African countries have long censured the Western media for dwelling on negative news and ignoring positive news from the continent. During the 1970s and 1980s, they called for an international order that would compel Western media outlets to provide more balanced coverage of Africa. The Western media stridently opposed the move, citing their press freedom rights. The issue spawned controversy, which died down in the late 1980s. However, the concerns expressed by African countries are still relevant today, as millions of people get news about Africa from the Web sites of major Western news organizations.
This study examined the reporting of African news on five Western news Web sites and an African news aggregator. It used scholarship on international news flow and framing theory to examine the flow and framing of African news on the sites. The study found that African news items constitute a small percentage of the news reports on the home pages and world news pages of the Western news sites. Also, the study found that African news items on the sites mainly focus on clashes, conflict and crises, thus providing more of the types of negative news items that have riled African countries over the years.