Reporting the World:
The Role of Media Organizations and Journalists in Reporting on War, Conflict and Peace
A three days intensive workshop/training programme for professional journalists and media organizations
Organized by Reporting the World, TRANSCEND, and the Peace Action, Training and Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR)
December 4 – 6, 2003, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Reporting the World: The Role of Media Organisations and Journalists in Reporting on War, Conflict and Peace is an intensive three-days training programme/workshop for professional journalists and media organizations reporting on conflict situations in South-Eastern Europe and internationally. Bringing together professional journalists from across South-Eastern Europe and the world, the workshop aims to discuss the challenges and difficulties faced by journalists reporting on war, conflict and peace, and to explore concrete skills and methods for peace journalism. The programme will be highly interactive and participatory, building upon the professional experiences of participants to address the concrete challenges and issues affecting journalists reporting on conflicts, the impact of war and conflict on the media, and principals, standards and tools for professional peace journalism.
Training Course aim:
The training aims to help participants to:
Ø Understand the impact and influence of different patterns of reporting on the course of events
Ø Identify War Journalism and Peace Journalism
Ø Learn the basics of conflict analysis
Ø Practice constructing Peace Journalism reports
Ø Acquire and develop strategies for making commercially viable Peace Journalism reports
Ø Develop skills to deal with trauma personally and with interviewees in conflict zones
Course Methods:
Participants will do this by:
Ø Learning new modes of analysis for newspaper and television reports by applying peace-journalism criteria
Ø Exploring basic concepts in, and approaches to, peace-building
Ø Re-examining assumptions about journalism and its role in conflict and peace
Ø Role playing new approaches to interviewing people in conflict zones
Ø Exploring the role of language in constructing Peace Journalism
Ø Experimenting with journalistic framing techniques and writing peace journalism articles
Style and Process:
The style of the course is flexible and highly participative. Peace Journalism has spread as a dialogue between journalists all over the world, devising and experimenting with practical techniques for reporting conflicts in a responsible and constructive way. The trainers attempt to speed up this process with particular groups of journalists by sharing lessons learned and discussing where they are applicable; and by offering solidarity with journalists and others interested in peaceful and democratic approaches to the role of media. The training uses a range of interactive learning approaches. There will be a considerable amount of work in small groups, with attention to individual needs where possible. At times the group will split into two and work in a more concentrated way with one of the trainers. At other times the group will all work together. Participants are expected to come prepared to contribute, and provide examples of their work in advance.
Essential Reading:
Participants are encouraged to prepare for the training by reading the following:
Peace Journalism - What is it? How to do it? By Annabel McGoldrick & Jake Lynch
Reporting the World - a practical checklist for the ethical reporting of conflicts in the 21st Century by Jake Lynch
The following is an example of how the training can work, session by session, but the training will vary according to the needs, interests and capacity of the group and its individual members.
Introductions
History of Peace Journalism
Part 1: ‘War journalism’ - the dominant narratives of conflict reporting and how to recognise them.
Group Exercise - Consider news items shown/handed out, about a current conflict and answer the following questions:
· How is the violence explained?
· How does the explanation arise out of the facts as reported?
· Is there anything about peace initiatives, or any image of a solution?
· Do you think a solution will be found?
· How has your judgment arisen out of the facts as reported?
· What do you expect to happen next?
Part 2: Peace Journalism
What is it and how to recognize it.
Group exercise - Consider news items shown/handed out, about a current conflict and answer the following questions:
· How do they depart from the War Journalism conventions?
· How do they frame the conflict differently?
· Identify and discuss the different choices the journalist has made, particularly the who is interviewed, what questions they are asked and what words are chosen.
How does news influence the course of events?
The Feedback Loop of cause and effect and its implications for the ethics of reporting.
How can journalists take responsibility for the consequences of their journalism? The parable of the plastic bottle.
Group exercise - Consider news items shown/handed out, about a current conflict and answer the following questions:
· If parties to a conflict base their actions partly on calculation or instinct about how journalists will respond, what different incentives are different patterns of reporting likely to provide, in a Feedback Loop of cause and effect?
· Hence what influence are they likely to exert on the course of events?
Part 5: Safety
What are the dangers of reporting on the frontline?
Practical steps for personal safety
Group exercise - Conflict outcomes and ‘the Conflict Orange’:
How many different outcomes can you think of?
How many different kinds of outcome do they represent?
What is each outcome likely to lead on to?
Part 2: ‘Partisan perceptions’
Unlocking a hardened conflict discourse, getting beyond demands and positions to goals and possible common ground.
Group exercise - Partisan Perceptions in a conflict relevant to the group, example:
· What are the important ‘facts’ as seen by the Indonesian government?
· What do West Papuans think of these ‘facts’?
· What are the important ‘facts’ as seen by West Papuans?
· What does the Indonesian government think of these ‘facts’?
How would this exercise help a Peace Journalist in knowing what to look for and what to ask about any development in the conflict?
Part 3: Mapping the conflict
Exploring who the stakeholders are in a conflict and their connection to each other.
Group exercise - Consider a conflict relevant to the group, and answer the following questions:
· Who are the parties?
· What do they want?
· What are the relationships between them?
· How does this exercise affect our understanding of the possible range of outcomes?
Understanding different kinds of violence .
Group exercise - Suggest examples of direct, structural and cultural violence.
How do they work?
How can they be reported?
Part 5: The cycle of violence
Understanding the cycle of violence as a driver in a conflict.
Group exercise:
· What interventions are possible - or already underway - to transform or divert the cycle of violence?
· How would this exercise help a Peace Journalist in knowing what to look for and what to ask about any development in the conflict?
Saturday December 6
DOING PEACE JOURNALISM
Part 1: Interviewing
How to interview a change agent and exploring ways to talk to traumatized people.
Group exercise - split into pairs:
· Each participant is given an outline brief on a character with some part to play in conflict - refugee, religious leader and gunman.
· The other member of the pair interviews them.
· They then reverse roles with the participant who was playing the journalist now playing the part of the other character.
· At the end each has to report back what s/he has found out about the character s/he was interviewing. Give headline, first three paragraphs of a story, and a list of the other facts.
Part 2: Language
How does the choice of words make an article or news item War Journalism or Peace Journalism?
Group exercise:
· What words are misused in reporting conflict relevant to the group ?
· Suggest acceptable definitions for these words and say how Peace Journalists should use them - or why they should not.
Part 3: A Peace Journalism TV two-way
Group exercise:
· Split into groups of four.
· Take a recent development in a conflict of interest.
· One person is the presenter, one reporter, one producer and one interviewee.
· Spend a short time preparing for the interview, which is then recorded and played back to the whole group.
· Group discussion - how do these contribute to peace?
Applying PJ in real life situations:
· How to report conflict but no direct violence?
· What happens when the violence beginning ?
· What if the parties are not communicating
· What if you can only report from one side. What can you do?
· Reporting on massacres
· Reporting on refugees
· Stalemate
· Peace Proposals - what questions to ask?
Part 5: Difficulties and objections
Group exercise - Dialogue with the Devil’s Advocate:
· What objections do you anticipate to Peace Journalism, say from colleagues or the editor?
· What responses could you make?
Discussion - tactics for self-presentation and preservation while working as a Peace Journalist:
· What help and support do the participants need to convert the theory of Peace Journalism into practical action?
· Are they limited by resources?
· Do they need to form a network and establish mentoring support?
The Trainers:
More on the Trainers:
Annabel McGoldrick &Jake Lynch are leading figures in the growing global dialogue about Peace Journalism and co-Directors of Reporting the World. The Observer newspaper called it, “the nearest thing we have to a journalism think tank.”
Publications: The Peace Journalism Option; What Are Journalists For?; Reporting the World - a practical checklist for the ethical reporting of conflicts in the 21st century and the TRANSCEND manual, Peace Journalism – What is it? How to do it? They are currently co-authoring a book on Peace Journalism.
University courses: an annual MA module in the Ethics of Reporting Conflict at Cardiff University School of Journalism; an online Peace Journalism course with the Transcend Peace University runs twice a year; and the Peace-building Media, Theory and Practice at the University of Sydney, now in its fourth year.
Training dialogues have been held with journalists in Indonesia, the Caucasus, Cyprus, Turkey, Nepal Norway and the Middle East.
Short Bio – Jake Lynch: An experienced international reporter in newspapers and television, currently for BBC News, based in London. He was the Independent Sydney correspondent in 1998-9 and covered the Nato briefings for Sky News throughout the Kosovo crisis. He wrote The Peace Journalism Option; What Are Journalists For?; Reporting the World - a practical checklist for the ethical reporting of conflicts in the 21st century and co-authored the TRANSCEND manual, Peace Journalism – What is it? How to do it? This is currently being updated into a full book. He is a consultant to Conflict and Peace Forums, based near Maidenhead, UK. He devised, and teaches, the annual MA module in Peace-building Media, Theory and Practice at the University of Sydney, and The Ethics of Reporting Conflict - an MA module to journalism students at Cardiff University. He teaches two annual online courses of Peace Journalism with the TRANSCEND Peace University. He has led Peace Journalism trainings in Indonesia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Cyprus, Norway and the Middle East. He is an adviser to the Toda institute for peace and rapporteur for its Globalisation, Regionalisation and Democracy action research team on media.
Short Bio – Annabel McGoldrick: Peace Journalism Trainer. Annabel runs Reporting the World, a journalism think-tank, offering regular publications and a series of seminars for UK based journalists, which she also chairs in London. Previously she was project co-ordinator for Conflict and Peace Forums based near Maidenhead, UK where she organised a series of international Peace Journalism conferences held at Taplow Court from 1997-1999. An experienced reporter and producer in radio and television, she has covered conflicts in Indonesia, Thailand and Burma, and Yugoslavia. She devised, and teaches, the annual MA module in Peace-Building Media, Theory and Practice, at the University of Sydney. She teaches two annual online courses of Peace Journalism with the TRANSCEND Peace University and has led Peace Journalism trainings in Indonesia, USA, Norway, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She co-authored the TRANSCEND manual, Peace Journalism – What is it? How to do it? This is currently being updated into a full book. She is a member of the Toda Institute Globalisation, Regionalisation and Democracy action research team on media and the TRANSCEND Peace and Development Network. Annabel is an advisor to the DART Europe project on journalism and trauma and is training to be a psychotherapist.
Reporting the World is a journalism think-tank, based in London, run by TRANSCEND members Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick. It offers a programme of critical discussions for professional journalists about issues of representation and responsibility in international news. Participants include editors of the BBC, CNN, Guardian, Financial Times and al Quds al Arabi, as well as many senior correspondents and producers.
Regular publications include the book, Reporting the World – a practical checklist for the ethical reporting of conflicts in the 21st Century. These can all be found at the website, www.reportingtheworld.org along with transcripts of discussions and related material and links.
Lynch and McGoldrick have spent several years, starting in 1997, developing and campaigning for Peace Journalism around the world. They have led TRANSCEND training workshops for journalists and the NGO community in many countries including Indonesia, Nepal, Cyprus, Jordan, Norway, Armenia, Georgia, Hungary and the US.
They lead annual MA courses at the University of Sydney, Australia (Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies) and Cardiff University in the UK (School of Journalism). They teach the twice-yearly module in Peace Journalism for the on-line TRANSCEND Peace University.
Publications include Peace Journalism – what is it? How to do it?; the Peace Journalism Option; What are Journalists For?; Using Conflict Analysis in Reporting and the Reporting the World concept document, as well as the Reporting the World book. Lynch and McGoldrick have also contributed over 30 articles or chapters on Peace Journalism to magazines, books, newspapers and websites around the world.
TRANSCEND - A Peace and Development Network for Conflict Transformation by Peaceful Means
TRANSCEND is a network of more than 200 of the world’s leading practitioners and scholars in peacebuilding and development from over 60 countries around the world. Committed to the promotion of peace by peaceful means, TRANSCEND has 20 active programmes, and conducts its work through action, education/training, dissemination and research. With centres in Barcelona (Spain), Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Geneva (Switzerland), Hagen (Germany), Honolulu (USA), Kyoto (Japan), Moscow (Russia), Sandnes (Norway), Taplow Court (Great Britain), Torino (Italy), Vienna (Austria), and Washington, DC (USA) – with several others now being formed in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia – TRANSCEND has provided more than 300 training programmes for over 6000 participants in 43 countries around the world. Participants in TRANSCEND training programmes have included politicians, diplomats, aid and development workers, teachers, psychologists, social workers, journalists, civil service employees, UN staff, professors, students, and others. In 2000, TRANSCEND developed the United Nations’ first ever manual on “Conflict Transformation by Peaceful Means: The TRANSCEND Approach.” In February, 2003, TRANSCEND launched the world’s first ever truly global Peace University on-line: the TRANSCEND Peace University (www.transcend.org/tpu). TRANSCEND is involved in peacebuilding, conflict transformation, and post-war reconciliation and healing in several conflict areas world-wide, at the invitation of local groups, organisations, universities, governments, and parties to the conflict. TRANSCEND only works in conflict/war affected areas when it has been invited. Currently, TRANSCEND is doing research on: Peacebuilding and Empowerment; Non-Territorial Federalism and Functional Independence; Self-Determination and the Nation/State Dialectic; Peacebuilding and Globalisation; Conflict Transformation and Psychological Assumptions; Comparing Methods of Conflict Transformation from Micro, Meso and Macro-Levels; the Dialogue Process; Local and Subsistence Economics; Models for Global Economic Crises; Understanding Genocide. TRANSCEND has recently launched the new TRANSCEND Media Service, and is in the process of developing the Conflict Transformation Index (CTI) and TRANSCEND Early Warning Index (EWI). TRANSCEND perspectives are freely available on the Internet (www.transcend.org), and a TRANSCEND monthly Bulletin is being prepared for distribution in 12 languages.
Founded on March 1st, 2001, the PATRIR, is an institute, organisation, training centre and network, linking together scholars, grassroots activists, and peace researchers throughout Romania, South-Eastern Europe and internationally. Its aim is to address the core challenges facing Romania and the countries of South and Eastern Europe, to strengthen and empower grassroots organisations and citizens’ action, to mobilise people for active peace work and peaceful conflict transformation, and to address the structural causes of poverty, human rights violations and economic and social injustice. PATRIR is an institute and an organisation for research, training and active peace work. PATRIR organises training programmes in peacebuilding and peaceful conflict transformation; peace journalism; democracy and human rights; multi-culturalism; empowering civil society; gender and peace; people-centred, sustainable development; post-war reconstruction, rehabilitation, reconciliation and healing; and, environment and ecology. Participants to PATRIR training programmes frequently include senior politicians and diplomats, experienced aid and development workers, UN and NGO staff, civil society activists, professors, teachers, students, journalists, artists, and psychologists from Romania and more than 30 countries internationally. PATRIR cooperates with TRANSCEND as the TRANSCEND Centre for South-Eastern Europe. Since 2001, PATRIR has been one of TRANSCEND’s leading international training sites.
Media Monitoring Agency is a Romanian human rights advocacy NGO with media expertise. The MMA has developed as a branch of Academia Catavencu since 1994. Academia Catvencu was founded in 1991 as a non-profit, cultural organization with a mission to develop the critical thinking of the Romanian citizen.
One of the main objectives of the organization is to develop resistance to political manipulation in post-communist Romania. The MMA is to defend, support and promote civil and politcal rights. It promotes high media standards both by protecting the right to freedom of expression and access to information; it advocates professionalism of the media; it developes anti-corruption policies, and promotes minority rights.
Who can take part
Ø Professional journalists working in print, radio, or television media
Ø Editors and staff of media organizations
Ø Senior NGO staff working with Media and Journalism related NGOs
Cost of Participation
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) of the Government of Canada has provided generous support to cover travel and accommodation costs for participants from South-Eastern Europe. Applicants wishing to receive a position in the programme must send in their short bio and a completed application form to Crina Resteman, Programme Coordinator, Peace Journalism at crina@patrir.ro by November 15, 2003.
Participation costs for non-South Eastern European participants are:
Ø Participants from North America, Western Europe and South-East Asia/Oceania: Euros 250
Ø Participants from Latin America, Africa and Asia: Euros 100
For more information or to apply for the programme please write to:
Crina Resteman
Programme Coordinator
Peace Journalism