Parachute journalism: the practise of throwing journalists into intense situations where they have no background or expertise, and expecting them to produce a relevant, accurate and engaging story.
In these days of budget slashes, widespread closures, and the switch from paid for dead-tree newspapers to electronic versions, parachute journalism is going to become more prevalent.
I'm bringing up parachute journalism, because it tends to be what happens when budget-strapped Western media outlets try to deliver a story about a complicated development/humanitarian situation to their readers.
And the local paper here in Winnipeg did exactly the opposite of parachute journalism on Wednesday, January 18.
I'd mentioned the Winnipeg Free Press was putting out a special Africa edition entitled Our City, Our World. An entire issue focused entirely on Manitobans in Africa, and to a lesser extent, Africans in Manitoba.
I listed some criteria in my last blog post about what I would look for, as a journalism student interested in development issues, in evaluating the issue.
Overall, I think it's brilliant. The dominant theme underlying the articles was one of strong and dynamic people undergoing challenging circumstances.
One of my favourite articles was about church-sponsored refugees living (and thriving!) in the rural community of Altona. (Altona feels like home, by Bill Redekop)
The food section featured profiles of African restaurants. The sports
section featured things like The Africa Cup of Nations--the third
biggest soccer (football) tournament in the world, after the World Cup
and European Championships.
As traditional newspapers continue to compete with free news sources such as The Huffington Post, my prediction is that traditional media will become a hub for focused, in-depth commentary that is more concerned with getting to the heart of an issue, rather than simply being the first to break a scoop.
And it's exciting to be a journalism student living in a city where the independent daily broadsheet paper is a part of that.
4 comments:
These last two additions to your Blog have been well put & leave the reader looking forward to more regarding your journey into Journalism.
Thank you Amanda
Did you read about Doug, Naomi, and Hannah Enns in Chad? :-D
Rose--I did read about Doug, Naomi and Hannah! And some other MCC-affiliated people too.
J1F,
I dug the WFP edition out of the recycling at the university basement library to be told by a library staffer restocking the permanent book sale shelves that THEY'D wanted to snag it.;-D
As much as I appreciated the personal stories, I'd have liked a bit more of the context of Africans' immigration to put the particular trajectories of individuals or families into a broader perspective. Something like "A Profile of the African Community of Manitoba," by Dr. K.C. Asagwara (http://www.acomi.ca/MBAfrica-Profile.htm) offers details that would help show even more clearly how Manitoba's Africa diasporas are not only 'newcomer' communities but are also part of the history of weaving the fabric of Manitoba and Canada.
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