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Better media, less conflict
Many advocates of conflict prevention are convinced that the media can play a critical role in defusing tensions and forging peace. But most media representatives are opposed to becoming actors in the developments they have to cover. Nevertheless, there are opportunities for them to be won over to the cause of conflict prevention © By Hans van de Veen
Some ten years ago the Centre for Conflict Resolution and the Media Peace Centre in South Africa started the Mediation Project for Journalists, a series of workshops imparting conflict resolution skills to those in the journalistic trade. At first, one of the founders, Melissa Baumann remembers in a special issue of the Track Two magazine, ‘many of the journalists we invited to attend declined, totally unconvinced that learning about managing conflict had anything to do with their profession. Their job was to “report the truth, the facts”, they said. It wasn’t the business of journalists to intervene.’ This response was ‘highly ironic’, says Baumann given that at that time the media in South Africa was engaged in a general propaganda war, with different media representing different sides.
Now, in the late 1990s, the theory and practice surrounding the issue of ‘media and conflict’ has taken on a life of its own. ‘The cynics persist, of course, in great number’, Baumann says: there are still ‘people working in the media who claim they must stay “objective” at all costs and that any sort of advocacy compromises the standards of journalism.’ However, a growing number of professionals argue that the ‘media and conflict’ debate is not about taking sides in reporting conflict -except the side of peace and peace-building- but about journalists already being a third party in any conflict they are covering. Consequently, the argument that there is a moral imperative to use that access constructively is steadily gaining ground.
What role can the media play in helping prevent conflicts from escalating? Potentially a big one, agree both conflict mediators and journalists, but they disagree on how. Positive journalism is what we need, argues John Marks, president of the Washington-based NGO, Search for Common Ground.* ‘Asking ques tions like: Whe re do you agree? Instead of focusing only on the disagree ments.’ Most journalists react to statements like these by pointing to the importan ce of responsible coverage of conflict situations: ‘Tha t’s a big contribu tion already.’ And journalists from the poorer parts of the world point to the fact that a lack of money and time prevents them from covering con flicts at all. ‘Talking about media and conflict prevention is a luxury.’
Conflict sells; cooperation, or the process of resolving con flict, does not. It could be argued that, because of this assumption, the media tend to dramatise conflicts (either openly or tacitly) by focusing on irreconcilable differences between the parties, extreme positions and inflammatory statements, violent or threatening acts and win-or-lose outcomes. Furthermore, most news media ordinarily only turn their attention to conflicts at points of high public interest, such as dramatic escalation phases, unusually violent incidents, peace treaties, or other events considered especially newsworthy.
John Marks from the Search for Common Ground is one of a gro wing number of conflict mediators and huma nitarians trying to convince journalists that, in situations of conflict, they can play an important role in helping to stop the escalation. The Australian NGO Conflict Resolution Network (CRN) even developed a 'Toolkit' consisting of practical suggestions for journalists on how to bring parties in a conflict closer to one another. 'Avoid simplistic representations of baddies and goodies', is one of the recommendations. 'Report areas of agreement as well as disagreement. This encourages the problem-solving process to continue', is another.
But most (Western) journalists are scep tical about this. Should they, for the sake of conflict reso lution, downplay conflict, avert their eyes from the ugly facts of hatred and violence, or ‘cry peace when there is no peace’? ‘Of course not,’ writes Joann Byrd, the Was hington Post’s ombudsman, ‘but they should realize that con flict is not the whole sto ry.’ In covering conflict stories, Byrd suggests, journalists should add an ‘S’ for Soluti ons and a ‘C’ for Common Ground to the traditional ‘five W’s’ formula (Who, What, When, Where, Why). She urges reporters to go beyond describing a con flict merely in terms of poles of opposition.
According to Mira Oklobzija, programme advisor at Press Now, a small NGO which supports independent media in Bosnia, good journalists already do these kind of things. She feels the negative image painted of the average journalist and editor is too much of a generalisation and singles out for special praise the role of independent, local journalists in conflict situa tions. ‘It requires an enormous amount of courage and knowled ge to keep one’s independence in a situation like that,’ she says. In a climate where the official press is frequently the mouthpiece of those in power, it’s certainly not easy for a journalist to articulate critical opinions. Oklobzija also praises foreign correspondents who go looking for the news in conflict areas. Their information often plays a deci sive role in preventing any further escalation of a con flict. But Oklobzija is very critical about editors who write on con flicts from behind their desks, using only the news files of the leading press agencies. ‘At least,’ she says, ‘they should look for more, independent sources, especially from inside the country.’
‘Editors seem to work from the premise that conflict is interesting and agreement is boring’, Marks laments. ‘A conflictual approach may attract listeners and sell newspapers, but it definitely has a negative impact on society as a whole.’ To offer an alternative, ten years ago Marks started Common Ground Productions, with the aim of stimu lating media producti ons which emphasise peaceful resolution of conflict, collabo rative problem-solving and identification of common ground. He defines the central idea behind the initiative in the following terms: ‘Conflict pre vention is about heads, conflict is about hearts. So, with your activities you have to reach the hearts of people.’
‘How do you reach huge numbers of people in conflict areas?’ asks Marks rhetorically. Through the media, clearly. That’s why his organisation supports projects for the printed media in Macedonia and the Middle East and has produced TV series in Russia, Macedonia, South Africa and Sri Lanka. The programmes concentrate on the most diffi cult issues in a society and are broadcast nation-wide. In Africa - where radio is the only medium that reaches a mass audience - Search tries to counteract the so-called hate-radio, the most horrendous example of which is Rwanda’s Radio Mille Collines, which urged the country on to genocide. In Burundi, Search for Common Ground created Studio Ijambo, a production facility where a team of Hutu and Tutsi journalists produce programmes in the several languages of the country (see case-study).
Another example of the way NGOs can themselves step into the shoes of the media and produce their own television or radio programmes -or commission journalists or documentary-makers to do so- comes from the organisation Internews. In cooperation with the International Crisis Group and Human Rights Watch, Internews created mobile television crews equipped with satellite communications systems that can be deployed in volatile regions such as Kosovo or the Sudan. The crews provide coverage of ‘pre-conflict’ situations at below-market cost to news agencies around the world. ‘We take the financial burden of covering pre-conflict situations off the broadcasters and agencies’, Internews explains, ‘because the economics of international news agencies do not support the coverage of impending conflict. It is simply too expensive.’ (see case-study)
The Centre for Conflict Resolution in South Africa, Internews and Search for Common Ground are among a growing number of NGOs and mediators which are trying to convince journalists, in the western world and beyond, that it is not only conflict that can be sold to their reading, listening and viewing audiences, but that conflict resolution can be an equally marketable concept. Successful conflict resolution, they claim, can get good ratings.
While these organisations had great success in developing and broadcasting conflict prevention programming on local media within zones of conflict, they have however rarely been able to get that programming to viewers in Western Europe and the US. 'We see a real lack of information in the West about conflicts that have not yet turned violent but could in the near future', says Paul Greenberg, Internews' director of International Co-productions. 'We also see the international media regularly ignoring conflicts that have supposedly 'ended' but in fact have continued to fester because international assistance was too rapidly diverted. The constructive role that the international media could play in raising public awareness of impending-conflict and post-conflict situations is too often subverted by the economics of the media business. The blood and guts of an actual conflict bring rating points and profit whereas programming that focuses on preventing conflict is often too abstract to attract public attention.' NGOs, private foundations and media professionals, have to look for innovative projects that can begin to change the economics of electronic media in the West, says Greenberg.
The European Centre for Conflict Prevention is planning to enhance
its media-activities on peace building. Information about existing
documentaries dealing with conflict prevention/transformation
and peace building will be collected, while at the same time the
production of this kind of documentary will be stimulated world
wide.
Peace documentaries
Conflict prevention and transformation have an enormous potential
but much more support from all kinds of actors is needed to realise
this potential, the European Centre feels. One of the ways to
stimulate broader support for this approach is through the mass
media. Many of the examples given in the present publication could
be the topic of video documentaries, while many other, potentially
inspiring stories, haven’t been told at all. Information from
readers about these kind of examples is widely appreciated, as
well as information on existing documentaries or broadcast-reports
in the field of conflict prevention, community- or peace-building
and reconciliation.
For more information contact the European Centre for Conflict
Prevention, PO Box 14069, 3508SC Utrecht, The Netherlands, Fax
+31 (30) 253 7529, email euconflict@euconflict.org
Working with local media in areas of conflict, either through cooperation with existing media organisations or by setting up new media organisations with local journalists, has so far been the core business of ‘preventive journalism’. In a majority of cases, this approach amounts to western organisations working with non-western counterparts, usually in poorer countries. It is considered as counter-acting the so-called CNN-effect, where governments feel compelled by television-generated public opinion to intervene in overseas conflicts, often creating more problems than opportunities.
NGOs agree that training local media, tailored to local needs, is one of the most valuable instruments to keep media organisations from contributing to the escalation of a conflict. There is also a strong case for recruiting and training local trainers who can, in the long-term, continue to build local media capacity adapted to the specific conditions. Another prerequisite for successful media projects is that they should be planned as long-term enterprises, which means that donors also have to remain financially committed for longer periods of time.
‘It’s nice to have training,’ says a journalist working for Cameroon television, ‘but we prefer to have the money to pay for the bus fares so we can reach the conflict area.’ In her opinion, the lack of money and time to investi gate the issues at stake are the main obstacles preventing African journalists from properly doing their job. ‘It is this situation which makes journalists always vulnerable to the bribery of the government.’
Special, sophisticated programming increases the potential of generating constructive movements in a divided society. But in many cases, conflict prevention is already enhanced once a decent media organisation is established which follows the simple rules of good journalism. In areas where access to information is limited, providing any accurate, balanced information already constitutes a huge step towards promoting peace. The better the media, the less the chance of an outbreak of violent conflict.
Adventure Film Productions and the Peace History Society are pleased
to announce the making of The Wounded Dove, a ten-hour documentary
focusing on the great peacemakers of the 20th century. The ten
episodes will be aired on various television networks worldwide,
beginning January 2000.
A Call for Stories about Peacemakers
We are looking for stories about individuals who performed dramatic
acts of heroism in the interest of peace from 1900 to the present.
Their stories will be presented in The Wounded Dove, the Quest
for Peace in the Twentieth Century.
Adventure Film Productions
181 Bingham Ave.
Toronto M4E 3R2
Canada
Tel and Fax +1 (416) 694 9881
Email NeilLundy@compuserve.com
Opportunities for the courtship between media and organisations working for conflict prevention to turn into a stable relationship would undoubtedly improve if the rapprochement could be classified under the neutral motto of ‘the quest for professional journalism’ instead of ideals that are considered by media representatives to be beyond their scope.
For the time being the rapprochement is an experiment for both journalists and peacemakers. People active in this domain believe that evaluation of the current programmes should give directions as to what types of linkage between media and conflict prevention are best. This poses another challenge to the adherents of preventive action. Finding standards for impact assessment is difficult. Evaluating the preventive value of media may be nothing less than trying to measure the unmeasurable.
* This quote and other unrelated ones in this article are taken from the publication ‘From Early Warning to Early Action’ - A report on the European Conference on Conflict Prevention, February 27-28, 1997, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Selected Bibliography
African Conflict and the Media, Abiodun Onadipe and David Lord. Discussion paper. Conciliation Resources, UK.
Journalism and Conflict Resolution, Johannes Botes. In: Media Development 4/1996.
Frameworks for Inter preting Conflict - A Handbook for Journalists. George Mason University, USA.
The Media, Humanitarian Crisis and Policy-making - A Report of an International Meeting. World Peace Foundation, Cambridge Massachusetts. 1995.
Late-breaking Foreign Policy - The News Media’s Influence on Peace Operations, W. P. Strobel. Washington, D.C. US Institute of Peace Press, 1997.
Media - Peace-Building Through the Media, Part 3, G. Adam. Crosslines Global Report, December 30, 1997.
Spiral of Cynicism - The Press and the Public Good, J.N. Cappella. Oxford University Press, 1997.
The Media at War - Communication and Conflict in the 20th Century, S.L. Carruthers. London, 1998.
Understanding Global News, J. van Ginneken. London, 1997.
Professionalism in War Reporting - A Correspondent’s View, T. Gjelten. Washington, DC: Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. 1998.
Media Coverage - Help or Hindrance in Conflict Prevention, N. Gowing. Washington, D.C., Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict, 1997.
The Warrior’s Honor - Ethnic War and the Modern Conscience, M. Ignatieff. New York, 1998.
The Media and the Military, P. Young and P. Jesser. London, 1997.
Media and Conflict. Special issue of the magazine Track Two, a publication of the Centre for Conflict Resolution and the Media Peace Centre, Rondebosch, South Africa. December 1998.
Feedback please to
j.verhoeven@euconflict.org