海角大神

If you鈥檝e read any news articles lately about Southern Sudan鈥檚 upcoming self-determination referendum and are basing your opinion on where Sudan is headed in the immediate future solely on this information, you would be hard pressed not to have a quite negative outlook.

Bec Hamilton already did some sharp myth-busting that shows that calling the contested border region of Abyei 鈥渙il-rich鈥� is an outdated and inaccurate statement. As a follow-up effort, I鈥檝e collected some snippets 鈥� I鈥檒l call them fiery phrases 鈥� from recent articles on Sudan (one below written by me):

And trust me, the list goes on. These news clips illustrate the tendency 鈥� rather, modus operandi 鈥� of the international media coverage of Sudan to highlight the worst case scenarios surrounding the key upcoming events instead of the best possible outcomes. Since I鈥檓 a member of this media corps, I can affirm that this is the case. My short experience to date as a journalist has taught me that 鈥� surprise! 鈥� editors do not think a story with a headline to the effect of 鈥淎ll looks set to go smoothly in Southern Sudan鈥檚 crucial independence vote鈥� is newsworthy. Instead, a headline to the effect of 鈥渢ensions rising,鈥� 鈥渃oncern mounting,鈥� and the like is what editors want to read, because they know it is what readers online around the globe will be likely to click on as they skim the news.

One question I struggle with is this: is it better to have this 鈥渨orst case scenario鈥� news coverage of Sudan, or very little coverage at all? Or perhaps a more important question is: is it possible for the media to accept a narrative that is not about doom and gloom when covering a country that has experienced a great deal of conflict and suffering throughout its independent history? Or is it the role of the media to highlight the worst possible outcomes of a contentious, politicized event such as a self-determination referendum in order to encourage 鈥渁ction鈥� to prevent such outcomes? Where does media coverage end and advocacy and activism begin in the age of constant online information exchange?

The Carter Center鈥檚 on Sudan鈥檚 two referenda processes offers a fair and merited critique of the media for contributing to an already negative environment as the referenda approach. The statement acknowledges the role of the two Sudanese parties to the 2005 peace deal in making inflammatory statements. However, it rightly chastises the media for furthering the reach of these statements through coverage that focuses on the most aggressive rhetoric by Khartoum and Juba instead of the more balanced assurances issued by certain officials from both sides 鈥� including the southern Sudanese president himself.

Journalists writing on Sudan from Juba to Johannesburg to New York could do well to consider the Carter Center鈥檚 critique; I鈥檓 trying personally trying to take it to heart in my own reporting in the coming weeks and months on the January referenda.

鈥� Maggie Fick is a freelance journalist who blogs from Juba, Sudan at .