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Journalism in Conflict and Post-Conflict Conditions: Worldwide Perspectives

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"[R]eporting on events is not just a passive process. In constructing a narrative for the reader, the journalist plays an active role in defining the event in question and underlining what is at stake. In so doing, the journalist both reports as well as joins the effort to forge a way forward." - Mahmood Mamdani

The ten chapters in this book consider the problems and the potential of the role of journalism and media within the complex field of conflict and peace. Jointly, they provide examples of how different conflict and post-conflict may be and that such phases are processes, but not necessarily linear. The aim of the book is "to provide both empirical and theoretical input to the discussions of the role of journalism and media in conflict and post-conflict situations and in the often rather muddy waters between them. Together, the contributions to this book from different parts of the world emphasize that discussions about post-conflict situations will gain from including the media. At the same time, the contributions problematize the concept of post-conflict and powerfully illustrate that the phase between war/conflict and peace is neither unidirectional nor linear, as the use of the concept sometimes seems to imply." The book is published by Nordicom in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair on Freedom of Expression, Media Development and Global Policy at the University of Gothenburg.

The chapters include:

  • Introduction, by Kristin Skare Orgeret
  • Chapter 1: Afghanistan. Journalism in Pseudo-Post-Conflict, Conflict and Post-Conflict. A Clash of Definitions?, by Elisabeth Eide
  • Chapter 2: Justified Mission? Press Coverage of Uganda's Military Intervention in the South Sudan Conflict, by Charlotte Ntulume
  • Chapter 3: Who's to Blame for the Chaos in Syria? The Coverage of Syria in Aftenposten, with the War in Libya as Doxa, by Rune Ottosen & Sjur Øvrebø
  • Chapter 4: Framing Peace Building. Discourses of United Nations Radio in Burundi, by William Tayeebwa
  • Chapter 5: Women Making News. Conflict and Post-Conflict in the Field, by Kristin Skare Orgeret
  • Chapter 6: Experiences of Female Journalists in Post-Conflict Nepal, by Samiksha Koirala
  • Chapter 7: Intercultural Indigenous Communication of the Indigenous Communities of Cauca [Colombia] in the Context of the Armed Conflict, by Henry Caballero Fula
  • Chapter 8: Global and Local Journalism and the Norwegian Collective Imagination of "Post-Conflict" Colombia, by Roy Krøvel
  • Chapter 9: Improving Post-Conflict Journalism through Three Dances of Trauma Studies, by Elsebeth Frey
  • Chapter 10: Moving Forward, Holding On. The Role of Photojournalistic Images in the Aftermath of Crisis, by Anne Hege Simonsen

Kristin Skare Orgeret's introduction discusses some of the conceptual basis of the discussion in the book. She notes: "In order to ensure that the broader society feels ownership of the processes leading to sustainable peace, and that external actors get as realistic as possible an impression of the situation, it is important that a multitude of local voices and experiences is included in the stories about conflict and post-conflict. Other important tasks facing countries in crisis or recovering from recent hostilities are restoring effective governance and building public trust in government. The history and political culture of the state need to be taken into account. As conditions in post-conflict countries vary widely, rebuilding trust will require different approaches, but accessible communications and getting one's voice and perspectives heard are seen as fundamental prerequisites of post-conflict reconstruction....The media have a significant position in addressing issues of identity in post-conflict society, as well as communicating the story to the rest of the world."

She cites the Institute on War and Peace Reporting, which has a set of 6 duties for journalists covering conflict and peace: understand the conflict; report fairly; report the background and the causes of the conflict; present the human side; report on peace efforts; and recognise journalists' influence. On the one hand, free independent and pluralistic media provide a platform for debate and exchange of knowledge and opinions. On the other hand, the media can also be misused for propaganda purposes, to spread rumours and incite hatred, as evidenced by the experiences of Rwanda and the Radio Mille Collines, which actively fomented ethnic hatred, driving the Hutu people to kill at least 500,000 Tutsis in 1994. Simultaneously, "media have the potential to advance or to minimise the impact of harmful symbols in adjusting social relationships. This tendency creates an inherent conflict in the media's ability to help achieve (or to hinder) peaceful goals. Thus the media's representations of identity, of history, of the justification of transitional measures - indeed, the narratives of the society itself, become critical in shaping the extent to which stability, reconciliation, new nation building, and community can be sustained. The media can be a forum where identity issues play out, and they can also provide the space for encouraging acceptance of certain narratives that are part of transitional (post-conflict) efforts."

Publication Date
Number of Pages

216

Source

New Media Development Publications January - June 2016, sent from CAMECO to The Communication Initiative on August 19 2016.

PDFLink
Click here for the 216-page book in PDF format.

Comments

Submitted by jasonbrown1965 on Mon, 08/29/2016 - 18:55 Permalink

Re: Journalists - Passive or Active?

"...The media have a significant position in addressing issues of identity in post-conflict society, as well as communicating the story to the rest of the world."

Two challenges here.

Studies such as this one refer to "the media" as a collective mass, with little differentation. There are decades of such studies, that reflect upon impacts of 'the media' on societal problems. Yet there is still little evaluation of capacity of 'the media' to participate in these studies, or indeed, the problems themselves.

Another challenge is that academics frequently fudge the importance of 'the media' in creating mass awareness. Here we learn that news media occupy "a" significant position addressing issues. As indicated in an earlier post about the enduring importance of radio in reaching mass audiences, mass media, I suggest, occupy 'the' significant position.

Even with most countries enjoying wide access to mobile phone services, broadcasting remains the main means by which people receive information about the world around them.

To answer the question raised by Feek in the Comminit email, journalists are very active in reporting problems, but less so in reporting solutions.

Journalists are most passive when it comes to their own affairs - issues of ethics, capacity and development. After nearly a decade of vaguely discussing a worldwide crisis in journalism, there is still little recognition that the Fourth Estate has failed, and that journalism is beyond crisis.

To better serve communities suffering conflict, and its subsequent impacts, journalists need to move beyond being passive observers of their own affairs, and engage actively in finding solutions to global journalism crises.

I'd suggest this starts with abandoning fixations on finding new "business models" and working towards attaining funding neutrality - a mixture of private and public resourcing.

Submitted by Sugata Roy on Tue, 08/30/2016 - 11:52 Permalink

We have to see the structure of journalism world. We have three types of journalists - Senior Journalists who wriites columns, next are journalists in the middle level who only report on the facts on ground and lastly we have entry level journalists or stringers. The last groups only report small petty stories and if they stumble upon a big news its taken over by the middle level journalists. The terms of reference of these two types of journos are only to report facts, highlight only problem and at regular interval act like activists. They can't have opinion on solution. They are trained only to speak of problem.

The solution are offered by the columnists but it may or may not be accepted by the bureaucrates and policy makers. So the journalists are left with no option other than highlighting the problems. Interestingly, policy makers wake up only to hue and cry not to a piece which offers solution. Thats the unfortunate scenario in the south Asia.

This wiil contunue until there is a policy where, views of journos, are integrated in the decision making process. This will bring change in the reporting style and stories on best practices and solutions will find its way.

regards

Sugata

Submitted by vivien morgan on Wed, 08/31/2016 - 07:32 Permalink

Journalists report and cover events- providing accurate and balanced information so that their readers, viewers or listeners can decide for themselves about their reaction. unless clearly stated, a jurnalist is not there to 'change the world and offer solutions' but by highlighting a situation or crisis- for exampe the war in Syria, they can keep the public debate going.

I don't agree  with the comment that their job is '  to move beyond being passive observers of their own affairs, and engage actively in finding solutions to global journalism crises.'

The crises or restrictions on reporting and freedom of expression come from the existing political authorities in respective countries. All the journalist can do is to cotinue to report and show the reality of situations.

Opinion pieces are a different category where the journalist, in my perception, is raising his or her head above the parapet and is encouraging others to shoot back their thoughts-and again to stimulate debate. The role of 'brave' journalism is to do this in the face of authoritarianism and to fight for freedom of expression- whatever the personal cost.

I don't believe it is a question of being passive or active - it's a question of degree, of situation and personal choice. There is another distinction to add to this and that is freelance or independent journalists can comment especially via the Web, those employed by media owners are more bound to the organisation's editorial policy.

Finally there are the 'citizen' journalists and commentators who use their smart phones and cameras and computers to provide evidence of events and play an enormously important role now in the public's understanding of current affairs.

. . .

Hi Vivien,

thanks for your feedback on my comment.

If I may clarify, I'm not suggesting that journalists abandon their role as observers. 'Let the reader decide' remains paramount in our day-to-day activities, as you rightly explain.

At current rates of loss, however, the example of the United States provides pause for thought. From a high of 59,000 journalists in 1990, US newsrooms are now down to about 39,000 - indicating the closure of the last newsroom in about 2050. Similar situations exist worldwide. For another example, I recently asked Cuenta de la Asociación de la Prensa de Madrid (1895) about their job losses after the Global Financial Crisis, which they place at about 50 per cent.  

The future? Given that radio remains the leading source of information for most people, worldwide, and that according to Pew Institute studies radio (and TV) get a lot of news from newspapers, and that newspaper newsrooms are the main centres of loss, we are already facing significant loss of governance information.

"The crises or restrictions on reporting and freedom of expression come from the existing political authorities in respective countries."

Yes, absolutely. Which is why I am suggesting that journalists need to step beyond their observer role when it comes to their own affairs. To advocate, lobby and campaign for greater resources, and independence.

"All the journalist can do is to continue to report and show the reality of situations."

Respectfully, I disagree. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. The alternative is facing an eventual silence of the lambs led to slaughter. We are the Fourth Estate, and we are far too important to leave our future to those who despise us, and our mission. Or a disenfranchised electorate (if it exists at all) with no power or money to support this estate, or, indeed, the Fifth Estate.

So, trying to bridge the gap between our two viewpoints, what about approaches such as those suggested by the Solutions Journalism Network? That reporting solutions does not overstep journalistic boundaries when approached in the same manner as problems - obectively, ethically and quoting evidence from best practice and worldwide examples?

For example, newspapers in Asia are a lot healthier, financially, than those in western socities. What are they doing different that could be learned from? Yes, they have problems with ethics, such as envelope journalism (e.g. India), and state censorship (e.g. China). 

I would be most interested in your views on this, and from anyone else pondering #4thestate futures.

. . .