The Iranian Student News Agency reports on
last year’s execution of two young gay men.
What is conflict resolution journalism?
Conflict-resolution
journalism is sensitive and responsible reporting on events in conflict-torn
areas of the world. Journalism
assists citizens to rebuild their society and to reduce tensions --
or at least not exacerbate existing divisions. Conflict-resolution
journalism helps citizens live peacefully and move toward democratic
institutions.
Conflict-resolution journalism takes many forms, and has many names.
It is called “peace journalism,” or “conflict-sensitive
journalism.” The words “resolution” and “sensitive”
are intentional. They signal that journalism plays a part in rebuilding
societies, but it cannot do everything. By itself, journalism cannot
end conflict. The trend toward conflict-reduction
journalism emerged by the 1980s. There was a need to develop free
and responsible media in Eastern Europe, after the fall of the Berlin
Wall. Rwanda showed how media could spark genocide. Regional and civil
conflicts sparked interest in the role of journalism in conflicted
societies. In response to these problems, “media development”
or “media training” programs were created to establish,
or re-establish, responsible press in many countries. Other programs
enlist the help of Western journalists to assist the press in developing
countries to cover elections in a fair and accurate manner. In this
way, conflict-reduction journalism became linked with the work of
governmental and non-governmental agencies in post-conflict societies.
However, conflict-reduction journalism is not limited, in principle,
to non-Western developing nations. The approach could be used to report
racial and ethnic tensions in developed Western countries.
Issues surrounding conflict-resolution journalism
Independence from government Will journalists in conflict-scarred societies
feel free to critique government programs and act as watchdog on abuses
of power, or will they support the government in the name of stability?
Can conflict-resolution journalists expect to hold accountable the
governments of struggling countries where leaders are sensitive to
criticism, and where the traditions of free speech and democracy are
not strongly established?
Exclusion of voices? Does conflict-resolution journalism mean that
certain controversial voices or groups are not included in news reports,
or news programs, so as to not spark tensions? Who decides who gets
on the news?
Whose media values? What code of ethics should guide media development?
Should media trainers simply “transplant” American, Canadian
or Western codes of ethics to countries with different values and
needs? For example, is an American journalism model, which emphasizes
a free and vigorous press, appropriate for countries that value social
cohesion?
What
should be done first?
In developing media, what are the priorities? Should press development
begin by spending millions of dollars on media technology? Should
it start by training individuals to write accurate reports? At what
point should professional and ethical standards be introduced? These
questions are especially important for agencies that fund media
development with taxpayer dollars, or donations from the public.
Objectivity and conflict-resolution journalism A major ethical issue is whether conflict-reduction
journalists should be objective or impartial in their reporting.
Some critics of conflict-reduction journalism feel that journalists
cannot be impartial if their primary aim is to build social stability
and promote peace. Objectivity will be compromised by the desire
to reach certain social outcomes. They argue that conflict-reduction
journalists will “pull their punches” when they criticize,
omit controversial facts or overlook tough issues to avoid conflict.
Will their primary attachment be to reporting the truth?
However, many conflict-reduction experts and agencies advocate the
development of a professional, independent and impartial news media.
They believe that conflict reduction is not served by censoring
voices, slanting the evidence, hiding uncomfortable facts, engaging
in partisanship, or communicating uninformed spin. The aim is to
build, slowly, a media system that reduces bias and other forms
of subjectivity. The decline of impartial public journalism and
the rise of a divisive partisan journalism usually signals that
the society in question is spiralling downward into factions and
violence. As the press becomes more partisan, it loses credibility.
Without some degree of impartial public journalism, the society
fails to communicate effectively, and confidence-building measures
falter.
Impartiality as crucial This understanding of conflict-sensitive
journalism is advanced by Ross Howard in two handbooks: An Operational
Framework for Media and Peacebuilding (Vancouver: IMPACS, 2002)
and Conflict Sensitive Journalism: A handbook by Ross Howard (2003).
The handbooks were written for the Institute for Media, Policy and
Civil Society (Vancouver: IMPACS) of Vancouver and International
Media Support of Copenhagen.
The handbooks state that, "The media can be an ‘instrument’
of conflict resolution when the information it presents is reliable,
respects human rights, and represents diverse views. It’s
the kind of media that upholds accountability and exposes malfeasance.
It’s the kind of media that enables a society to make well-informed
choices, which is the precursor of democratic governance" (Howard,
2002: 1).
Being attached to peacebuilding is not enough. How one carries out
peacebuilding reporting is crucial. Journalists should look to the
common good, question inaccurate statements and avoid provocative
or malicious language. Citizens in conflict need to know both sides
of the story, and what the other sides actually says and how it
will affect them. Journalists need to be respected as trusted professionals
who do not take sides. (Howard, 2003: 13-4, 19). top
Select bibliography Berger, Guy. (2000). Grave New World? Democratic
journalism enters the global twenty-first century, Journalism Studies,
1(1) (2000): 81-99.
Black, J. & Barney, R. (Eds.). (2002). Search for a Global Media
Ethic. [Special issue] Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 17(4).
Callahan, S. (2003). New Challenges of Globalization for Journalism.
Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 18: 3-15.
Coman, M. (2000). Developments in Journalism Theory about Media
“Transition” in Central and Eastern Europe 1990-99.
Journalism Studies, 1(1) (2000): 35-56.
Cooper, T. W. & Christians, C. & Plude, F. F. & White,
R. A. Thomas (Eds.). (1989). Communication Ethics and Global change.
White Plains, NY: Longman.
Edeani, D. (1993). Role of Development Journalism in Nigeria’s
Development. Gazette 52: 123-43.
Hanitzche, Thomas and Martin Loffelholz and Ronny Mustamu, eds.
Agents of Peace: Public Communication and Conflict Resolution in
an Asian Setting. Ilmenau, Germany: University of Technology, 2004.
Hieber, Loretta, Lifeline Media: Reaching Populations in Crisis,
online at www.impacs.org
Howard, Ross. (2002). An Operational Framework for Media and Peacebuilding.
Vancouver: IMPACS.
___________. (2003). Conflict Sensitive Journalism: A handbook (Copenhagen,
Denmark: IMS and IMPACS).
Keane, J. (1991) The Media and Democracy. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Morris, N. & Waisbord, S. (Eds.) (2001). Media and Globalization:
Why the state matters. New York: Rowman and Littlefield.
Murthy, D. V. R. (2001). Developmental Journalism. New Delhi: Dominant
Publishers.
Price Monroe E. & Thompson, M. (Eds.) (2002). Forging Peace:
Intervention, human rights and the management of media space. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press.
Price, M. & Rozumilowicz, B. & Verhulst, S. (Eds.). (2002).
Media Reform: Democratizing the media, democratizing the state.
London: Routledge.
Ronning, H. (1994). Media and Democracy: theories and principles
with reference to an African context. Harare: Sapes.
Servaes, J. (1986). Communication and Development Paradigms, An
Overview. Media Asia 13.
Sonaike, S. (1988). Communication and Third World Development: a
dead end? Gazette 41: 85-108.
Ward, S. J. A. (1998). An Answer to Martin Bell: Objectivity and
attachment in journalism. The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics
3(3): 121-25.
Ward, S. J. A. (2004). The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The long
path to objectivity and beyond. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University
Press.
Ward, S. J. A. (2005). Philosophical Foundations for Global Journalism
Ethics. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 20(1). Forthcoming.
Weaver, D. H. (Ed.). (1998). The Global Journalist. Cresskill, NJ:
Hampton Press.
Links to agencies and programs
A list of publications, projects and conferences is available at
the Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society (IMPACS) of Vancouver.
