WESTERN-CENTRISM IN THE NEWS

Gang rapes, child assaults and mass murders. Did you know that the ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Myanmar is considered genocide by the UN? Perhaps not. Did you know that around 400 people died in floods in India recently? Possibly not. You are more likely to have heard about the deaths caused by the wildfires sweeping across California than the latter. Why is this? The Western media has become a wall separating the West from the rest of the world. This essay will explore why the West should report a better balance of global news rather than restricting its news agenda. We should be developing a deeper understanding of our world and enlightening our youth on global affairs rather than closing our eyes to “other” events.

The Western news media is turning its back on many parts of the world. The UK exemplifies this problem. Foreign news coverage in four of the UK’s most widely-read newspapers has fallen by almost 40% in the past 30 years. These statistics seem to suggest our media has a diminishing concern for the rest of the world. The media had a leading role in providing the readers with choice. With an increasingly limited budget to do so though, it is understandable that the least popular topics are now cut; but understandable does not mean acceptable. We shouldn’t be encouraging this isolationist behaviour. Newspapers should reconsider funding for world news. If they don’t offer wide, global coverage, people turn to social media as their source of news. Social media has many positives but what you consume is determined by who you choose to follow. The danger is people only seek the opinions of those they agree with and see only their point of view. This results in an ever-narrower spectrum of information mostly restricted to that within our comfort zones. This steady closing down of a global vision would be reduced if the western media reported more balanced world news.

A country being rich or poor, developed or developing, should have no bearing on the newsworthiness of events taking place there. All citizens are human, and humans should be treated equally. So why is it that when there’s a devastating terror attack in a developing country, where perhaps hundreds of innocent people die, little news time is given to reporting it? On the other hand, a terror attack in the city centre of a developed country, for instance Paris or Barcelona, where a few bystanders lose their lives, not only grabs but dominates the media’s attention for weeks. This inequitable reporting of news is partly down to the fact that as our countries have developed, we ourselves have developed a blinkered sense of the world. We hold ourselves and the rest of the western world in higher standing than developing, third-world countries. People believe that since the tragedy happened in a developing country, they cannot empathise as much because they cannot relate to people living in squalor and poverty. These views are erroneous, but they have been influenced by the media’s lack of coverage. The media needs to stop diminishing the value of stories from the developing world.

Why should we be concerned that our outlook has become so narrow-minded and parochial? Just because it is unlikely that 300 people will die in floods in the UK does not mean that we don’t have to worry about it. Natural disasters such as the recent flooding in India should be written and read about, for they can be indicative of world climate change, a global issue that can - and is - starting to affect us all. The same goes for the growing economic crises in Turkey or Argentina, news stories that the whole world should be following as either could have a knock-on effect on our own economies. The world is changing, and even though it may not always be the western world that is changing, we should always be aware and informed of the changes happening around us. Change, whether it be natural disasters or economics, can have an impact on our lives. The media must cover these events.

Some of this can be blamed on journalists lacking a sense of individualism. As Anjan Sundaram put it: “Reporters move like herds of sheep”. In his article in the Guardian, he explains how nowadays, journalists travel at the same time, to the same place, to cover the same story. It can, understandably, be very difficult entering a war-stricken country. But the benefits of not following the media herd were exemplified by Anjan when he managed to talk to a so-called ‘crime lord’ in the Democratic Republic of Congo. By covering events in this dangerous location, he was able to publicise them internationally. With the global media highlighting their plight, aid can be provided, and a real change can be made. The West’s news organisations need to value the benefits stringers such as Anjan can bring to their news coverage.

One influence on our news coverage is how much we connect to it. We tend to be more interested in events that we can relate to. One reason people are probably more interested in the fires in California than the flooding in India is because they connect more with America and have an interest in places like California. It’s also because it’s wealthy, so it’s more like the UK than India is. Whereas tens of thousands of people in India being displaced from their homes due to flooding might just make a few paragraphs in the paper because people can’t really connect with that – and being cynical, probably just aren’t that interested. California is 272 miles further away from London than Kerala in India. You can’t therefore argue that the reason we get more news on the wildfires in America than the floods in India is because of proximity. This cynical outlook, a “patronising representation of ‘The East’”, was brought to light by Edward Said in 1978. Said explores the concept of “otherness” in his book ‘Orientalism’, describing how society has little identity without the “other”, resulting in the formation of groups and causing superiority within the world. Over time the West has developed as a more ‘superior’ group, which has consequently distorted our view on the rest of the world. History is not an excuse for these outdated opinions. The Western world must open their eyes and forget this theory of “otherness”.

The west has built a wall that shields us from the harsh reality of the real world. The government needs to introduce schemes in schools with topics covering current news stories, encouraging children to read more news. If children grow up not caring about our world, we are going to create a very blinkered society. Certain people in Europe believe that migrants are arriving in their country to steal their jobs when, in many cases, they are just fleeing from their war-torn countries, seeking safety. If only these people knew more about the reasons why they are fleeing their homelands, the migrant crisis might be viewed differently. People tend to be more interested in things they can associate with. Sometimes it’s to do with how close it is to home, but also about how close it is to your life and your interests. While it’s natural to be more interested in local news - as this could have more of a personal impact on you - the problem occurs when you only care for your local news. We shouldn’t have to be limited to only news that is familiar and about the things and places we are familiar with. Through our media we should be able to see over the wall surrounding us and understand what is happening around the world.