“Why was Becky Anderson angry?” This was a question raised when a few of us were discussing ‘THAT’ interview on CNN a few days back; It was simple to answer and difficult to answer at the same time. ‘Simple’ in that it has been quite a while since we’ve stopped expecting any fairness and justice from that particular station. Other than the so-called news bits no one who witnessed the Elbagir woman’s sustained horribly biased stories about this country would be naive enough to keep anything different. ‘Difficult’ in that given the stature of the interviewer being one if the top-league faces of the station it was a moment when two and two become either five or three. There must be something wrong with her or else she wouldn’t sink to this depth after all those years in the profession.
Look no sane person wants to do disservice to the lady; no one wants to smear the reputation and impeccable journalistic skills of Becky Anderson who has been at it for quite a while. In true spirit of fairness she has earned it. But when she kept interrupting Billene Seyoum so callously sticking wedges in the flow of ideas you wouldn’t help frowning. By the way such interruptions aren’t always attempts to reach at the truth but many times confusing the interviewee to let him/ her into damaging missteps. As we don’t know in what mode the interviewer’s mind was all we can do is keep our speculations to ourselves for fear of making the same blunders we’re criticizing. Thumbs up to Billene since she was firmly on the moral high ground and stayed there with not a single misstep.
By the way did you see how Becky talked with Getachew Reda? It was like she has been baptized or something and she was so ‘generous’ in allowing him finish what he wanted to say and even her tone somewhat mellowed. Look as was seen at that massive rally in Addis and elsewhere in the country CNN isn’t winning a lot of friends in this part of the world.
There was this hilarious post on Facebook following CNN’s incessant blatant disregard for the facts the ground on Ethiopia. The post was all about betrayal of trust. Above the picture of a sad young girl it’s written’ “He told me he loved me and I believed him;” The KO punch comes at the bottom of the picture where the young girl seals it real tight; “I didn’t know he was with CNN!” Ha! Ha! If we look past the humor part that post showed Ethiopians had enough with CNN and co. A widely circulated post has the picture of the statue of a lion near the National Theater; and the ‘breaking news’ attributed to CNN says “A big Dinosaur spotted in Addis Ababa!”
Well after watching how one of the big leagues in CNN Becky Anderson carried herself during her interview with the Prime Minister’s spokesperson Billene Seyoum, any doubts as to what we’ve been seeing over the past months were journalistic slips with ‘no harm intended’ have mostly evaporated.
In the first place the journalist seemed to be looking for a bareknuckle showdown any which way possible probably thinking sooner or later she would pin her guest to the wall. (That all they seem to be aiming for isn’t it? Pinning us to some wall so that we crumble and raise voices for mercy, “O! Masters of the world; what have we done to you to deserve this!”) Anyone who followed social media reactions to ‘the interview’ would recognize many viewers elsewhere in the world with no direct interest in the whole issue back here were disgusted. One Hayuna Abdullahi wrote, “Don’t invite a guest if u don’t let them talk and finish there thought. CNN lost ‼”
Anther lady wrote CNN couldn’t be legitimate, as they’ve already chose sides. That’s what’s most of us are saying. Good old Nima Elbagir made sure we are aware of that when she played that melodramatic “CNN! CNN! farce somewhere in northern Ethiopia. Yes, they’ve picked side and all they seem to be doing throw as many balls at us as the oxygen supply in their lungs allows them to. The innocent question here is a big “But why?” “What do they gain by plunging Ethiopians into perpetual mess from which they wouldn’t emerge for decades?
She was agitated! I mean, dear old Becky was agitated! Would you believe that? One of the stations most celebrated journalists being agitated because her guest wasn’t willing to be put down and instead on keeping her head higher and straight! Are we missing something here? I have to be frank that I, too, was taken at seeing her agitated, reaction I don’t usually see on her… Why are they taking the Ethiopian issue so ‘personally?’
The agitation thing also goes to the respected lady at the UN Security Council who was visibly angry during the last discussions about Ethiopia. It really hurls you into the darkest well of confusion trying to decode what is eating these people. A line that seems to have been thrown as an uppercut punch, “There are no good guys on both sides” should be preserved as the “Quote of the session no. something!” In a more ways than one, it echoes the “There are good people from both sides;” said somewhere that hemisphere for all the wrong reasons.
Something Becky should pat her own back about is that she has already become a household name in many circles back here. That’s not a feat easily achieved! However disgusted one is at her performance one can’t deny her that! Next time no one would be saying “Who the hell is this Becky Anderson woman?” like no one is at a loss as to who the hell Elbagir lady is! The interview was more than a question/ answer showcase.
It was anger against calmness;
It was discipline against rude behavior.
It was arrogance against civility and finally, It was many things except an interview where fairness prevailed.
Fast forward to Becky’s session with the spokesperson was the group designated as a terrorist by the Ethiopian parliament. Oh, that was one story. In the first place the guy didn’t experience the amount of mid-sentence interruption like Billene had to endure. In addition I for one am not sure as to who, all a sudden, run away with the Becky’s aggressive genes! And so fast at that! One thing that’s becoming stranger by the day is that too many sides seem to be thinking this is the opportune moment for getting the biggest chunk of the Ethiopian pie.
Al Jazeera, in its story about the massive rally in adios kicked off with the title “Thousands of protesters…” while the numbers in very humble estimates go into the upper edges of the hundreds of thousands.
One other thing that lay bare the biased, mission-oriented acts of the so-called western press and the not-so-western press with the same genes was that they described the rally goers as “Government supporters.” That’s typical ‘African stereotyping.’ You don’t rally in Africa on your own free will. You must be a government supporter. Or you must be with opposition parties in which case the truncheons and in many cases the bullets are sure to come flying. But that was a rally about sovereignty; it was a rally where people from diverse age groups and backgrounds converged on the Meskel Square to tell the world. “Don’t mess with our internal matters.” The “Keep your hands off Ethiopia,” has become the rallying cry as some Western politicians seem to take the Ethiopian crisis as a free-for-all game!
One can’t help but wonder how heartless this world has become; how cruel the politicians have become, and how inconsiderate journalistic thugs in sections the western press have become. And while we’re at it, we hope Becky dear, would one day ask herself, “What was I exactly doing at that interview!” We might even help in sending real Holy Water which might bring you wonders you never thought were found on this planet! Ha!
Ephrem Endale Contributer
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION NOVEMBEBER 14/2021