While I had heard stories that the state-run newspaper, Jornal de Angola, was nothing nothing more than a propaganda tool for the MPLA (the ruling party), a few weeks ago I experienced this first hand. While in Lubango, a reporter from Jornal de Angola came to the first day of English Weekend and he asked me a few questions about the event and my opinion on English education in Angola. All pretty benign....so I thought.
The following day, I ran into the reporter at (ironically) the journalism training seminar that the embassy was conducting in the provinces. He enthusiastically came up to me and announced that the story had been printed in the national edition of the paper and that he would get a copy for me during the lunch break. When he returned, he proudly flipped to the page and handed the paper to me, anxiously awaiting my reaction. Finally, I looked up and said, "I didn't say any of this." I read my "quotes" again as a pit of anger and frustration began to form in my stomach.
What Jornal de Angola wrote (translated from Portuguese): "The executivo is working very hard to promote English education in Angola. During the war, people did not have the opportunity to study English, but now things are much better."
* The executivo refers to the president.
What I actually said: "The American Embassy is working with universities to improve English language teaching through events like this. It is important to bring teachers together so that they can discuss the challenges they face and to find solutions. The American Embassy is committed to providing English materials to teachers and exposing them to new methodologies."
A million questions were swirling around my head as I looked at the journalist with disbelief. Why is he so excited to show me an article in which I was so blatantly misquoted? Why did he even interview me if he was going to write whatever he wanted anyway? How could anyone believe a word of this? Why would an English teacher from the US be talking about the war and the president of Angola?
Our conversation did not alleviate any of my confusion. I insisted that I didn't say what was written and he argued that it was OK because it was nothing bad or political. I told him that wasn't the point. I explained to him that he can't put my words in quotes if I did not say them. What are they teaching them in this journalism training anyway? He told me that he sent the story to Luanda and the editor changed it, but he really did not seem phased by the fact that my words were completely ignored and replaced with ones that praised the government.
The story also boasted a color photo of the crowd on cultural night, which featured dancing and singing performances. I was sitting in the front row with several of my colleagues from the embassy. Keep in mind, this was a very low key event, so we were all dressed very casually. The caption under the picture read: American diplomats gather for academic conference at university in Lubango. I would hardly call kuduro dance groups and horrible renditions of Boys II Men songs an academic conference. Not to mention, we look like total bums for attending an "academic conference" in jeans and t-shirts. My colleague's boss sent him a text saying, "Saw the paper today. You couldn't have worn a big boy shirt?"
Unfortunately, this incident is par for the course. Jornal de Angola's objective is not to inform the people of of this country, but to maintain the status quo. Now I know why my students told me that if I want to know they truth, then I shouldn't read the paper.
The following day, I ran into the reporter at (ironically) the journalism training seminar that the embassy was conducting in the provinces. He enthusiastically came up to me and announced that the story had been printed in the national edition of the paper and that he would get a copy for me during the lunch break. When he returned, he proudly flipped to the page and handed the paper to me, anxiously awaiting my reaction. Finally, I looked up and said, "I didn't say any of this." I read my "quotes" again as a pit of anger and frustration began to form in my stomach.
What Jornal de Angola wrote (translated from Portuguese): "The executivo is working very hard to promote English education in Angola. During the war, people did not have the opportunity to study English, but now things are much better."
* The executivo refers to the president.
What I actually said: "The American Embassy is working with universities to improve English language teaching through events like this. It is important to bring teachers together so that they can discuss the challenges they face and to find solutions. The American Embassy is committed to providing English materials to teachers and exposing them to new methodologies."
A million questions were swirling around my head as I looked at the journalist with disbelief. Why is he so excited to show me an article in which I was so blatantly misquoted? Why did he even interview me if he was going to write whatever he wanted anyway? How could anyone believe a word of this? Why would an English teacher from the US be talking about the war and the president of Angola?
Our conversation did not alleviate any of my confusion. I insisted that I didn't say what was written and he argued that it was OK because it was nothing bad or political. I told him that wasn't the point. I explained to him that he can't put my words in quotes if I did not say them. What are they teaching them in this journalism training anyway? He told me that he sent the story to Luanda and the editor changed it, but he really did not seem phased by the fact that my words were completely ignored and replaced with ones that praised the government.
The story also boasted a color photo of the crowd on cultural night, which featured dancing and singing performances. I was sitting in the front row with several of my colleagues from the embassy. Keep in mind, this was a very low key event, so we were all dressed very casually. The caption under the picture read: American diplomats gather for academic conference at university in Lubango. I would hardly call kuduro dance groups and horrible renditions of Boys II Men songs an academic conference. Not to mention, we look like total bums for attending an "academic conference" in jeans and t-shirts. My colleague's boss sent him a text saying, "Saw the paper today. You couldn't have worn a big boy shirt?"
Unfortunately, this incident is par for the course. Jornal de Angola's objective is not to inform the people of of this country, but to maintain the status quo. Now I know why my students told me that if I want to know they truth, then I shouldn't read the paper.
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