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Meanwhile, news consumers in the United States rarely see news reports about these massacres from elite newsrooms, especially the major television networks.
Why is that?
That was the question that host Todd Wilken and I explored in this week’s “Crossroads” podcast. Much of our discussion focused on a gripping story in the New York Times that proved to be an exception to this journalism rule. That double-decker headline proclaimed:
She Faked a Religious Conversion to Escape Terrorists
After being abducted by an offshoot of Boko Haram in Nigeria six years ago, a Christian nurse describes her daring escape and how faith kept her alive
Once again, why are reports of this kind so rare?
For 20 years, the GetReligion.org team offered evidence (the archive is online) that the leaders of many, maybe even most, mainstream newsrooms simply do not “get” religion, as in grasping the role that religion plays in an astonishing number of events and trends around the world. I’ve been writing about this topic for 45 years, beginning with my graduate-school research at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.
Sad, but true. Way too many newsroom managers don’t care about religion, unless (#DUH) it veers into American politics.
Meanwhile, there is another trend that affects the coverage of important stories in Nigeria and many other global hot spots. Truth is, American news consumers are not all that interested in international news coverage (surf this search file about that sad fact).
At the same time, crashing numbers linked to advertising revenue — Big Tech giants control the vast majority of those dollars — have slashed reporting budgets, including funds for essential, but expensive, news bureaus around the world. Freelance reporters are not an adequate replacement for experienced, trusted, foreign correspondants.
Thus, if newsroom managers don’t “get” religion, and most American news consumers are not interested in international news, then it’s logical that journalists rarely produce quality work about complex religion news stories on the other side of the world. Do the math.
So, why did this New York Times piece work? While there are some gaps in it, the simple fact is that the personal story of this kidnapped Christian nurse — the power of her voice — was undeniable. The overture included one other clue as to why this story made it into print:
For more than six years, Alice Loksha Ngaddah bided her time, waiting for an opportunity to escape her abductors.
She had been kidnapped in Nigeria by a splinter group of Boko Haram, one of the world’s deadliest terrorist groups.
Her moment to flee arrived in October, when Ms. Loksha, the 3-year-old son she gave birth to in captivity and another abductee, Fayina Ali Akilawus, slipped out of the militants’ camp at dusk. They traveled by donkey, ox cart, boat and car for more than three days until arriving at a military outpost in northeastern Nigeria.
As they neared their destination, the women erupted in praises to Jesus, shouting, “We are really saved,” Ms. Loksha recalled, speaking to The New York Times this week in her only interview since regaining freedom.
Note these words — “in her only interview since regaining freedom.” In other words, this amazing story was an exclusive. In fact, Loksha remains in danger — since there really isn’t any place to find safety in the northern half of Nigeria.
Another important theme in the Times report is woven into this next passage, which is long, but essential:
After 11 days of being moved around by their captors, Ms. Loksha and the midwives were brought to Kangaruwa, a camp run by the group that took them, Islamic State West Africa Province, a Boko Haram offshoot.
For the first few months, the insurgents left the women alone. The militants made contact with the aid organizations the women had worked for and the Nigerian government, trying to extract ransoms and the release of imprisoned comrades. When their demands were not met, they became angry and told the women to expect the worst.
“The nation will be surprised,” Ms. Loksha said the fighters told them.
On Sept. 16, Saifura Khorsa, one of the two midwives, felt particularly uneasy. “Maybe they are coming to take us home,” Ms. Loksha remembered her saying. It was the woman’s birthday, so Ms. Loksha tried to lift her spirits by cracking jokes and doing her hair.
Vehicles full of fighters appeared and took Ms. Khorsa away. She was executed that day, Ms. Loksha learned later. The other midwife, Hauwa Mohammed Liman, was killed the following month. Both women were Muslim; the Islamist militants said they deserved to die because they had betrayed their faith by working for the Red Cross.
It’s crucial for readers to understand that while Islamic radicals have killed Christian believers by the thousands, they also attack and murder Muslims who do not share their warped version of Islam. This includes persecuting Muslims who dare to assist organizations — such as the Red Cross — that seek peace in the midst of Nigeria’s ongoing civil strife.
In other words, while it is accurate to cover the ongoing tensions between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, it is also crucial for readers to understand the divisions inside Islam. The radicals of the Islamic State are terrorists and criminals, but they also are armed militants promoting a very specific approach to Islam and blasphemy codes.
There are other important issues in this Times report, which are discussed in the podcast. Yes, read it all (and listen to the podcast).
But here is how this long, complicated story ends:
Ms. Loksha’s safety is still uncertain. The military received credible information this week that her captors were looking for her. She said she was prepared for this possibility, and for whatever else might come her way.
“The same God that gave me that courage will be the same God that will lead me further,” she said. “To move on, you forget about the past.”
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