Snapshots

In the 1960s and 1970s, Third World governments prescribed and imposed a certain kind of journalism variously called 'objective' journalism or 'development journalism'. They understood this as journalism restricted to reporting 'facts' as dished out by their propagandists and did not tolerate the questioning of government policy. By 'development journalism', they meant the mere reporting of government efforts to provide services, amenities and infrastructures and the singing of praises anytime a bridge was inaugurated, irrespective of whether it was well-built or whether the contract to build was awarded according to norms of transparency and probity. This one-sided journalism was prevalent especially in state-owned media and media practitioners in the few private news publications that existed who did not toe the line were subjected to constant harassment and incarceration...." -- Back cover.