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A review by erinvdmast
Bad News: Last Journalists in a Dictatorship by Anjan Sundaram
3.0
Finally decided to give it 3 rather than 4 stars. It's a compelling read for sure: Sundaram knows how to write and draw a reader in. He provides a chilling account of how free press and media are increasingly shut down in Rwanda and how the international community does nothing. In that respect I thought the book was very interesting, well written and I had difficulty putting it down.
However, as an advocate of professional journalism, I found it strange that Sundaram chose not to provide any sources. Particularly for sections that give a more historical account of Rwanda, its 1994 genocide and Kagame's advent to power. Now it felt as a sometimes overly subjective account and, having read a bit more on Rwanda in other books, I sometimes questioned what - or better how - Sundaram chose to describe certain historical developments. But I suppose that the lack of sources is perhaps more reflective of the type of book, which I would describe as memoires/an accessible read rather than hard non-fiction, than of a lack of professionalism.
Sometimes a bit too focused on the author himself, the book is nonetheless a worthy testament to those journalists who tried to resist the regime.
However, as an advocate of professional journalism, I found it strange that Sundaram chose not to provide any sources. Particularly for sections that give a more historical account of Rwanda, its 1994 genocide and Kagame's advent to power. Now it felt as a sometimes overly subjective account and, having read a bit more on Rwanda in other books, I sometimes questioned what - or better how - Sundaram chose to describe certain historical developments. But I suppose that the lack of sources is perhaps more reflective of the type of book, which I would describe as memoires/an accessible read rather than hard non-fiction, than of a lack of professionalism.
Sometimes a bit too focused on the author himself, the book is nonetheless a worthy testament to those journalists who tried to resist the regime.