Where did you say?
N.I. Issue No. 44: October 1976
British radio and television are reckoned to be among the best in the world. The reputation is based on highbrow documentaries that sell worldwide and offer a proven antidote to American sitcoms. Their `objectivity' rating is high. But how do they score on presentation and coverage of development issues? Not so well according to 'Where did you say', a report by the UK Centre for World Development.
There is no doubt that British children are soaking it up. Five to fifteen year olds watch over 241/2 hours television a week - more than 3'/z hours a day and listen to two hours radio a week. The 16-19 year olds have other distractions, managing only 171/2 hours of TV - 21/2 hours a day - but making up for it with seven hours of Radio One, the national pop music station.
The youth are plugged in. But what do they get? The year long monitoring scheme turned a blind eye to the long evenings of glamourised violence and concentrated on schools programmes. They found only five per cent had anything to do with Third World countries. Less than two per cent dealt with subjects linked to world development.
It wasn't all bad, but the criticisms are familiar. Too little background; excessive use of elite spokesman and technocrats; undue emphasis on disasters; continual reinforcement of primitive and exotic stereotypes. India and China are the favourite image making locations, with the rest of the Third World getting hardly a glance. Interdependence between rich and poor countries was invariably glossed over.
But the biggest shortfall is in time given to stories and people with which children can identify. 'Such intimacy', says the report, 'is vital in development education if understanding of people and cultures is to go beyond stereotypes, statistics, and summaries.' Do not adjust your sets.
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Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
