"The years 2011 and 2012 were among the most deadly for journalists reporting from conflict situations worldwide. The numbers of assaults, arrests and attacks have been on a constant rise and portray a dramatic image of the journalistic profession. In light of the increasing threats in armed conflic
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ts, being a war reporter has become an inherently dangerous task. Journalists are not only at risk of becoming so-called collateral damage during military operations, they are also increasingly targeted. Their role as a watchdog and witness to the horrors of war, in addition to the undeniable power of the word and image they spread, has made them popular targets. It is therefore essential that the international community re-evaluate journalists' de jure and de facto protections in armed conflicts to allow for better safeguards and consequently less casualties in the imminent future. This article examines the current protections afforded to journalists and aims at detecting proposals for enhanced safeguards that are most likely to effectively improve journalists' safety in the field. In this regard, this article will argue that the legal protections are in fact sufficient and hardly amendable and that therefore, a more practical, hands-on approach to implementation of those protections must be the focus of future actions. This goal can only be achieved by a comprehensive mission jointly pursued by governments, militaries, journalists, media, NGOs and society." (Abstract)
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"This book examines, through the case study of Indonesia over recent decades, how the reporting of violence can drive the escalation of violence, and how journalists can alter their reporting practices in order to have the opposite effect and promote peace." (Publisher description)
"Purpose: War journalists confront many dangers, leaving them at risk for mental health problems. They are, however, able to take breaks from the hazards of frontline work by periodically leaving conflict zones for the safety of home. This respite is not afforded local journalists who cover conflict
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situations. An example of this may be found in Mexico where journalists reporting on the drug cartels may under threat. This inability to seek temporary respite from grave danger may theoretically increase levels of psychological distress. The purpose of this paper is to examine this possibility.
Design/methodology/approach: The study sample comprised 104 Mexican journalists and a control group of 104 war journalists (non*Mexican, demographically matched). Outcome measures included indices of posttraumatic stress disorder (Impact of Event Scale*Revised)(IES*R), depression (Beck Depression Inventory*Revised (BDI*II) and psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire*28 (GHQ*28).
Findings: Mexican journalists had higher scores on the avoidance (p=0.01), arousal (p=0.0001), but not intrusion (p=0.29) scales of the IES*R. They had higher scores on the BDI*II (p=0.0001) and anxiety (p=0.0001), somatic (p=0.0001) and social dysfunction (p=0.01) subscales of the GHQ*28.
Practical implications: Mexican journalists targeted by drug cartels have more psychopathology than journalists who cover war. News organisations that employ journalists in this line of work therefore need to be aware of this and have a mechanism in place to provide treatment, when needed. Originality/value: This is the first study to directly explore the psychological effects of violence on local journalists who do not cover war, but nevertheless live and work in areas of grave danger." (Abstract)
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"Zusammenfassend zeigt sich bei der Berichterstattung über Gewalttaten eine klare Unausgewogenheit in Bezug auf Opfer und TäterInnen. Es herrscht eine "asimetría de la indignación" (Semana 0.2.02.2008), das heißt eine Asymetrie der Empörung und eine asymetrische Sensibilisierung, die die Opfer
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des Paramilitarismus und des Militärs unsichtbar macht. Somit wird eine Wirklichkeit des Koflikts konstruiert, in der praktisch nur die Opfer der Guerillas - insbesondere Entführungsopfer - existieren. Dies reproduziert die asuymmetrischen sozialen Verhältnisse der Opfer selbst. Denn die Zielscheibe des Paramilitarismus und des Militärs sind meistens Kleinbäuerinnen und Kleinbauern, besitzlose SiedlerInnen des Hinterlands oder VerteterInnen von Basisorganisationen, deren Zugang zu den staatlichen Ressourcen - ganz zu schweigen zu den Massenmedien - viel beschränkter ist, als der von Mittel- und Oberschichtsangehörigen bzw. Mitgliedern des Militärs, die in der untersuchten Periode bevorzugte Entführungsziele der Guerillas waren." (Schlusskommentar, Seite 160)
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"The objective of this study is to look at how two prominent Arab-language news organisations, BBC Arabic and Al Jazeera Arabic (AJA), have used social media and user-generated content — photos, videos and comments — to provide coverage of the uprising in Syria. Due to the unique pressures in co
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vering Syria, especially in the early months of the uprising, how did these news organizations manage the heavy use of UGC and social media while being true to their editorial guidelines? How have the news organizations in this study verified this material? With activists playing a role in producing and distributing this material, how have the news organizations informed their audiences of the provenance of this material? In terms of UGC management both BBC Arabic and Al Jazeera Arabic publish information about their corporate-wide editorial guidelines that set out guidance for dealing with sources and assuring transparency for their audiences. In the case of the BBC generally, there is very detailed guidance about user-generated content for news. An investigation into the verification practices at BBC Arabic and Al Jazeera Arabic indicates that detailed guidance is in place." (Executive summary, page 3)
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"This paper aims at investigating the relationship between traditional and social media during the first six months of the Syrian uprising. Thanks to direct testimony made available to the author by various cyber activists inside and outside Syria and through constant monitoring of the official prop
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aganda and the coverage of the Syrian events by the two main pan-Arab satellite TVs, this article intends to investigate how both the regime and the activists attempt to represent the “real events on the ground”. In a country where the foreign and pan-Arab press have been mostly expelled since the beginning of the protests and the consequent repression, these two opposite poles heavily fight on the media level. On the one hand, the propaganda dominates traditional media and has sought to show familiarity with new methods, while maintaining the same content and rhetorical tone. On the other hand, the activists, masters of the new media, attempted to overcome the limitations of their tools, aiming at more traditional forms of communication. In both cases, the Internet has emerged as the main weapon of this media confrontation." (Abstract)
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"The Arab Spring represents a breaking point in the cooperation between the pan-Latin American satellite television TeleSUR and Al-Jazeera. Even if in February TeleSUR firmly condemned the closure by Egyptian authorities of the Al-Jazeera Cairo offices, NATO military intervention in Libya and the be
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ginning of protests in Syria provoked an important change in TeleSUR coverage of the Arab Spring. This shift coincided with a departure from the Al-Jazeera network, sanctioning the possible end of a collaboration that always had strong political connotations. TeleSUR joined the cause of the protesters in the coverage of the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings, meanwhile it took what we can refer to as an “ideological approach” in the coverage of the uprisings after the international intervention in Libya, implicitly embracing the official media version of the Arab regimes. This stance sparked controversy especially within grassroots Latin American movements, igniting a strong debate mainly visible on the web. At an international level, the undeclared departure from the Al-Jazeera network reflects the future split between leftist Latin American governments, who embrace and fund the multi-state TV network TeleSUR, and the forces that will come out from the Arab Spring. Finally, the Arab Spring represented a missing opportunity for TeleSUR to play an important role in global media, and not only for a national or regional audience. Indeed, TeleSUR gave more importance to the political interests of the channel’s founders, than in pursuing a balanced information out of ideological interests or geopolitical strategies." (Abstract)
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"The article analyses the media coverage of the BDR mutiny in Bangladesh, February 2009. In examining journalistic processes and how the Bangladeshi media reported the violent conflict, the article looks at how the approaches of peace journalism can be used in actual conflict reporting. Through a co
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mbination of methods the article discusses the dominant trends in the news coverage of the mutiny. Studying three newspapers’ coverage in detail, it was found that nearly two-thirds of the news reports reduced conflicts to force and violence, while one-third had a ‘peace frame’. Interestingly all the editorials analyzed had a ‘peace frame’. Presenting excerpts from interviews with journalists and editors, the article talks to the discussion about how journalists and editors themselves interpret, accept or challenge the process of conflict reporting." (Abstract)
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"The global success of the film KONY 2012 by Invisible Children, Inc., manifests far greater magical powers than those of Joseph Kony and his ruthless Lord’s Resistance Army, which it portrays. The most prominent feature of the Invisible Children lobby is the making and constant remaking of a mast
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er narrative that depoliticizes and dehistoricizes a murky reality of globalized war into an essentialized black-and-white story. The magic of such a digestible storyline, with Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony as a global poster boy for evil personified, not only plays into the hands of the oppressive Ugandan government but has also become handy for the US armed forces as they seek to increase their presence on the African continent. As the US-led war on terror is renewed and expanded, Invisible Children’s humanitarian slogan, “Stop at nothing”, has proven to be exceptionally selective, manifesting the occult economy of global activism that calls for military interventions." (Abstract)
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"El presente artículo ofrece los principales resultados de una investigación orientada a conocer y analizar la actuación de dos emisoras educativas y comunitarias: Radio Cutivalú de Piura y Radio Marañón de Jaén, en el contexto del conflicto socioambiental generado por el proyecto minero Río
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Blanco (2005-2007) ubicado en una zona de cabecera de cuenca, en el nororiente peruano, cuyo ámbito de influencia abarca las provincias de Huancabamba y Ayabaca, en la región Piura, y de San Ignacio, en la región Cajamarca. El estudio pone énfasis en el tipo de involucramiento y en los roles configurados por ambas emisoras en la dinámica del conflicto social. No se centra en los relatos periodísticos construidos por las dos radioemisoras, es decir en un análisis de los discursos radiofónicos, sino más bien en los enfoques políticos y en los roles desempeñados como medios de comunicación y actores de sociedad civil en la dinámica y diferentes etapas del conflicto." (Resumen)
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"Peace journalism is hardly a new concept, Galtung and Ruge having provided a key conceptual underpinning in 1965 and in later studies. However, while it flourished significantly in parts of the globe in the 1990s, notably the Philippines, albeit frequently referred to there as ‘conflict-sensitive
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journalism’, it has only relatively recently become an approach seriously considered as applicable in a South Pacific context, especially in the wake of the Bougainville civil war and the Solomon Islands ethnic conflict. With other political upheavals such as four coups d’état in Fiji in two decades, paramilitary revolts in Vanuatu, riots in Tahiti and Tonga, protracted conflict in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands, and the pro-independence insurrection in New Caledonia in the 1980s, conflict resolution poses challenges for the region’s journalists and their education and training. Peace journalism is one approach that can arguably make sense of a region that has become increasingly complex, politically strained and violent, yet the concept is generally eschewed by mainstream media as a threat to the core values of ‘traditional journalism’ itself. This article examines conflict trends in the South Pacific, discusses the concept of peace journalism and argues that journalists can take a more constructive approach to reporting conflict in the region. (Abstract)
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"[...] Explores the role played by local-nationals in covering the crisis for global audiences and how these journalists differed from the traditional, Western-born foreign correspondents who worked alongside them. The research draws on two methods: in-depth, semi-structured interviews with foreign
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correspondents in Khartoum, Sudan; and a content analysis of the news articles they produced. The results show that Sudanese journalists differed from Western foreign correspondents in a number of important ways. They worked in greater fear of the government of Sudan, and they had a different understanding of their role as journalists which, importantly, did not include a strong sense of their work as 'watchdog journalism'. The content analysis confirms that these differences matter; local stringers produced news that was significantly less critical in tone, presented fewer competing viewpoints, and privileged the government of Sudan's position." (Executive summary)
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"All stories about an ordinary person who becomes the victim of abuse require extra sensitivity, because survivors of abuse – whether the abuse is physical, emotional or political – are usually survivors of a traumatic event. There are many kinds of traumatic events. A terrible car crash, an ear
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thquake, and a war can all be traumatic events. In this guide, we will focus on trauma caused by violence – civil or political unrest, war, genocide, communal violence, domestic violence, and sexual violence. Experiencing a traumatic event affects survivors in many ways. Journalists should be aware of these effects because they will also affect how journalists can – and should – work. This guide will give working journalists concrete tools for understanding the effects of trauma and for conducting sensitive reporting and writing on trauma stories. It is written for group use and for self-study." (Page 2)
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"Aus einer Forschungsperspektive wird die Rolle der Medien bei der Kriegs- und Krisenberichterstattung für Kinder beleuchtet. Es werden sowohl Aspekte der Rezeption und Produktion von Medientexten durch Kinder als auch die Sicht und Vorgehensweisen von ProduzentInnen von Kindernachrichten zusammeng
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etragen." (Zusammenfassung)
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"Contiene, además de un apartado dedicado a revisar los seis años de recorrido del ONADEM, cuatro grandes secciones que cubren las áreas de trabajo del Observatorio en los últimos tres años: el Derecho a la Información y a la Comunicación, el análisis de la calidad de la información period
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stica, el desempeño de los periodistas y la evolución del campo mediático en el contexto de la dinámica política del país. Son trabajos realizados por los investigadores del ONADEM desplegados sobre objetos de estudio nacionales y regionales. El libro busca dar continuidad a uno anterior, Medios a la vista, publicado en 2009, el cual daba cuenta de las principales investigaciones realizadas por el ONADEM de UNIR entre los años 2005 y 2008. En sus seis años de vida, el Observatorio ha realizado más de 60 investigaciones." (Página web UNIR)
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