There are some things that you feel responsible after learning. Something about an experience that calls you to to action. To respond. And as you choose to obey or ignore this inner compulsion, you are changed in the process. You grow. You develop.
Sometimes you discover something and want to share it with as many people as possible. Why are we not writing to the Daily Nation, and sharing all that is happening every day in the Mathare Valley and beyond? Over time, I have come to be a bit more cynical of the media, not because of it’s politics and corruption, but because of it’s angle. It’s perspective.
It’s very nature makes it unable to tell the complete story.
I journeyed through college slightly enamored at the ability of international media to influence such a wide audience with information about what is happening in the world (particularly in developing nations and otherwise marginalized societies).
After living in that world, I confess I’ve become a bit more cynical. Or perhaps more realistic. I’ve learned that:
Images and words captured by camera (still and moving) can be distorted to communicate a very different message than the subject of the footage may have intended.
Dignity is very easily encouraged or challenged in the snap of a photo. Or two photos. Or three.
Journalists don’t always do their research. Or rather, ‘research’ in developing nations has a variety of different dynamic. There are the statistics, and official records. Then there are the on-the-ground stories, interpreted by writers with a different worldview than their subjects. If we struggle to correctly understand each other in our native tongue, how are we to able to communicate effectively in a foreign tongue, with a different understanding of reality?
Then slowly, as with all things in this journey with Jesus, I began to see these things in myself.
As journalists, we are trained to always be looking for a “story.” Which, in effect, means that we want something from the people we are meeting. We meet them, and listen, all the while wondering… “What questions would be best to ask next? What story are you sharing that I can retell?” The reason I know, is because I am guilty of it as well.
I sit in the back of the matatu that cuts through traffic and clouds of smog on our way to the center of town. Street vendors sell clothes, a mix of outdated western fashion and traditional Kenyan fabrics… a story about the Kenyan struggle for cultural identity.
Two men in a fist fight as we drive down limuru road…later on our matatu driver is stuck in a jam far too close to another vehicle, and erupts in shouting as he opens the door to pound on the obstructive object… the built-up aggression underneath the surface of society.
Our intentions are good. Help those who have not seen to understand. Write for now. Write for eternity.
I met a news reporter the other day. He was very kind. Personable. Outgoing. He asked a lot of questions. All great qualities for a reporter, and for a journalist.
But our brief encounter got me thinking: What makes a good international journalist? What about one who wants to follow Jesus? How do you share what you are hearing to a global audience, while remaining faithful to your convictions in love?
So to those of you who are interested in reporting in the third-world, (named as such because of it’s political and economic state rather than because of our ability to speak in third-person about them), I offer the following suggestions.
Put the camera down. You may or may not be aware of the struggle inside of you, but having that lens gives you a different one as well.
Remember: You come to listen. Before you pull our your pen and paper, take time to hear their stories. Notice as much as you can. Make mental notes of observation. Ask the good questions that you have been taught to ask. But…
Don’t choose an angle to quickly. Where you think you have found the ‘story’ may not be the heart of the matter.
You may notice that these things would be hard to do in a short amount of time. When there are deadlines, either by a professor, employer or teammate you are rushed to take in as much as possible in a tidal wave of differences. Which brings me to the following. Volunteer, serve, or otherwise engage in living cross-culturally for an extended period of time.
There it is – I said it. Yes, you need adequate (holistic) preparation. No, it’s not comfortable. Yes, it takes a lot of money. No, there is no other way to learn.
Before we can write in the third-person, we need to take steps towards understanding. We won’t ever fully be able to walk in their shoes, but there is no ethical writing without taking steps forward, allowing ourselves to be changed in the process.
*Photo credit: Krystal Underwood
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Tags: developing world, journalism, Kenya, Nairobi, third-world reporting, writing
