This is a new diary based on the story, “ Ignored: The 10 Most Ignored News Stories.”

Last week, the U.N. issued its annual top 10 list of under-reported stories. As might be expected, U.S. media have ignored the list.

I have a proposition for you: Let’s cover all 10, every day, for the next 10 days. Sign up as a story author. More below, including the story list sign-up status:

At the United Nations Web site — “Ten Stories The World Should Hear More About” — in the right column, you’ll find links to each story. Select one that interests you or about which you have some expertise. (I like picking stories about which I’m pretty ignorant, because then I learn something new.)

Choose a story and share below. More on the stories from IPS. The solution: “Shoot him.” The problem:

The late Tarzie Vittachi, a former deputy executive director of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF, once recounted the story of an African official who walked into his office for friendly advice on how to get Western media to cover stories having a profound effect on the continent.

”My prime minister is going to address the U.N. General Assembly on major social and economic issues crucial to the survival of Africa. How can I get the story in to the New York Times,” Vittachi recalled the man said.

”Shoot him, and you will get a front-page story,” replied Vittachi, a onetime columnist for ‘Newsweek’ magazine and legendary newspaper editor …

The stories:

The stories included: progress towards peace in Somalia; the horrendous problem of obstetric fistula, a tragic blind spot in health care services for women; the humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda; the disarming of former combatants in Sierra Leone; and growth in the number of human rights institutions, with the emergence of more than 100 in recent years.

Also overlooked, he said, were: the scant chances for small farmers in Cameroon and other poor countries to get a fair price for their produce; Grenada’s struggles to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Ivan, a story forgotten in the wake of the Asian tsunami; continuing violence against women; using development as an effective alternative to warfare to curb illicit drugs; and saving the environment to preserve potential cures for a catalogue of diseases.

STORIES LEFT TO DO:


  • A viable alternative: curbing illicit drugs through development
  • Environment and health: New insights into spread of infectious diseases
  • Sierra Leone: Building on a hard-won peace
  • Actors for change: The growth of human rights institutions


Assigned story list so far:

#1: Sirocco on Uganda
#2: Ghostdancer’s Way on Violence Against Women

#3: Susanhbu on Cameroon
#4:

#5: Ask on Somalia
#6: Diane101 – topic

#7: ?
#8: ?
#9: Nanette for women’s health (next Wed.)
#10: Nag on human rights


(that’s 10 stories, if I can count)

PLEASE SIGN UP BELOW! Here’s the U.N.’s list of stories from which you can choose. Pick the one that suits you, if it hasn’t been taken.