Bad News: Last Journalists in a Dictatorship - Softcover

Sundaram, Anjan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1408866471 ISBN 13: 9781408866474

Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks, 2017

Synopsis

Hearing a blast, journalist Anjan Sundaram headed uphill towards the sound. Grenade explosions are not entirely unusual in the city of Kigali; dissidents throw them in public areas to try and destabilise the government and, since moving to Rwanda, he had observed an increasing number of them.

What was unusual about this one, however, was that when Sundaram arrived, it was as though nothing had happened. Traffic circulated as normal, there was no debris on the streets and the policeman on duty denied any event whatsoever. This was evidence of a clean-up, a cloaking of the discontent in Rwanda and a desire to silence the media in a country most of whose citizens were without internet. This was the first of many ominous events.

Bad News is the extraordinary account of the battle for free speech in modern-day Rwanda. Following not only those journalists who stayed, despite fearing torture or even death from a ruthless government, but also those reporting from exile, it is the story of papers being shut down, of lies told to please foreign delegates, of the unshakeable loyalty that can be bred by terror, of history being retold, of constant surveillance, of corrupted elections and of great courage.

It tells the true narrative of Rwandan society today and, in the face of powerful forces, of the fight to make explosions heard.

About this title

About the Author:

ANJAN SUNDARAM is the author of Stringer: A Reporter's Journey in the Congo. He is an award-winning journalist who has reported from Africa for a decade for the New York Times, the Associated Press and other publications. His writing on Africa has appeared in the Globe and Mail, Granta, Observer, Foreign Policy, Politico, Fortune and the Washington Post. He has been interviewed on African affairs by the CBC, the BBC and Radio France Internationale. He received a Reuters journalism award in 2006 for his reporting from Congo. Anjan graduated from Yale University.

Review:

Finalist for the 2017 PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award

“In this thoughtful and evocative book, Anjan Sundaram takes us into the lives of those living under a dictatorship. He chronicles the sacrifices of the brave journalists who try to speak the truth about their own country, the damage those truths inflict on those who bear witness, and the horrors of silence for those who cannot speak. His clipped and lucid prose offers an illuminating look into a place too often ignored by the rest of the world.” —Graeme Smith, award-winning author of The Dogs Are Eating Them Now: Our War in Afghanistan

“Few people have suffered the hideous fate of Rwandans in the modern era. It is shocking, painful beyond words, to see the darkness settling again in a dystopia that is crushing free expression and individual lives. This searing, evocative account, focusing on young journalists struggling to gain the rights they so richly deserve, provides insights about the human condition that reach far beyond the tragic story of Rwanda.” —Noam Chomsky

“[A]stonishing. . . . [H]eartbreaking. . . . Bad News is an honest, well-written portrayal of both the current political situation in Rwanda and the underrated work many journalists sacrifice their lives for. It may not be as glamorous or feel as optimistic as the recently released film Spotlight, but it highlights injustice and the importance of journalism against powerful organizations with all the same urgency.” —Karen K. Ho, National Post
 
“[A] riveting, if unrelievedly sombre chronicle of Rwanda’s descent into total one-man rule. . . . Well-sourced. . . . Prophetic. . . . A profound warning of the dangers of not having a free press.” —The Hamilton Spectator
 
“Written with terrifying crispness, this surreal thriller captures the shocking absurdities of life in contemporary Rwanda. . . . With mounting tension, Bad News tells of what happens to the journalists in his class—how the best are hounded out of the country, how the independent newspapers are closed down—until Sundaram himself feels the iron fist of fear closing in.” —The Sydney Morning Herald
 
“Sundaram’s talents show in his creation of an atmosphere of paranoia and dread. . . . A chilling account of reporters in danger that heightens awareness of the importance of a free press.” —Kirkus Reviews
 
“[O]ne of the finest works of reportage in living memory. . . . [Bad News’s] strength lies in its ability to convey the nightmare of today’s Rwanda and the international community’s complicity in it.” —Antony Loewenstein, The Australian
 
“[A] gritty, brutal and often heartbreaking account of a country in the process of crushing its own people into obedience. . . . [Bad News is] a classic of journalism, an unforgettable account of the machinery that is necessary to sustain a republic of fear.” —Nilanjana S. Roy, Business Standard
 
“[A] superb exposé of a dictatorship as he observes how the tentacles of totalitarianism squeeze the life from a society. Bad News is an important book that should shatter any lingering faith people might hold in Kagame’s hideous regime. . . . This is a desolate work, taut prose describing the stifling atmosphere of a nation trapped in fear. . . . [R]equired reading—not least by donors in the west.” —The Guardian
 
 
“Bad News is a searing illustration of the dangers associated with newsgathering in an authoritarian state, and a paean to those courageous enough to practice it in such dire circumstances. Despite the repressive tactics, reporters risked their lives to publish and broadcast the news, dreaming up clever ruses to connect with the readers and listeners. . . . These and other Rwandan reporters continue to work in oppressive conditions. Bad News is a potent celebration of their tenacity.” —The San Francisco Chronicle
 
“Sundaram’s insights are harrowing, his narrative fast-paced and immediate.” —Financial Times
 
“Writing of his experience running a journalists’ training program in Kigali, Rwanda, Sundaram captures the quiet menace of his surroundings. . . . About halfway through the book, the sequence eerily reverses; the stories are now following the journalists—and silencing them. The effect is haunting. . . . His first book, Stringer: A Reporter’s Journey in the Congo (2014), was visceral, emotional reportage; Bad News feels measured, even mildly resigned, in comparison, the work of a journalist more inured to life under a corrupt regime. . . . Sundaram’s exposé is courageous and heartfelt. . . . Sundaram is thorough, even when the news is bad. . . . In writing this book Sundaram surely put himself at risk, and it is a testament to his bravery that he did so without drawing undue attention to its personal cost.” —Aditi Sriram, The Washington Post

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1408866471
• ISBN 13: 9781408866474
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208