Australian media representation of Uganda
Sydney Morning Herald
Australian media has only recently directly addressed Uganda due to the death of Irene Gleeson, a woman who dedicated 20 years of her life to help the Kony affected children of Uganda. Before her death Uganda was not often talked about and if it was, it was discussed as a part of war torn Africa, not the actual country itself.
The Sydney Morning Herald wrote an article on the 27th of July, 2013, titled ''Australia's Irene 'Mama' Gleeson, 68, fare-welled bu thousands in Uganda." It starts of talking about Irene Gleeson but then the article moves onto Uganda's history and hardships. It tells of the destruction caused by the Lords Resistance Army, and how he caused wide spread terror. Throughout the part of the article that refers to Uganda itself, there are over 13 negative words used to describe its atmosphere. War-torn, notorious, terror, orphaned, injustice, perished, terrorized and devastated are some examples. I think that The Sydney Morning herald are a very reliable website because they are well known, sponsored and have accurate information. However I think that this story shows only the surface of Uganda, the part that everyone knows. The Lord Resistance Army is an extremely prominent segment of Uganda's history but I do not think that it is the only part that defines the country or the people.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/australias-irene-mama-gleeson-68-farewelled-by-thousands-in-uganda-20130727-2qqq6.html#ixzz2cfdQA1lo
SBS News
SBS News did a segment on a project launched by the UNs Refugee Agency, UNHCR. School students from Sydney's Killarney Heights School got the opportunity to talk to students from a refugee camp in Uganda via skype. They were able to ask questions to one-another which allowed them to better understand each others way of living and learning. "I think it's about looking beyond how media might display the refugee story and actually help children gain a deeper understanding of what it's like to be a refugee." Debra O'Neill, an ambassador for Australia for UNHCR. There was a constant positive quality to this video segment, it addressed the refugee situation but did not delve in too deeply. SBS News is a reliable site for it is very well known and is a trusted news show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0QxQdSKp7Y
The Australian - News
The Australian Newspaper wrote multiple articles about Uganda, but once again they were all prominently featuring Joseph Kony and/or the Lords Resistence Army. The Australian talked about how Kony is wanted by the ICC for rape, mutilation and murer of civillians, as well as forcibly recruiting children to become soldiers and sex slaves. The articles definitely portray Uganda as a negative and dangerous place, and although Uganda can be a dangerous place I believe it is not always as such. Ominous words such as slaughter, cold blood, mutilations and wreaking havoc are common throughout the article, proving the the negative outlook of the piece. The Australian is again, a very well known paper and has shown thus far to provide accurate information therefore making it a reliable source. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/uganda-captures-senior-colleague-of-lords-resistance-army-warlord-joseph-kony/story-e6frg6so-1226354465507?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAustralianNewsNDM+%28The+Australian+%7C+News+%7C%29
Overall?
Based on the findings above, I believe the media's representation of Uganda to be quite a negative one. Uganda is portrayed as a very violent and blood soaked country, which it is in some cases, but I do not think that all of Uganda is like that. I feel that there is a side of Uganda that is kind, warm hearted and friendly, but that is also being ignored or unseen by the media and therefore a lot of society. I personally have been to Uganda and experienced it's positive side and its loving people, however before I went over there I also had the mind preset that it would be a very dangerous country filled with bad people.
Australian media has only recently directly addressed Uganda due to the death of Irene Gleeson, a woman who dedicated 20 years of her life to help the Kony affected children of Uganda. Before her death Uganda was not often talked about and if it was, it was discussed as a part of war torn Africa, not the actual country itself.
The Sydney Morning Herald wrote an article on the 27th of July, 2013, titled ''Australia's Irene 'Mama' Gleeson, 68, fare-welled bu thousands in Uganda." It starts of talking about Irene Gleeson but then the article moves onto Uganda's history and hardships. It tells of the destruction caused by the Lords Resistance Army, and how he caused wide spread terror. Throughout the part of the article that refers to Uganda itself, there are over 13 negative words used to describe its atmosphere. War-torn, notorious, terror, orphaned, injustice, perished, terrorized and devastated are some examples. I think that The Sydney Morning herald are a very reliable website because they are well known, sponsored and have accurate information. However I think that this story shows only the surface of Uganda, the part that everyone knows. The Lord Resistance Army is an extremely prominent segment of Uganda's history but I do not think that it is the only part that defines the country or the people.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/australias-irene-mama-gleeson-68-farewelled-by-thousands-in-uganda-20130727-2qqq6.html#ixzz2cfdQA1lo
SBS News
SBS News did a segment on a project launched by the UNs Refugee Agency, UNHCR. School students from Sydney's Killarney Heights School got the opportunity to talk to students from a refugee camp in Uganda via skype. They were able to ask questions to one-another which allowed them to better understand each others way of living and learning. "I think it's about looking beyond how media might display the refugee story and actually help children gain a deeper understanding of what it's like to be a refugee." Debra O'Neill, an ambassador for Australia for UNHCR. There was a constant positive quality to this video segment, it addressed the refugee situation but did not delve in too deeply. SBS News is a reliable site for it is very well known and is a trusted news show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0QxQdSKp7Y
The Australian - News
The Australian Newspaper wrote multiple articles about Uganda, but once again they were all prominently featuring Joseph Kony and/or the Lords Resistence Army. The Australian talked about how Kony is wanted by the ICC for rape, mutilation and murer of civillians, as well as forcibly recruiting children to become soldiers and sex slaves. The articles definitely portray Uganda as a negative and dangerous place, and although Uganda can be a dangerous place I believe it is not always as such. Ominous words such as slaughter, cold blood, mutilations and wreaking havoc are common throughout the article, proving the the negative outlook of the piece. The Australian is again, a very well known paper and has shown thus far to provide accurate information therefore making it a reliable source. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/uganda-captures-senior-colleague-of-lords-resistance-army-warlord-joseph-kony/story-e6frg6so-1226354465507?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAustralianNewsNDM+%28The+Australian+%7C+News+%7C%29
Overall?
Based on the findings above, I believe the media's representation of Uganda to be quite a negative one. Uganda is portrayed as a very violent and blood soaked country, which it is in some cases, but I do not think that all of Uganda is like that. I feel that there is a side of Uganda that is kind, warm hearted and friendly, but that is also being ignored or unseen by the media and therefore a lot of society. I personally have been to Uganda and experienced it's positive side and its loving people, however before I went over there I also had the mind preset that it would be a very dangerous country filled with bad people.