A new representation of Africa? The use of constructive journalism in the narration of Ebola by China Daily and the BBC

The 21st century has seen the continued dominance of Western media, and the emergence and steady rise of non-Western media in the international arena. In 2014, Ebola received widespread international media coverage, which provided an opportunity to study how Western and non-Western media narrated Ebola and Africa. Constructive journalism was employed to determine whether new journalistic approaches have emerged to cover crisis issues in Africa. The tone and salient themes of the stories were examined. China Daily featured more stories with new approaches related to constructive journalism than the BBC did. The study argues that the use of constructive journalism themes offers alternatives to traditional negative stereotypes through a holistic coverage of issues from the perspective of people in affected areas. Significantly, the practice of constructive journalism contributes to effective health communication, which is vital in the overall strategy to identify, contain and cure diseases such as Ebola. This article advances constructive journalism as an empowering approach, in narrating Ebola-related and African stories, for its focus on possible solutions.