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African Reporters Try to Unpack Complex, Contested US Election

Anita Powell

   JOHANNESBURG - The world is watching as the U.S. prepares for a crucial
   election for president and thousands of other representatives at all
   levels of government. In Africa's most mature democracy, South Africa,
   citizens are watching the drama with interest -- and with the aid of a
   few seasoned journalists who are attempting to explain the quirks and
   developments of this historic poll.

   For 12 years, South African reporter Sherwin Bryce-Pease has had the
   job of explaining America -- and U.S. politics -- for his nation's
   state broadcaster from his base in New York.

   2020, however, is posing a new storytelling challenge, with a pandemic
   and an election that, even for many American journalists, is a tough
   task. But, Bryce-Pease says, the difficulty is universal.

   "The truth deficit that we've encountered with this White House, you
   know, whether it's from the president's medical team post his COVID-19
   diagnosis just the other day -- you're not getting the facts
   necessarily from this White House. So we also always have to, sort of,
   put it through a prism. What has the president said? And is it actually
   true? And this complicates the life of a journalist here," he said.

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