Negotiating cultural taboos in news reporting: a case study of the African diasporic media in the UK

<p>This draws attention to the ethical dilemma that African diasporic journalists face in balancing the need to tell a story with the need to be sensitive to the cultural sensibilities of their audiences. Through interviews and ethnographic study of the newsroom of the defunct BBC World Service’s Africa have Your Say, the study found that the moderators negotiate these contrasting professional and cultural ideologies by giving consideration to the informational values of taboo news. It also discovered that users are more likely to express an oppositional perspective than a conservative or negotiated perspective. These findings have ramifications for other African diasporic media in enhancing their journalistic practice and in engaging with the younger generation without alienating older audiences.</p>