[A-List] African Leaders in the Western Media

["Yoshie Furuhashi" <critical.montages@xxxxxxxxx>]

<http://www.africasia.com/newafrican/na.php?ID=1817>
Coverstory
Media
Reporting Africa

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Why, even, when they say they are against African presidents
entrenching themselves in power, do they seldom tackle the longest
reigning presidents on the continent? Omar Bongo of Gabon has been in
power since December 1967 – that makes 41 long years; Muammar
AlGathafi of Libya has been in power since September 1969 – 39 years;
Obiang Nguema Mbasongo of Equatorial Guinea has been in power since
August 1979 – 29 years; Hosni Mubarak of Egypt has been in power since
October 1981 – 27 years; even Paul Biya in Cameroon has been in power
since November 1982 – 26 years, and he has recently won parliamentary
endorsement to change the constitution for a second time to enable him
to run again in 2011; Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has been in power
since April 1980 – 28 years. So, why has only one of these
long-reigning presidents, Mugabe, become the bête noire of the Western
media and the rest are seldom talked about? To fully understand the
whys, we must first understand the dynamics or modus operandi of the
Western media. Without it, you will never truly know why the Western
media behaves the way it does. . . .

. . . [T]hroughout the printing age or since the beginning of
newspapers in Europe, the Western media has always been true to its
core beliefs – follow the flag or government lead in foreign policy
matters; objectivity and balance end where national interest begins;
ideological leaning determines the size and play of domestic
reporting; advertisers (and to some extent, readers) pull the strings
from behind the scenes; historical baggage, political and economic
interests determine the reporting of Africa and other foreign lands,
etc, etc.