Writing Samples

A selection of publications from journal articles to newsletter columns

Darfur: coverage of a genocide by three major US TV networks on their evening news
International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, Volume 4, Issue 3, 2008
  •  Abstract
    This article examines the conflict in Darfur, which has been described by many including the President of the United States, as an ongoing genocide. To this end, I argue that the lack of adequate coverage of the killings in Darfur particularly in US network television evening news, has kept the public in the dark. This lack of information provided to the public has the potential to prolong the plight of Darfurians who have been killed, raped, starved and displaced, because there is little public pressure on policy makers, or outcry from the international community to stop the atrocities. It is also argued here that these television networks have the capacity to influence US foreign relations by mobilizing public opinion on pressing international issues such as the genocide in Darfur. Suggestions of how the news media can improve coverage are offered.

Darfur: International Neglect and News Media Silence in the Face of Genocide
In 2006, I presented a paper and poster on Darfur, a topic of great interest to me. For copies of the paper, please contact me directly.

  • Abstract: This paper examines the conflict in Darfur described by many, including the President of the United States, as an ongoing genocide. To this end, I argue that the dearth of news media coverage, particularly of television news, on one of the most egregious human rights violations of our time has kept the public largely in the dark on the scope of the genocide while prolonging the plight of Darfurians. http://www.aejmc.org/home/2012/01/ccs-2006-abstracts/

C-SPAN, See White: A Critical Analysis of Washington Journal’s Guests 
AEJMC 2005 Convention Paper Abstract
Source: http://www.aejmc.org/home/2012/01/ccs-2005-abstracts/
  • This study critically examines C-SPAN’s Washington Journal for the month of June 2004. By having an overwhelming number of white males as guests on the show, CSPAN legitimizes this group while marginalizing non-whites and women. Using cultivation analysis as a theoretical framework, this author proposes that the lack of minority or women experts on television relegates them to old stereotypes that suggest they have little or nothing to offer. This research challenges that notion.

Journalists in Peril
AEJMC Winter 2006 Critical & Cultural Studies Newsletter, p. 7
Source: http://aejmc.net/ccs/NewsletArchv/CCSWint2006.pdf



Dissertation:  AIDS as International News: A Comparative Analysis of African, European and American Media Reports of a Pandemic (2000)


Abstract:
This study is a comparative press analysis to the coverage of AIDS in Western and African presses. In this context, it has been shown that although these presses may differ theoretically, under certain circumstances or emergencies, they will act alike, and in the case of AIDS/HIV, blame was a common factor. Going beyond this fact however, I argue that the texts of the Western press being examined here reflect a continuation of journalistic style in reporting dating back to the colonial period, or what Bass (1998) refers to as the ideologeme of imperial contagion.

Methodologically, analysis of news appeals as part of textual analysis was applied to research materials in order to reveal patterns of news form regarding the AIDS pandemic as international news. This was achieved by classifying newspaper articles into two major frame comprising of the origin of AIDS and the social impact of AIDS.

Among its key findings, the study demonstrated four types of appeals utilized by journalists in Western and African news reports about AIDS. For the Western press, the two appeals that emerged include: (1) Appeals to conventional conception, which emphasizes negative stereotypes; (2) Appeals to morality, which classifies issues as guilty or innocent, right or wrong. For the African press, the two appeals that emerged from the study includes: (1) Appeal to Pan-Africanism, which calls for solidarity among Africans to resist Western domination; (2) Appeal to distorted international social formation, which highlights the exploitative nature of the relationship between Africa and the West.