People join for a peaceful gathering near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, appealing for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Placards read: "Two People, Two States, One Peace," foreground, and "Support to all victims." (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
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The Importance of Peace Journalism
By Shane Wate
Journalism has the power to shape our perceptions and tell us ‘what matters’ in the world. Despite the bravery, professionalism and impartiality of war journalists, the amount of interest the media show in violence and crisis is, in fact, disproportionate to its presence. Some believe that this ‘scary world syndrome’ has begun to undermine democracy. Fear of the world ‘out there’ has become so prevalent in our society that it has actually started to justify violence and loss of freedom instead of encouraging ways to prevent violence and promote human rights. While few journalists seek to promote violence or war, the profitability of conflict-ridden news and entertainment rules the day. Is there a way to engage in journalism that supports peace and nonviolence while still reporting on conflicts around the world?
News anchor Lester Holt works on the MSNBC set. (AP Photo/Brian Branch-Price)
20 Seconds of Confusion
By Danielly Menezes
A 20-second television news segment is the main source of information on the Israel-Palestine conflict for about 80 percent of the population. Although many tune in to stay informed, they often walk away confused due to the lack of history and context in the conflict coverage. To avoid confusion, Peace Journalism supporters encourage journalists to provide background information, name all wrongdoers, and work equally hard to confirm allegations made by all sides in a conflict.
To some, this is simply called ‘good journalism’. To others it has a name: peace journalism. A growing number of people are devoting their careers towards developing this ‘different’ type of journalism. People such as Richard Keeble, Jake Lynch, Johan Galtung and Annabel McGoldrick have contributed much to the debate over what they call ‘peace journalism’ over war journalism. Recognizing the insurmountable influence that journalism has over the people in the world, they are working to change the profession in direct and substantive ways. They are driven by the belief that violence is not only morally wrong, but ultimately not as beneficial – or profitable -- economically, politically, and socially to the world as cooperation and peace. They believe that journalists have a responsibility to represent conflict in ways that support non-violence as a viable, and preferred, solution. Today’s journalism, they argue, portrays violence as normal and acceptable.
The primary goal of peace journalism is to develop an alternate strategy of promoting peace, dialogue and understanding while reporting on and informing audiences about the realities of war and conflict. In fact, they point out that mainstream media tends to hide the true horror of war and hostility behind people’s fascination of it. In an article for Fifth Estate Online, Richard Keeble writes that the intent of “peace journalism is [to be] solution-oriented, giving voice to the voiceless, humanizing the ‘enemy’, exposing lies on all sides, highlighting peace initiatives and focusing on the invisible effects of violence.” It is through journalism education, professional training, and general public awareness of the limitations of mainstream journalism that change can occur.