This article examines the elements that underpin the controversy over Western media’s coverage of Africa, including growing perceptions by African political leaders and journalists of the increasing distortion of Africa by Western media, as well as how the conventions of news selection and reporting serve to create a particular media discourse about Africa. The author poses the questions: Why is Africa depicted in the Western media as an economic disaster, a continent of contradictions, a continent marked by political instability, poverty, diseases, as well as bizarre traditional belief systems and cultural practices? Does bad news about Africa make good news copy for Western journalists? These questions and more are explored in this article
