Passage to Africa - practice of journalism

Question 1

‘In the ghoulish manner of journalists on the hunt for the most striking pictures, my cameraman […] and I tramped from one hut to another’ (8-9)

Answer 1

The diction of ‘ghoulish’ reveals the cold and calculated realities of reporting from war-torn countries such as Somalia. Similarly, the diction of ‘hunt’ likens journalists to predators who desperately seek out others’ suffering.

Question 2

‘The degeneration of the human body, sucked of its natural vitality by the twin evils of hunger and disease, is a disgusting thing. We never say so in our TV reports. It’s a taboo that has yet to be breached.’ (34-36)

Answer 2

The writer’s stark, confessional tone (achieved using emotive diction like ‘the degeneration of the human body […] is a disgusting thing’) clarifies the difference between the sanitised content of news reports from impoverished countries and the much harsher reality of life in those countries.

Question 3

[The man’s smile] touched me in a way I could not explain. It moved me in a way that went beyond pity or revulsion.’ (49-51)

Answer 3

Here, the diction of ‘touched’ and ‘could not explain’ shows how even experienced journalists such as George Alagiah are capable of being surprised by what they encounter when reporting from overseas.

Question 4

‘There is an unwritten code between the journalist and his subjects in these situations. The journalist observes, the subject is observed. The journalist is active, the subject is passive.’ (58-60)

Answer 4

Here, Alagiah’s use of parallelism captures the power dynamic between journalists and their subjects. It also implicitly (and shockingly) likens their subjects to animals in a zoo.

Question 5

‘Facts and figures are the easy part of journalism. Knowing where they sit in the great scheme of things is much harder.’ (72-73)

Answer 5

Alagiah’s confessional tone emphasises that the human aspect of international journalism is the most challenging part of the job.