New News Out of Africa: Uncovering Africa's Renaissance (W.E.B. Du Bois Institute) [Hardcover]

Charlayne Hunter-Gault (Author)

Book Description

Series: W.E.B. Du Bois Institute | Publication Date: June 1, 2006

For twenty years an acclaimed correspondent on PBS's The News Hour with Jim Lehrer and the winner of two Emmys and two Peabody Awards (the latter two for her coverage of Africa), Charlayne Hunter-Gault was until recently the Johannesburg Bureau Chief for CNN. In New News Out of Africa, this eminent reporter offers a fresh and surprisingly optimistic assessment of modern Africa, revealing that there is more to the continent than the bad news of disease, disaster, and despair.
Blending personal memoir with sterling reportage and astute analysis, Hunter Gault presents an Africa we rarely see. She looks first at South Africa, contrasting the country she first encountered as a young reporter--when she personally witnessed the brutality of apartheid--with the black-led, multiracial society of today, a nation undergoing one of the most radical social and economic experiments in modern times. She acknowledges the great imbalance in income in modern South Africa (where upwards of 30 to 40 percent of blacks are unemployed) and describes the ravaging effect of AIDS on the nation, but she also underscores the nation's commitment to affirmative action, describes how South African universities have opened their doors to black students, and debunks many of the myths about the violence of South African society. Likewise, Hunter-Gault looks at the continent-wide efforts to promote "an African Renaissance," illuminating the political and economic conditions in Rwanda, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Angola, and Sierra Leone. Finally, the book describes the challenges of reporting on the much-maligned continent and the efforts of African journalists to tell their own story.
A compelling book on a topic of vital importance, New News Out of Africa promises to re-define what is news about this vast and complex continent.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Widespread AIDS, constant internal strife and corrupt, shaky economies form the largely media-driven image of Africa that many Americans possess, argues veteran correspondent Hunter-Gault in this skillful blend of memoir, reportage and political analysis. The author is determined to deliver some "new news"—or good news—out of Africa, and to challenge facile assumptions that it is a dark, hopeless continent ravaged by the "four D's": death, disaster, disease and despair. Based on lectures Hunter-Gault gave at Harvard University in 2003, while a fellow at the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research, the book is divided into three distinct though intrinsically interrelated sections: an analysis of South Africa under apartheid and positive postapartheid developments; the painful yet powerful continent-wide transition from colonialism to democratic reform; and how foreign and African journalists can more accurately report an emerging "African Renaissance," particularly in Rwanda, Kenya, Mozambique, Angola, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. Hunter-Gault (In My Place), who lives in Johannesburg, where she is special Africa correspondent for NPR, has written an incisive, informative work that provides a balanced perspective on the continent's recent past, transformative present and potentially rich future. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Hunter-Gault brings long and respected journalistic experience with NPR, CNN and PBS, as well as riveting personal experience, to an examination of developments in Africa that most Americans remain ignorant of because of the scarcity of coverage in the American media. Hunter-Gault offers observations on South Africa's struggle to reconcile its troubled racial past, examining unresolved issues of apartheid and how they are being addressed, including developing a civil society, efforts at black economic empowerment, and treatment of HIV/AIDS. She explores efforts by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to expose the brutality of the apartheid regime without destroying future prospects for peace and democracy, and how--despite its imperfections--the commission provides a model for other African nations struggling to rebuild after years of internal conflict. Despite staggering unemployment and the scourge of AIDS, South Africa is showing promising efforts to build schools, broaden access to universities, expand health-care services, and otherwise advance the prospects for Africans of all races. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195177479
• ISBN-13: 978-0195177473
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,636,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a decent introduction to Africa today, September 3, 2006

By 

Yaakov Ben Shalom - See all my reviews

This review is from: New News Out of Africa: Uncovering Africa's Renaissance (W.E.B. Du Bois Institute) (Hardcover)

I had very high hopes for "New News Out of Africa," but I was ultimately disappointed.

For someone who knows nothing about contemporary Africa, the book does provide a good introduction to some of the main issues that Africa faces (the legacy of apartheid, AIDS, corruption, NEPAD, the African Union) and elucidates some bright spots on a troubled continent. However, there are several problems with this book, in my opinion.

1) THE FOCUS ON SOUTH AFRICA
Hunter-Gault focuses disproportionately on South Africa (well over 1/3 of the book). This makes sense since she lives in Johannesburg, but South Africa is hardly representative of Africa as a whole. South Africa has the highest GDP per capita in Africa (higher than even Croatia, Chile, Russia, or Turkey). It has extremely low public debt. And it has a world-class infrastructure. When talking about Africa's future, you cannot compare South Africa to [...] Congo-Kinshasa.

2) NARROW COVERAGE OF AFRICA
The author's overemphasis on South Africa and the book's short length mean that the rest of Africa gets less attention than it merits. The book is 142 pages (before endnotes) and is printed in large font. It is true that chapter 2 (out of 3) jumps all over Africa, giving little snapshots of the situation in many countries (and it is the best chapter). But the author could have written a book twice as long and gone into greater depth. Moreover, if she had divided the book up into a region-by-region analysis, she might have been able to highlight the real disparities across Africa in terms of development and hope for the future.

3) THE "I" FACTOR
Readers of "New News Out of Africa" should know that the book is not just about Africa and its recent history. The book is also substantively about Hunter-Gault and her personal relationship to Africa. It is about her experiences in Africa, what Africa has meant to her as an African-American, and which famous people she has interviewed in Africa. This isn't a criticism per se, but prospective buyers should know what to expect. Rather than such a deeply personal aspect, I was hoping for a more dispassionate analysis.

4) SOURCES
I am one of those people who wants to know where facts come from. And Hunter-Gault cites some amazing facts. So, as I read "New News Out of Africa," I was constantly flipping back to the endnotes, but I was very disappointed to see that most of them come from interviews with Hunter-Gault and from websites.
Many academic scholars (especially historians, but not sociologists) are wary of interviews since they are highly subjective and often not verifiable.
And who verifies the websites used? How do we know that the information provided there is accurate? I generally trust websites like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, but what about other sites?
Some of the information seems to be taken uncritically from these sites. As an example, from one website: She quotes a poem by the "Congoloese poet and politician" Patrice Lumumba. I've heard Lumumba called many things before (postal worker, beer salesman, politician, rebel), but never a poet.
In the endnotes/bibliography, I was surprised not to see page after page of scholarly analyses, monographs, and academic papers. There are some, but far fewer than warranted.

"New News Out of Africa" does provide a very good introduction to important issues; however, the best passages -- those that are the most useful -- are buried among others and are best excerpted. But herein lies the paradox or the problem. The person new to African studies wouldn't know which passages are better than others, and the Africa expert, who does know, doesn't need an introduction.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Same Pitfalls, August 13, 2006

By 

Tom Sawyer (Washington.D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New News Out of Africa: Uncovering Africa's Renaissance (W.E.B. Du Bois Institute) (Hardcover)

Three Stars for an extremely laudable premise, especially considering Africa's renewed efforts at "getting it right". Well written, easy to read piece of work.

However, the writer could have done better by focusing on one sub region at a time. Her extended situation in South Africa allows her a relatively in-depth perception regarding progress and developments within the immediate region.

Her attempt to harness East Africa, West Africa as well as North Africa in this one book drastically watered down what would otherwise have been an extremely great piece of work.

She committed the one grave error most foreign journalists make in reporting on Africa- attempting to lump the entire continent up into one short story. This is regardless of the fact that given the diversity of its societies and economies - a country like Nigeria on its own presents a formidable challenge to analyze in a few paragraphs.

In addition, instead of focusing entirely on supposedly positive news alone, readers will be better served if the writer had given a factual country-by-country report.

If aggregate positive development within the entire continent of Africa can truly be outlined in less than 150 pages, I would not think it worth reporting.

I however think it fair to mention the fact that I lived in West Africa for over 30 years, extensively traveled the continent, still maintain strong ties and am an avid Africa watcher, which somewhat gives me an indepth perception.

This book would probably be a good enough read for the casually interested person.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A snapshot, November 29, 2006

By 

Keri Eisenbeis "Keri" (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New News Out of Africa: Uncovering Africa's Renaissance (W.E.B. Du Bois Institute) (Hardcover)

Charlayne Hunter-Gault provides a snapshot of life in Africa, from the perspective of someone who has lived and breathed news coverage on the continent for decades. Yes, the book is heavy on South Africa, but as the powerhouse of Africa and the launching point for most of her work, it makes the book more personal and anecdotal - a plus from my perspective.

She is a journalist questioning her industry's poor coverage of the continent -- that is the heart of the book. It is not meant to be an academic book or the definitive word on Africa. New News presents a moment in time. She addresses the sad fact that most Westerners have a severely skewed perspective of the continent, largely due to doomsday media coverage.

New News was a modest attempt to give some balance to what Hunter-Gault calls the four D's of the African Apocalypse. Yes, I would like to read more, but was grateful for the 100-some pages of honest, first-hand analysis.