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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 12, 2005
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| August 15, 2003 |
Peace Journalism Series |
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| Media activists for peace, Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick, holding a series of workshops on "Peace Journalism" |
What is Peace Journalism? In a series of workshops, international journalists, Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick, explored the results and possibilities of media coverage on conflict. By "transcending the tired clich's of 'objectivity'" Peace Journalism seeks to demonstrate that there are alternatives to violence and highlight the initiatives working for peace.
Both experienced journalists in print, television and radio, Jake and Annabel are also founders of Reporting the World - a Peace Journalism training program that provides "workable ways for journalists to take responsibility for the impact and consequences of their interventions." |
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So what does a peace journalist do? Director of Transcend, Professor Johan Galtung identified four key areas where Peace/Conflict Journalism can be compared against War/Violence Journalism:
- Peace/Conflict Orientated versus War/Violence Orientated: Rather than focusing on only two parties with one goal, explore the conflict and the wider issues involved. Make the conflict transparent by reporting causes/outcomes, history/culture. Give a voice to all parties and humanise all sides.
- Truth Orientated versus Propaganda Orientated: Expose untruths on all sides and uncover all cover-ups instead of only "their" untruths or helping "our" lies.
- People Orientated versus Elite Orientated: Focus on all suffering not just "our" suffering. Name all evildoers and highlight people peacemakers rather than only elite peacemakers.
- Solution Orientated versus Victory Orientated: Highlight peace initiatives, not conceal before victory is at hand. Focus on the resolution, reconstruction and reconciliation in the aftermath rather than leaving to report on another war and only returning if violence flares again.
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| Working with journalists around the world "to take responsibility for the impact and consequences of their interventions" |
The first workshop focused on defining media sources and identifying our expectations and criticisms of them. Negative points raised included the commercialisation of media - "infotainment", immediacy-dominated news, a hidden bias and the reliance on official sources for information. Points on the "What we want from the media" list ranged from more interrogative reporting to a greater diversity of views.
By watching and discussing TV news reports of both "War" and "Peace" orientated journalism, members of the workshops raised their awareness and analytical skills in deconstructing media coverage of conflicts. Examples of war-orientated coverage included the demonising of asylum seekers in the UK, where a TV report focused on the images of beggars and gave voices to the elite sources only. A peace-orientated news item gave voices to both Palestinians and Israelis involved in the conflict, giving time for viewpoints from both sides to be expressed.
"The press may not be successful in telling its readers what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about," quoted Jake, no doubt hoping that the Peace Boat workshops had enabled its members to see past the spin and propaganda of much of the mainstream media with a more questioning mind.
For more information on Peace Journalism and the work of Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick, visit www.reportingtheworld.org |
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