The “New Media Nation” in action: the next generation of Indigenous broadcasters. High school students with staff members of the Top End Aboriginal Bush Broadcasting Association (TEABBA), broadcasting live from the Gama Festival in Arnhem Land, Australia.  Photo credit : Michael Meadows

The Pig in a Garden: Jared Diamond and The New Yorker Series       

Art Science Research Laboratory's StinkyJournalism.org is publishing a series of essays on the controversy surrounding Jared Diamond's New Yorker article, "Annals of Anthropology: Vengeance is Ours." The essay series titled, The Pig in a Garden: Jared Diamond and The New Yorker, is written by ethics scholars in the fields of anthropology and communications, as well as journalists, environmental scientists, archaeologists, anthropologists and linguists, et al. Valerie Alia's essay is ninth in the series. 

 *        *         *        *         *           *          *          *         *

 Much has been written about the questionable research, writing, and presentation of indigenous people in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in Jared Diamond’s New Yorker article, “Vengeance Is Ours: What can tribal societies tell us about our need to get even?” I would like to place the article and discussion of it in a more general context of media ethics and media coverage of indigenous people. Moreover, I would like to consider it in the context of the important work that indigenous people around the world are doing, to tell more accurate stories – in their own voices – and to create their own media outlets and networks.

I wish I could say that Jared Diamond’s article is unique. Sadly, it is not.

Go to Full Story...