What to do when peace breaks out – advice for journalists
The Media Diversity Institute has a resource section on its website that provides a selection of articles on the theory and practice of the media’s role in reporting peace, including such topics as covering post-conflict reconstruction.
The Media Diversity Institute has a resource section on its website that provides a selection of articles on the theory and practice of the media’s role in reporting peace, including such topics as covering post-conflict reconstruction.
Patricia W. Elliott is a magazine journalist and assistant professor at the School of Journalism, University of Regina. You can visit her at patriciaelliott.ca.
December 17, 2007
Fascinating post, Trish. I
Fascinating post, Trish. I suppose some will read this idea of “peace journalism” as advocating a partisan “peacenik” or “lefty” approach, but mostly, the specifics aspire to what a wide spectrum of journalists could see as a professional and impartial approach to reporting that describes the world as it is, in its real complexity, rather as one or other party to a conflict would want us to see it. For instance:
“1. AVOID portraying a conflict as consisting of only two parties contesting one goal. The logical outcome is for one to win and the other to lose. INSTEAD, … DISAGGREGATE the two parties into many smaller groups, pursuing many goals, opening up more creative potential for a range of outcomes.
“5. AVOID letting parties define themselves by simply quoting their leaders’ restatement of familiar demands or positions. INSTEAD, inquire more deeply into goals….
“8. AVOID blaming someone for starting it. INSTEAD, try looking at how shared problems and issues are leading to consequences that all the parties say they never intended….
“9. AVOID focusing exclusively on the suffering, fears and grievances of only one party….INSTEAD, treat as equally newsworthy the suffering, fears and grievance of all sides.”