How Close Should We Get? Media and Conflict
Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2021), 101 pp.
Contains many illustrations, bibliogr. pp. 94-95
Series: Edition DW Akademie
"Those working in media face plenty of challenges when it comes to handling issues around conflict more sensitively. In some countries, these difficulties could include forced or unsolicited loyalty, a lack of information, or physical and psychological threats. In others, challenges could arise from prejudice fostered by excessive homogeneity in newsrooms, or a lack of consciousness for the limits of certain views. In DW Akademie’s publication, authors from around the world approach the question of how media workers can cover conflict better. This includes reflections on how to cope with the deluge of hatred online and on how to deal with trauma. Rather than academic, analytical texts, the publication is made up of thoughtfully written, carefully illustrated and often personal pieces." (Publisher description)
The myth of the lone wolf: Why war reporting is a profession like any other / Bettina Gaus, 10
REPORTING ON CONFLICT IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH
Big gombo and Facebook: Working as a journalist in Chad / Interview with Éric Topona Mocnga, 14
FIGHTING FOR RESOURCES
A field of maize, six grazing goats: Difficult coexistence between refugees and host communities in Uganda / Ochan Hannington, 18
The beauty of collaboration: The Cross Border Network in Northern Uganda and South Sudan / Interview with Jane Okwera Angom, 20
THE THREAT OF THE OTHER
Between envy and fear: In Bangladesh, tensions between locals and Rohingya refugees are rising / Verena Hölzl, 24
On recipes and roaming elephants: How Rohingya and Bangladeshis work together on a radio show / Andrea Marshall, 26
Tool 1: The conflict tree. Example: Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh / Mona Naggar, 30
WHITE AND MALE?
More diversity in newsrooms! Journalists decide whose voices are heard / Hadija Haruna-Oelker, 34
Between faith and fashion: A headscarf can signify more than is depicted by the media / Charlotte Wiedemann, 36
Countering discrimination: How a media association is bringing diversity into German newsrooms / Sheila Mysorekar, 37
THE POWER OF THE NET
Right or left, with nothing in between: How fake news has contributed to political polarization in Brazil / Philipp Lichterbeck, 40
Disinformation: Containing the viral spread. Fact-checking in Brazil / Philipp Lichterbeck, 42
Tool 2: Conflict mapping. Example: Brazil / Mona Naggar, 44
Pranks, mocking, and abuse: Discussions about the toxic content of Serbian YouTube videos / Jovana Gligorijevic, 46
“I would do it all over again”: A YouTuber on his sense of responsibility / Interview with Darko Radovac, 48
No longer a blind spot: How the project “Clickbait” highlights the language of many YouTubers in Serbia / Klaus Dahmann, 49
CAPTURING CONFLICT
What do I want to achieve with my photographs? / Judah Passow, 52
What is important when I photograph a conflict? / Judah Passow, 54
What not to show / Judah Passow, 55
STATIC SOCIETY, SHIFTING IDENTITIES
The misfortune of having a divine body: In India, discrimination has many different names and faces / Vinamrata Chaturvedi, 58
Talking taboos on Sunday mornings: How the Indian show “Zindagi Live” attracted its audience by mixing serious topics with Bollywood flair / Vinamrata Chaturvedi, 60
“People are slowly accepting the changes”: The Zindagi Live host on the power of words / Interview with Richa Anirudh, 61
THE POWER OF THE PAST
Late hugs from the neighbors: How a film project reunited a village in Colombia / Margarita Isaza Velásquez, 64
Reweaving memories: The victims of Colombia’s many armed conflicts tell their stories / Matthias Kopp, 66
50 years of violence: Armed groups, drug cartels and paramilitaries characterize Colombia’s recent history / Margarita Isaza Velásquez, 67
Tool 3: Needs and fears mapping. Example: Colombia / Mona Naggar, 68
Coming to terms with the past: How the Belarusian regime uses World War II to discredit the opposition today / Interview with Valeriy Bulgakov, 70
Countering the dominant narrative / Kyryl Savin, 72
WHAT TO DO AGAINST HATE?
Looking away doesn’t help: Journalists should never be silent in the face of hate / Hasnain Kazim, 76
“Come to me, you HACK, and I’ll show you what a REAL GERMAN is!!!” / Hasnain Kazim, 78
WHEN JOURNALISTS SUFFER
“I thought I had seen everything”: A journalist’s struggle to cope with the effects of terrorist attacks / Zehra Abid, 82
Talking about a taboo: Pakistan’s Wellbeing Centers offer care for traumatized journalists / Zehra Abid, 84
One of the most dangerous places in the world: Journalists in Pakistan are caught up among military, mullahs and militants / Zehra Abid, 85
When your life feels upside down: How to recognize trauma symptoms and how to deal with them / Khaled Nasser, 86
Interviewing a traumatized person: What to do and what to avoid / Khaled Nasser, 89
SHOULD JOURNALISTS BE IMPARTIAL?
Two wrongs don’t make a right: Truth is our most important weapon when covering conflicts / Magda Abu-Fadil, 92
A bias towards humanity: Journalists should get closer to marginalized groups / Zaina Erhaim, 93
REPORTING ON CONFLICT IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH
Big gombo and Facebook: Working as a journalist in Chad / Interview with Éric Topona Mocnga, 14
FIGHTING FOR RESOURCES
A field of maize, six grazing goats: Difficult coexistence between refugees and host communities in Uganda / Ochan Hannington, 18
The beauty of collaboration: The Cross Border Network in Northern Uganda and South Sudan / Interview with Jane Okwera Angom, 20
THE THREAT OF THE OTHER
Between envy and fear: In Bangladesh, tensions between locals and Rohingya refugees are rising / Verena Hölzl, 24
On recipes and roaming elephants: How Rohingya and Bangladeshis work together on a radio show / Andrea Marshall, 26
Tool 1: The conflict tree. Example: Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh / Mona Naggar, 30
WHITE AND MALE?
More diversity in newsrooms! Journalists decide whose voices are heard / Hadija Haruna-Oelker, 34
Between faith and fashion: A headscarf can signify more than is depicted by the media / Charlotte Wiedemann, 36
Countering discrimination: How a media association is bringing diversity into German newsrooms / Sheila Mysorekar, 37
THE POWER OF THE NET
Right or left, with nothing in between: How fake news has contributed to political polarization in Brazil / Philipp Lichterbeck, 40
Disinformation: Containing the viral spread. Fact-checking in Brazil / Philipp Lichterbeck, 42
Tool 2: Conflict mapping. Example: Brazil / Mona Naggar, 44
Pranks, mocking, and abuse: Discussions about the toxic content of Serbian YouTube videos / Jovana Gligorijevic, 46
“I would do it all over again”: A YouTuber on his sense of responsibility / Interview with Darko Radovac, 48
No longer a blind spot: How the project “Clickbait” highlights the language of many YouTubers in Serbia / Klaus Dahmann, 49
CAPTURING CONFLICT
What do I want to achieve with my photographs? / Judah Passow, 52
What is important when I photograph a conflict? / Judah Passow, 54
What not to show / Judah Passow, 55
STATIC SOCIETY, SHIFTING IDENTITIES
The misfortune of having a divine body: In India, discrimination has many different names and faces / Vinamrata Chaturvedi, 58
Talking taboos on Sunday mornings: How the Indian show “Zindagi Live” attracted its audience by mixing serious topics with Bollywood flair / Vinamrata Chaturvedi, 60
“People are slowly accepting the changes”: The Zindagi Live host on the power of words / Interview with Richa Anirudh, 61
THE POWER OF THE PAST
Late hugs from the neighbors: How a film project reunited a village in Colombia / Margarita Isaza Velásquez, 64
Reweaving memories: The victims of Colombia’s many armed conflicts tell their stories / Matthias Kopp, 66
50 years of violence: Armed groups, drug cartels and paramilitaries characterize Colombia’s recent history / Margarita Isaza Velásquez, 67
Tool 3: Needs and fears mapping. Example: Colombia / Mona Naggar, 68
Coming to terms with the past: How the Belarusian regime uses World War II to discredit the opposition today / Interview with Valeriy Bulgakov, 70
Countering the dominant narrative / Kyryl Savin, 72
WHAT TO DO AGAINST HATE?
Looking away doesn’t help: Journalists should never be silent in the face of hate / Hasnain Kazim, 76
“Come to me, you HACK, and I’ll show you what a REAL GERMAN is!!!” / Hasnain Kazim, 78
WHEN JOURNALISTS SUFFER
“I thought I had seen everything”: A journalist’s struggle to cope with the effects of terrorist attacks / Zehra Abid, 82
Talking about a taboo: Pakistan’s Wellbeing Centers offer care for traumatized journalists / Zehra Abid, 84
One of the most dangerous places in the world: Journalists in Pakistan are caught up among military, mullahs and militants / Zehra Abid, 85
When your life feels upside down: How to recognize trauma symptoms and how to deal with them / Khaled Nasser, 86
Interviewing a traumatized person: What to do and what to avoid / Khaled Nasser, 89
SHOULD JOURNALISTS BE IMPARTIAL?
Two wrongs don’t make a right: Truth is our most important weapon when covering conflicts / Magda Abu-Fadil, 92
A bias towards humanity: Journalists should get closer to marginalized groups / Zaina Erhaim, 93
