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RESOURCE
MATERIAL / Media
Diversity: CONFLICT |
| A
selection of articles and resources examining the theory of the media's role in
reporting on conflict |
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BBC's coverage of Israeli-Palestinian conflict 'misleading'
Study finds failures in news balance and depth. The BBC's coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is "incomplete" and "misleading", including failing to adequately report the hardships of Palestinians living under occupation, an independent review commissioned by the corporation's board of governors has found. (The Guradian)
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Joint Palestinian-Israeli media discourse project  (PDF / 25KB)
"Words Can Kill, Too" is a joint Palestinian-Israeli action for an alternative public and media discourse run by the ‘Keshev - Center for Protection of Democracy in Israel ' and ‘Miftah - The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy'. The aim of the project is to encourage a public and media discourse free of incitement, prejudice and dehumanization of the other in Israel and Palestine , through monitoring, research, advocacy, and lobbying activities.
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Monitoring report on coverage of Arafat's death in the Israeli media (PDF / 38KB)
A media monitoring report that examines coverage of Arafat's illness and death in three Israeli daily newspapers (Yediot Aharonot, Ma'ariv and Ha'aretz) and in the main television news editions (Channel 1, Channel 2 and Channel 10), from the first reports of his illness on October 25, 2004, until November 19, a few days after his burial. |
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Guidelines for countering racial, ethnic and religious profiling
Guidelines for countering racial, ethnic and religious profiling in coverage of the war on terrorism, from the US Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). The SPJ urges journalists to use language that is informative and not inflammatory; to portray Muslims, Arabs and Middle Eastern and South Asian Americans in a way that reflects the richness of their diverse experiences; and to seek truth through a variety of voices and perspectives. (SPJ) |
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Arab-Israelis lack faith in the country's Hebrew-language media
New research on the rarely surveyed Arab-Israelis (who make up almost a fifth of the population) has found a severe credibility crisis amongst them regarding the Hebrew-language media. Arab-Israelis believe Arabic-language media to a much greater extent than Hebrew-language media, particularly concerning coverage of the Arab sector and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. |
| • | Losing the war on news
Many Britons still fail to understand fully the reality of the Middle East conflict. Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick of the journalism think-tank 'Reporting the World' argue that media coverage is distorting the public's understanding. (Press Gazette) |
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New Balkans media network for minority rights and interethnic tolerance
Three media organizations from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia have launched a new educational service on minority rights and interethnic tolerance. The six-month initiative is designed to establish a media network to promote cooperation and stability among ethnic minorities in the region. (IJNet) |
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Killing Screens: Media in Times of Conflict (PDF / 694KB)
Many journalists become desktop murderers during a country's decline, according to journalist Dr Dusan Reljic, whose book "Killing Screens: Media in Times of Conflict" is an examination of the connection between journalism and conflict. The spiral of real violence is often initially prepared in the media and almost always twisted further by it, according to this study, which looks at how - in situations of intra-state tension and conflict - the same basic journalistic methods are applied in different political cultures.
(by Dr Dusan Reljic, The European Institute for the Media, 2001) |
| • |  | • | Muppets
enter the Middle East peace process
Where
countless politicians and diplomats have failed, Elmo, Cookie Monster and their
"Sesame Street" buddies are on a mission to promote peace and tolerance
in the Middle East. A programming experiment using the Muppet characters has been
widely welcomed by parents, educators and the media. But the Muppets are not without
their critics in Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan.
(The
Hollywood Reporter) |
| • | Nigeria
2002: A case study of the of ethnic and religious tension
In
November 2002, the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna erupted in violence, leaving
more than 200 people dead and thousands injured or forced to flee their homes.
Long-running tensions between two communities in Nigeria were apparently aggravated
by an international event, the Miss World contest that some Nigerians found distasteful,
and then inflamed by an article in the local press. The whole troubled story makes
a good case study for anyone interested in local reporting and the role of the
media during conflict or in situations of ethnic and religious tension. A case-study
prepared by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
(IWPR) |
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• | BBC
takes presenter off the air for anti-Arab comments
The
BBC suspended freelance television presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk after he wrote
a newspaper article branding Arabs "suicide bombers, limb amputators, women
repressors" and asked what they had given to the world other than oil. (BBC) |
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Media Markers on Race and Ethnicity in the Balkans
In
the summer of 1997 I did a BBC radio programme on xenophobia in the Czech Republic.
One of the people I interviewed, a minister, asked me whether there were any visible
differences between Serbs and Croats. “Of course,” I said, trying to
be humorous. “Just look at my nose. We Serbs have beaks, whereas Croats have
those ugly snouts."...
(by Milica Pesic, Rhodes Journalism
Review 20, 2001) | | • | Serbian
Propaganda: A Closer Look
Milica
Pesic, Director of the European Center for War, Peace, and the News Media, discussed
Serbian propaganda on April 12, 1999, on National Public Radio's All Things Considered.
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Guidelines
for Journalists Covering Conflict
Journalists
intervene in conflict - and in a sense mediate conflict - whether they intend
to or not. Working with local and international conflict resolution practitioners,
we've been developing a new approach to journalism which in many ways strengthens
what journalists already do, and raises their awareness about the impact of their
reportage.....
(Conflict
Management Group, 1994 / RD Manual, 1997)
| | • | Multi-Ethnic
Reporting in Macedonia
In June 1995, I traveled to the Macedonian
capital or Skopje, where I spent the month helping a team of local Macedonian,
Albanian and Turkish journalists conceptualize, report, write and edit a series
of articles that would be published in the Macedonian, Albanian and Turkish language
press. The aims were threefold: to expose journalists in Macedonia to Western-style
reporting during an intensive, hands-on workshop. To create an environment, however
brief, in which reporters of different ethnicities from different media could
work cooperatively and forge bonds of respect, trust and professionalism. And
lastly, to spark interest in future multi-ethnic collaborations that might continue
after the project ended and I went home..... (by Denise Hamilton - RD Manual,
1997)
| | • | The
Media's Role in Preventing and Moderating Conflict
We cannot avoid
asking ourselves what more can be done to reduce and prevent conflict and the
suffering that attends it, but why invoke the media in this context? Because,
taken together, mass media technologies, institutions, professionals, norms, and
practices constitute a fundamental force shaping the lives of individuals and
the fate of peoples and nations. The media constitute a major human resource whose
potential to help prevent and moderate social violence begs to be discussed, evaluated,
and, where appropriate, mobilized..... (by
Robert Karl Manoff - RD
Manual, 1997) |
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