Freedom of Information

Don't tell ME there's no hope for the future of journalism! Yesterday, I finally got around to picking up a copy of the Red Pepper newspaper in Kampala and learned that the lascivious, lunatic columnist Hyena, who kept me paralyzed in a state between hilarity and apoplexy during my time in Gulu, has changed his tune and now offers sex advice instead of outlandish (largely fictional) tales of own his satanic sexual appetite!

What a selfless humanitarian!

And today's edition offered stories of the woman who gave birth to a snake, how one pastor survived the unwanted attentions of a "sodomite," and the gruelling saga of the ex-wife of another pastor who endured his rapacious sexual advances (even if they only lasted for a minute), at which point lizards used to crawl into their bed and and start having their way with her, too!!!

It's funny and it's not funny. After all, if nobody was buying the Red Pepper it would have stopped publishing a long time ago. And I won't go off on an elitist, imperialist tangent about "Third World yellow journalism," because there are plenty of tabloids like this in the US.

But reading the Pepper helps deepen my commitment to my journalism training and mentoring work in Africa. Sadly, the quality of the writing in the Red Pepper is about the same as in other "mainstream" publications. And I know there are a lot of sincere, talented young men and women who want to improve their writing and reporting, and to produce stories about issues that make a difference in people's lives.

That's why I spent 8 months in Gulu, and that's why I'm coming up on my 1 year anniversary in Nairobi. That's also why I'm spending this weekend damn near suffocating in a poorly-ventilated conference room in Kampala, leading a radio newsfeatures training workshop.

But hey, at least I'm not being chased by a "sodomite." Sigh.