Acclaimed Journalist Tells Africa Correspondents to 'Come in Right'

Hunter-Gault debunked those notions last Friday at the Center for American Progress when she charged news media to “come in right,” and “check your pre-conceived notions and biases at the door.”

The continent, comprised of 54 nations with heterogeneous topographies, languages, histories, and economic strengths and weaknesses, should be reported in all its complexities.

African journalists have been prevented from telling their stories by repressive regimes; and foreign correspondents reporting on the continent often miss the mark, she said.

With more than 40 years of experience in the industry, Hunter-Gault has painted a poignantly complex picture of Africa in her latest book, “New News Out of Africa”—part memoir and part journalistic analysis. She divides “New News” into three parts, first focusing on South Africa—a country she lived in as CNN Johannesburg bureau chief—then on the continent-wide efforts to make the most changes since the end of colonialism, and lastly on the challenges that journalists must confront to report from the continent.

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