on how the media works, or form your own reading or study group in order to learn to “read” the media.
4. Find out about local organizations in your community that focus on Africa. Often these groups have members who travel to Africa to collect first-hand information.
5. Support efforts to build a constituency for Africa. The media tend to follow the government’s lead. If legislators believe voters are concerned about Africa, then they will pay more attention to the continent, which in turn means the media will pay more attention.
