FOREWORD

Most efforts i n the fi el d of

j ournal i sm
educati on and trai ni ng l i e i n the
devel opment of ski l l s i n news gatheri ng
and reporti ng, or i n other as-
pects
of newspaper publ i shi ng
and news program producti on.
They
deal with the how-to of the craft or trade. Universities and colleges
provi de
courses i n these areas. Wi th rapi d changes i n technol ogy as
wel l as wi th the
growi ng
compl exi ty of
probl ems
and i ssues, many ar-
eas of coverage require continuing review and adjustment.
What i s cl ear now i s that there are a great many areas of concern or
news subjects that can no longer be reported simply in storyform or in
the brief breaking news account. What is not so obvious is the need for
j ournal i sts
to keep up wi th the changi ng context of the news. Journal -
ists need to acquire the necessary knowledge about the background
of the events they cover, so that they can understand more fully why
events have come to
pass
and the issues involved in socio-political
and economi c devel opments.
Thi s need i s easi l y i gnored i n the dai l y news gri nd.
Journal i sts are too
busy
just
trying to
get
stories out quickly, hopefully, with accuracy.The
pace
of news gathering
and delivery can sideline the need for con-
text and interpretation. Everghing is reduced to the elements of the
event-the first of the W's with little attention to Why and How.
News analysis is left only to a selected few. But it is our belief that every
news account shoul d i nvol ve the
j ournal i sts
i n thi nki ng out the story
and i ts meani ng.
When the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
(CMFR)
was
establ i shed i n 1989, i t carved out a speci al area of
j ournal i sm
trai n-
ing that would focus on the news media's need for more analysis in
the process
so they can provi de
the ki nd of accounts and commentary
that wi l l i ntroduce the reader to the i ssues and hel p those who wi sh
for i t more understandi ng of these i ssues.
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7
The years fol l owi ng 1986-a
peri od of pol i ti cal ferment i n whi ch the
recovery of democrati c i nsti tuti ons was taki ng
pl ace-showed how
j ournal i sts
needed assi stance to
ground themsel ves
qui ckl y i n the
background of i ssues that fi gured i n the events ofthe day.
I t s f undi ng mandat e al l owed t he Cent er t o organi ze background
bri efi ngs for
j ournal i sts
i n the fol l owi ng areas: the report of the Da-
vi de Commi ssi on on the coup attempt of 1987, the report of the
Counci l for Conversi on of the Mi l i tary Bases, the RP-US negoti ati ons
on mi l i tary bases and el ectoral reform and the fi rst nati onal el ec-
t i ons i n 1992, among ot hers. Wi t hout cal l i ng t hese t rai ni ng modul es
i n pol i cy news, CMFR was i n fact addressi ng the need for medi a to
report more cl osel y on
pol i cy-maki ng as a cri ti cal aspect of
good
governance.
It al so began to exami ne the peace process l aunched by the Fi del Ra-
mos admi ni strati on fol l owi ng on the i ni ti ati ves of Corazon Aqui no' s
Peace Commi ssi on, tracki ng the devel opments of
pol i cy and acti on
on the
part
of
government. l t i ni ti ated pol i cy di al ogue wi th medi a and
the
government
agenci es i nvol ved i n the peace process.
l n 1994, CMFR
j oi ned
the efforts of a group whi ch cal l ed i tsel f Al l i ance
for Peace Communi cators
(APC),
an i nformal col l aborati on wi th me-
di a-ori ented NGOs and news organi zati ons, i ncl udi ng Radi o Veri tas,
Jesui ts i n Communi cati on, Inc. and the Phi l i ppi ne Center for Investi ga-
t i ve Journal i sm.
As
j ournal i sts
and communi cators, members of the
group agreed that
the medi a had a rol e to
pl ay i n the peace process. At the ti me, the
government had l aunched a comprehensi ve
program for nati onal rec-
onci l i ati on, a devel opment that urged the group to expl ore the
pos-
si bi l i ti es of devel opi ng
"peace
reporti ng" as a way of coveri ng confl i ct
and adversari al negoti ati ons.
Whi l e APC remai ned onl y a name, t he work i t st art ed
proj ect ed t he
i mport ance of t he nat i onal
program f or peace as wel l as t he si gni f i -
cance of t he medi a coverage i n promot i ng an envi ronment f ost er-
i ng and f avori ng
peace. I n over a year, f undi ng f rom government
agenci es enabl ed t he APC t o organi ze f i ve semi nar workshops t o
updat e
j ournal i st s
on t he
peace program
of t he government , as
wel l as NGO peace efforts and the di ffi cul ti es i n coveri ng the
peace
process.
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In these sessions,
journalists
found the voice to express their own felt
aspi rati ons for
peace
and thei r wi l l i ngness to do thei r part
to cover
those aspects of the
peace process
that were being ignored in main-
stream medi a. These i ncl uded the work of ci vi l i an groups
to bui l d up
"peace
zones."
"Peace-reporti ng" was a strange ground
for most of the worki ng
j our-
nal i sts. Fi rst of al l , there was no such beat to cover; and i t woul d take
ti me to search out sources who can provi de
the perspecti ve
of the di f-
ferent communi ti es searchi ng for peace.
But si gni fi cantl y,
j ournal i sts
as publ i shers,
edi tors, and reporters were ready to hear out the
prob-
l em, to l i sten and to l earn.
Other i nci dents or events forced CMFR to al so revi ew the
j ournal i sti c
response i n other areas of confl i ct. The reporti ng of acts of terrori sm,
negoti ati ons or events i n the fi el d of combat has al so rai sed conten-
ti ous debate wi thi n the
j ournal i sti c
communi ty. Terrori st attacks were
reported as ordi nary events, coup attacks usual l y took on the col or
and hype gi ven
to sports tournaments.
I t can be argued t hat t he news medi a i ndependence gi ves t hem
t he f reedom t o si mpl y seek out t he f act s. And yet ,
j ournal i st s
wi l l
be t he f i rst t o admi t t hat report i ng can be col ored by
pol i t i cal
bi -
ases or
group
host i l i t i es t hat wi l l i n t urn f an t he f l ames of hi st ori c
f euds. Worse, medi a can submi t t o cont endi ng si des so t hat t hese
can conduct t hei r war of words, t he f orce of whi ch can st i l l resul t
i n hardeni ng t he wi l l agai nst agreement s t o l ay t he ground f or
peace.
The character of news al so dri ves
j ournal i sts
to l i mi t news space to
stori es that are not about confl i ct or cal ami ti es. Gi ven a peace pro-
cess or effort, medi a attenti on wi l l perk
up at the hi nt of adversari al
confrontati on, dwel l on the col l apse of negoti ati ons, and report the
breakdown on tal ks whi l e i gnori ng the breakthroughs made toward
agreement and consensus.
Journal i sm trai ni ng desi gned to connect reporti ng and commentary
to l arger peace-bui l di ng
efforts i n soci ety shoul d be seen as a si gni fi -
cant stream of effort in peace
advocacy. CMFR's program
acts on the
readi ness of the medi a to i mprove thei r own understandi ng of the i s-
sues of peace
and the compl ex questi ons
rai sed i n the course of nego-
ti ati ons or i n i nter-fai th or i nter-cul tural di scourse.
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The tradi ti onal cl assi cal model for
j ournal i sm prescri bes a di s-i nterested
media, a so-called objective observer and interpreter of
public events
and
publ i c i ssues. More current vi ews l ook at the news medi a i n a more
pro-active role, a means to communicate
news and information that
forms
publ i c
opi ni on for or agai nst certai n outcomes, such as envi ron-
mental
protection, volunteerism, and the resolution of conflict through
peaceful means. This last theme is
profoundly connected to the recog-
nition of pluralism as a
positive development in modern society.
Newspapers and news
programs on radi o and tel evi si on must remai n
anchored on the val ues and
pri nci pl es of
press practi ce. Thi s
program
i s based on the central i dea that
good
j ournal i sm
that fol l ows al l the
rul es and
pri nci pl es of the
practi ce can be ori ented toward and serve
the
general obj ecti ves of
peace-bui l di ng. Fi rst,
j ournal i sm provi des
the safeguard of
good governance or effective
peace programs. Sec-
ond, news can alert the rest of society to the "potential outbreaks of
confl i cti ' Addi ti onal l y,
the
press moni tors the state of human ri ghts,
another way of remi ndi ng those i n
power of thei r duty to
protect and
promote these ri ghts, especi al l y on behal f of those who are vul nerabl e
to expl oi tati on.
CMFR' s
peace j ournal i sm
trai ni ng
program therefore
provi ded con-
tent i nformati on to update as wel l as to
ground reporti ng on a shared
framework of understandi ng the i ssues, not onl y i n the
government-
i ni ti ated
peace process, but al so i n the ori gi ns and roots of i nsurgency
and di ssi dence. The agenda i ncl uded sessi ons wi th i nputs from re-
source
persons who have worked on the themati c i ssues as wel l as
the actual
peace-bui l di ng efforts, i ncl udi ng negoti ati ons, as wel l as
academi cs and advocates who are keepi ng a record of devel opments
for
purposes of
pol i cy reference as wel l as hi story. The experi ence of
the medi a i n vari ous
parts of the South and Southeast Asi an regi on
wi l l al so be i ncl uded.
On the
practi cal si de, the trai ni ng was desi gned to hel p the
press re-
vi ew how i t has been doi ng i ts work,
provi di ng gui del i nes, descri bi ng
approaches to news wri ti ng as wel l as strategi es for news coverage
that wi l l refl ect more constantl y the
probl ems and i ssues that have
sparked confl i ct through the country' s hi story.
Thi s vol ume
presents the di fferent sessi ons of the CMFR trai ni ng
pro-
gram i n separate cl uster themes. l t i ncl udes al so the
poi nts made dur-
i ng the di scussi ons that fol l owed the
presentati ons. The
papers i n the
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second
part
of the
publication presented
by resource
persons provide
the necessary background and context on the i ssues of i nsurgency
and the devel opment of the
government' s peace process.
The thi rd
part
col l ects the shari ng by four
j ournal i sts
around the regi on
(l ndo-
nesi a, Nepal , Phi l i ppi nes, and Thai l and) of thei r experi ences, and as
they di scussed thei r vi ews about the
probl ems
of reporti ng both con-
flict and
peace
in these countries.
Altogether, the three
parts
form the CMFR template for peace report-
i ng. Thi s i s a work i n
progress
and we hope to revi si t the i ssues and the
trai ni ng needs of the
press
communi ty i n the Phi l i ppi nes.
The program, which was conducted on November 22 to 26,2007 at
the Meral co Management and Leadershi p Devel opment Center i n An-
ti pol o Ci ty, was made
possi bl e
wi th a
grant
from the Royal Mi ni stry
of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Norway. The same supported
thi s publ i cati on.
MELINDA
QUINTOS
DE JESUS
Executive Director
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
pEAcE
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1 1
Section 1
Operati onal Framework
for Medi a and Peace-bui l di ng
Mel i nda
Qui ntos
de Jesus
(This poper
was written for the Nationol Centenniol Commission. lt hos been
pub-
lished in the bookMedia and Peace Reporting with minor revisions.)
Introduction
Li ke the
proverbi al
bad
penny,
the subj ect of the medi a keeps crop-
pi ng
up i n di scussi ons about other concerns. In the summi t-confer-
ences or roundtabl e meeti ngs organi zed to di scuss vari ous nati onal
probl ems
the tal k i nevi tabl y touches on the rol e of the medi a. Publ i c
percepti on
sees medi a as a maj or factor i n the course of publ i c events,
whether as a hel p or hi ndrance, an al l y or an enemy.
Unfortunatel y, there i s usual l y scant understandi ng of the character of
the medi a, especi al l y the news medi a. There i s l i ttl e knowl edge about
how the
publ i c
reacts to news. There i s al so l i ttl e appreci ati on for the
sensi ti vi ty of a free
press
about havi ng a rol e to
pl ay-unl ess
i t i s the
servi ce of si mpl y del i veri ng the news.
But whether the medi a l i ke i t or not, thei r
presence
i s a
pervasi ve
one,
thei r reach extensi ve, i f not uni versal . Cl earl y, there i s a basi s for
pre-
sumi ng thei r i nfl uence and i mpact.
In exami ni ng the rol e of the medi a i n the formati on of a cul ture of
peace,
thi s
paper
l i mi ts i ts scope to the news medi a, whi ch i s my area
of experi ence and concern.The di scussi on wi l l i ncl ude some basi c con-
cepts about how the medi a work; and, si nce
government
has under-
taken a comprehensi ve
peace program,
how pol i cy i s made. By news
medi a, we refer to newspapers and magazi nes, to radi o and tel evi si on
news programs.
pEAcEJoURNALt sMTRAI NI NG
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15
Models of newsmaking
Academi cs
provi de us wi th normati ve concepts for news. Di scussed i n
the book, Media & Pubtic Policy, edited by Robert J. Spitzer,
journalistic
practi ce val i dates these model s, al though
j ournal i sts
at work may not
be consci ous of the norm. Al l references i n thi s secti on are ci ted from
the same book.
The most accepted is the mirror model which regards"news"as merely a
refl ecti on of the real i ty out there.The medi a si mpl y"tel l i t l i ke i t i si ' Whi l e
there are standards or criteria which determine what
gets into the news,
thi s concept
proj ects
j ournal i sts
as neutral and di si nterested observers.
Rel ated to thi s model are those whi ch see the medi a as' tondui ts" of
i nformati on, as channel s of news materi al
(Graber,
1989). The medi a
si mpl y
provi de the means of di ssemi nati ng the news. Other terms
such as "neutral transmi tter" i ndi cate how merel y medi a conduct the
fl ow of events,
programs, and i deas
generated by others
(Li nsky,
1986)'
Si mi l arl y, the medi a act as a
"funnel regul ati ng the fl ow of communi -
cati on between
pol i cymakers and others i n
pol i ti cal system"
(Schatt-
snei der, 1975).
But the i dea i s the same.The medi a make up a neutral factor, not an
acti vi st el ement i n the course of events.
These model s retai n a truth about how the medi a work. Reporters
depend on other sources or the news. They rel y on "l eads"
provi ded
by others. By and l arge, and i n
pri nci pl e, the medi a do not i nvent the
news. In thi s context, the medi a cannot
promote or make
peace, wi th-
out other actors l eadi ng them toward those
goal s.
Media as
policy actor
In contrast, more recent theory
proj ects the medi a as an actor i n the
pol i cymaki ng process, as
pl ayi ng a rol e i n agenda setti ng
(l yengar
&
Ki nder, 1987; Ki ngdom, 1984).
The medi a may wi el d di fferent ki nds of effect. They educate the
pub-
l i c. They faci l i tate the exchange of i deas among
pol i cy actors i n or out
government. The medi a al so organi ze the i ssues and
proj ect scenari os
to
pri me the
ground the
publ i c acceptance of certai n
pol i cy opti ons
(Hawthorne,
1994) .
I 6
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The medi a are not governed
by
j ust
one framework. Whi l e reports and
accounts may be merel y reacti ve to what i s happeni ng out there, the
resul ti ng publ i ci ty
and resonance of
j ournal i sm
exert i nfl uence over
the
pol i cy
agenda.
The criteria for news
Whateverthe model , news sel ecti on takes pl ace.The
sel ecti on i nvol ves
standards of newsworthi ness.These determi ne what i s i ncl uded i n the
mi rror refl ecti on, i n the funnel transmi ssi on, i n the materi al that medi a
channel s carry out to the publ i c.
Sean MacBride in his Mony Voices, One World
(1980)
cited the criteria
for news most commonl y menti oned:
"ti mel i ness;" "wi de
i nteres!"
' but-of-the-ordi nary"
or' but-of-the-norm;" and fi nal l y the el ement of
"conflict."
News coverage is also cued by events and tied to specific
and i sol ated occurrences, rather than l ong-term processes.
Driven by events,
journalism
often misses out on the signs of crisis or the
context of controversy.Thus, the famine gets reported, but not the causes,
at least until the famine actually occurs. The floods are reported, but not
the deforestation and erosion which create the conditions for flooding.
The simmering ferment leading to war may escape notice, precluding
the declaration of war. Inevitably, the
possibilities
of
peace
fall out of the
news. Peacemaking is a process
that is difficult to track as events.
It is in the character of the news that the media choose stories of con-
fl ict, of confrontation, of col lapse in peace
tal ks, of ca la m ity. As someone
put
it, the bias is for bad news. Such an orientation does not favor
peace.
This is the reality that we have to come to terms with in asking the media
to play
a role. To play
a
positive
role in building a culture of
peace, the
media would need to re-orient their approach to news, and
journalists
need to re-invent a framework for
journalism
so that news about con-
sensus, about compromise, about conflict avoidance and alternatives to
war and violence become as newsworthy in the eyes of the
press
as the
news from battlefield. A media sensitive to the issues of peace provide
a new publ i c
consci ousness whi ch may make peopl e
more al ert to the
opportunities for peaceful
settlement of conflict.
Of course, medi a make up onl y one aspect of cul ture. Other i nsti tu-
ti ons shoul d be
j ust
as acti ve i n promoti ng
the val ues that uphol d a
culture of
peace.
pEAcE
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17
Information
policy for
peace
It mi ght al so hel p at thi s
poi nt to revi ew some of the concepts about
pol i cymaki ng and the rel ati on between medi a and
pol i cy formati on.
We can learn about
policy by looking for textbook cases of an orderly
acti vi ty whi ch
proceeds accordi ng to chronol ogi cal sequence, from
i denti fyi ng the probl em, formul ati ng a sol uti on, adopti ng a
pol i cy, i m-
pl ementi ng i t, and then eval uati ng the
pol i cy
(Borquez,
1993; Li nsky,
1986). These acti vi ti es depend on the avai l abi l i ty of necessary i nforma-
ti on and the establ i shment of common references for al l pol i cy actors.
In open and democrati c systems,
pol i cymaki ng i s often l ess orderl y.
The' garbage-can model "
proj ects the fl ui di ty of the
process, wi th
vari ous consti tuenci es and advocacy
groups exerti ng i nfl uence i n a
struggl e of i deas and i nterests
(Borquez,
1993).
Relationship between the
press,
political actors, and
policymakers
The prevai l i ng vi ew among
j ournal i sti c
communi ti es i n democrati c
systems sees the
press, on the one hand, and the
pol i ti cal actors/
pol i cymakers, on the other, as havi ng no rel ati onshi p other than the
adversari al i nteracti on.The news medi a i n the Phi l i ppi nes have been
qui ck to i nterpret any effort to engage them i n a
partnershi p as an
encroachment on the i ndependence and autonomy of the press. In
these cases, the medi a are sensi ti ve about bei ng asked to serve as the
mouthpi ece for offi ci al messages. Thus, the usual medi a reacti on to
the cal l for rol e-pl ayi ng i s to say "You do your thi ng, we do oursj '
A contrasti ng theory
percei ves a symbi oti c rel ati onshi p
governi ng the
i nteracti on between the
press and
pol i ti cal actors. And i n real i ty, the
most i ndependent-mi nded medi a enters i n a rel ati onshi p as reporter
deal i ng wi th source. Despi te the autonomy of the medi a,
j ournal i sts
and
publ i c offi ci al s are mutual l y dependent on one another i n the
perfor-
mance of thei r tasks. Government offi ci al s need the medi a so the
publ i c
can know about sources.
Quite
often, these sources are in government.
What the news hold
The news hol ds symbol s and stereotypes, i deas and i mages
proj ected
i n t he
publ i c f orum and i n t he
publ i c mi nd. These i ndi cat e t he cl i mat e
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of opi ni on whi ch sums up wi del y accepted vi ews about i ssues and
events. The news al so
presents enduri ng val ues shared wi thi n a soci -
ety. There are
prevai l i ng percepti ons
about how thi ngs are, about the
works and what doesn' t work i n the current soci o-pol i ti cal envi ron-
ment.
Context anal ysi s of the news reveal s a l ode of i ndi cators for pol i cymak-
ers. They can revi ew the news and fi nd out how l i ttl e peopl e know
about the Soci al Reform Agenda, a maj or
peace i ni ti ati ve of govern-
ment. The revi ew of the medi a can become an effecti ve tool for
pol i -
cymaki ng, usi ng i nf ormat i on as an i nst rument wi t h whi ch t o shape
pol i cy or i mpl ement
programs.
A si gni fi cant
porti on of the news emanates from government. In a
way, therefore,
government pl ays
a domi nant rol e i n setti ng the agen-
da through the news.
The coverage of the
peace process
The coverage of the
peace process presents an aspect of the
gover-
nance that has a conti nui ng real i ty apart from the vi si bl e events. As
framed by government, the
promoti on of peace i s a comprehensi ve,
compl ex, and mul ti -faceted
process. But the medi a track the
process
onl y through events. The emphasi s on events expl ai ns the
predomi -
nance of
"war"
and "battl e" news, of bombi ngs and ambush attacks,
of fai l ed negoti ati ons. One reason l i es i n the
j ournal i sti c
bi as for bad
news and the
' but-of-norm."
War, despi te i ts i ncreasi ng experi ence
al l over the worl d, remai ns a condi ti on that i s consi dered abnormal .
Peace, however, i s a
presumed condi ti on. There are al so few
peace
events, apart from the si gni ng of
peace accords that can be captured
easi l y i n the news.
Can the medi a exert i ts i nfl uence i n the creati on of an envi ronment
more conduci ve to peacemaki ng? Because we presume i ts i nfl uence
on
publ i c
opi ni on, t he answer must be yes. But i t can onl y do so much.
In a sense, both
government and thei r counterparts of the other si de
of the confl i ct become the maj or actors.The medi a need to work wi th
"sources"i n
these
groups
to
push peace-ori ented
news. But
gi ven thei r
own rol es i n the confl i ct, much of the news fl owi ng from the
govern-
ment even as i t rel ates to the
peace process,
are not necessari l y
peace-
ori ented, especi al l y when the mi l i tary become the
pri mary
source of
news or i ntel l i gence about
peace-and-order i n the countrysi de.
pEACEJoURNALTsMTRATNTNGMoDuU .
19
The content anal ysi s ofthe coverage ofthe
peace process
done by the
Center for Medi a Freedom and Responsi bi l i ty for si x months i n 1994
exami ned reporti ng and commentary i n 11 newspapers. l t focused
on three themes i denti fi ed i n the Fi del Ramos admi ni strati on' s peace
program: Peace and Order; PeaceTal ks; and Government Reforms.The
press
fi l es demonstrate that on al l the three themes, and thi s woul d
probabl y hol d for every aspect of the
peace process,
the medi a turn
to government
as thei r maj or source of news. In most the "paths to
peace" i denti fi ed by the Ramos admi ni strati on,
government
i s the
maj or i ni ti ator of acti vi ti es. Thi s suggests that
government needs to
refi ne thei r ori entati on toward the news so that they can establ i sh i n-
formati on programs to make more i nteresti ng to the medi a si gni fi cant
breakthroughs i n peacemaki ng.
Context anal ysi s shows that the mi l i tary bri efi ngs on the regi on i n Ma-
nila remain a significant source of news about the terrorist attacks or
bombi ngs i n Mi ndanao. But these bri efi ngs do not i ncl ude a ci vi l i an
per-
spective, carrying little news about the rest of the area, about schools or
business, with little mention of effort to bring relief to victims of attack
or those di spl aced by war. These bri efi ngs are mi l i tary i n focus and do
not mi rror the more
general
condi ti on of l i fe i n pl aces
under si ege.
Because the
peace program i nvol ves several agenci es i n i ts i mpl emen-
tati on, these agenci es must coordi nate the i nformati on components
as part of i mpl ementati on.Thi s i s necessary for coherence i n acti on as
wel l as i n publ i c
statements.
At the same ti me, coverage of ongoi ng mi l i tant i nsurgency al so work
with other news sources at parity with government as initiators of news.
As antagonists however, government, the New People's Army-National
Democrati c Front-Communi st Party of the Phi l i ppi nes, the Moro Nati on-
al Liberation Front, the Moro lslamic Liberation Front, the Abu Sayyaf
Group, and the Rebolusyonoryong Alyansang Makobonsa-Young Offi-
cers' Uni on are not l i kel y to
provi de
sti mul us for peace news, unl ess ei -
ther si de i s ready to si gn a
peace
agreement. Whi l e the negoti ati ons are
goi ng on, these al so use the medi a to wi n publ i c opi ni on to thei r si de.
Such news sources tend to play to the media's nose for conflict.
Less visible
peace
advocates
But, of course, there are other actors on the scene. In the Philippines, non-
governmental organization
(NGO) peace
advocates and other service
20
. pEAcEJoURNAL| SMTRATNTNGMoDULE
deliverers provide
a different
perspective
to ongoing conflict. Their sto-
ries include the creation of
"peace
zones;'the formation of
peace groups
engaged in the active
quest
for understanding among the communities.
The Zamboanga-based
"Silsilah"takes
the path
of inter-religious dialogue
in a movement that brings together Muslims and Christians for mutual
exchange about their faiths and beliefs. Peace Advocates of Zamboanga
(PAZ)
is a Catholic organization which is developing a peace program by
consolidating strong Muslim-Christian relations.
In the creati on of a "peace cul ture," such
groups
need to be abl e to
access thei r news to the medi a. Thi s i s an easy task. Thei r acti vi ti es are
process-ori ented
and medi a have di ffi cul ty frami ng such l ong-term
programs
i nto news. But there are ways of doi ng thi s. And i t must be-
gi n wi th peace
advocates bui l di ng al l i ance-networks wi th medi a.
It i s typi cal of medi a' s
"bl i nd
spot" that ci ti zen and NGO peace
efforts
recei ve so l i ttl e attenti on as news. Such acti vi ti es are news, especi al l y
i n the context of the stri fe that has affl i cted the communi ti es of Zam-
boanga for so long. Peace efforts in these places
exude the "out-of-
norm" condi ti on, and as such deserve to be reported. Indeed, the
fai l ure of the medi a to publ i ci ze
these acti vi ti es i ndi cates how deepl y
i mbedded the news cul ture i s i n the cul ture of confl i ct.
The Alliance for Peace Communicators:
A media experiment for
peace
The Al l i ance for Peace Communi cators
(APC)
has remai ned onl y a
name. But i t stands for an effort on the
part
of some
j ournal i sts
to ex-
pl ore
the possi bi l i ti es
for"peace newsi '
In over a year, si nce l ate 1994, the APC, a group
of
j ournal i sts
and
gov-
ernment i nformati on offi cers, had organi zed, wi th support from some
government
agenci es i nvol ved i n the
peace program,
fi ve semi nar
workshops to update
j ournal i sts
on the peace program
of
govern-
ment, on NGO peace
efforts, as wel l as to di scuss thei r di ffi cul ti es i n
covering the
peace process.
A concern echoi ng through the workshops touches on the l ack ofca-
pabl e
and credi bl e spokespersons on the "peace process"
especi al l y
when i t i nvol ves the mi l i tary and other peace-and-order
si tuati ons.
Journal i sts al so noted the di l emma of mi xi ng advocacy for peace
and
the busi ness of news.
pEAcEJoURNALTSMTRATNTNG
MoDul e
.
21
In these sessi ons,
j ournal i sts
acknowl edged thei r own aspi rati ons for
peace
and thei r wi l l i ngness to hel p i n the
peacemaki ng process. But
"peace
reporti ng" was a strange
ground for most of them. However,
they were ready to hear out the probl em, to l i sten, and to l earn. These
peace semi nars general l y gai n ready attendance from
j ournal i sts, pre-
sumabl y because of the hi gh news val ue of peace-and-order i ssues
and
peace negoti ati ons.
It i s cl ear, however, that the medi a can do a l ot to i mprove thei r own
understandi ng of the i ssues of peace and of the compl ex questi ons
rai sed i n negoti ati ons. The background of the Tri pol i agreement, for
exampl e, i s l ost to a
generati on of
j ournal i sts
who were too young to
remember when i t was forged. The i ssues of
peace
are compl ex. There
i s no
"peace"
beat, as such. Negoti ati ons are conducted behi nd cl ose
doors. Worki ng agai nst a deadl i ne, i t i s easi er to count the casual ti es
and the dead bodi es.
Peace training for the media
There i s a need then to devel op short trai ni ng courses whi ch can i n-
struct the medi a on the i ssues that are the heart of soci al and armed
confl i cts i n the country. In l earni ng about these i ssues, they come i n
touch wi th new sources who may gi ve them a
perspecti ve apart from
the mi l i tary and the i nsurgents or terrori sts about what needs to be
done.There i s a need for readi ng materi al that wi l l fami l i ari ze
j ournal -
i sts about the di fferent communi ti es of Mi ndanao and the Cordi l l eras.
There i s a need for source books that wi l l hel p l ead
j ournal i sts
to other
sources i n the academe, i n the NGOs, and i n l ess vi si bl e government
agenci es, whose experi ence can hel p them understand the
"process"
that l i es behi nd the event, the underl yi ng terms that make confl i ct
more understandabl e. At the very l east, a l evel of competence whi ch
wi l l ensure i ntel l i gent and accurate reporti ng can hel p reduce the war-
mongeri ng sensati onal i sm whi ch col ors the reports of confl i ct i n the
fi el d.
Perhaps, a
greater
exposure wi l l al so devel op a new sensi ti vi ty among
j ournal i sts,
a
greater i nterest i n the"news"about communi ti es heal i ng
themsel ves of the wounds of past wars, who ri se above the hosti l i ti es
whi ch have set them apart. l t wi l l be a di fferent ki nd of
j ournal i sm;
but
the ki nd,
perhaps,
that i s for peace.
22
. pEAcE
JoURNAL|SM TRA|N|NG MoDULE
l f the news medi a are to
pl ay a rol e, then efforts must be made to hel p
them through a l earni ng
process. Press and
pol i ti cs i nteract and thei r
i nteracti on shapes both
pol i ci es
and
programs for peace.
That process must engage the resources of
government who must be
ready to share i nformati on and whose own ori entati on for peace must
communi cated i ts programs through an i nformati on component.That
process must i ncl ude the NGO advocates who must fi nd the ti me to
share thei r experi ence and to demonstrate thei r bel i ef that there i s
much
"peace
news"that remai ns untol d.
The peopl e
and the medi a
In concl usi on, that
process must i ncl ude the
publ i c who must prove
that peace news and peace stori es can sel l newspapers as wel l as the
news of di saster and of war.
MELINDA
QUINTOS
DE JESU5, executi ve di rector of the Mani l a-based Center
for Medi a Freedom and Responsi bi l i ty
(CMFR),
has worked as a
j ournal i st
i n
both pri nt and broadcast medi a i n the Phi l i ppi nes. In the 80s, she worked as a
columnist for BulletinTodoy,writing critically of the Marcos regime. Later, she
edited Veritas NewsWeekly, one of the
publications in the'hlternative
press"
that pl ayed
a rol e i n toppl i ng the di ctatorshi p. She organi zed CMFR i n 1989
to protect press freedom and to promote ethics in press practice.
CMFR's ac-
ti vi ti es i ncl ude medi a moni tori ng, awards, and trai ni ng
programs. Now the
publisher
of CMFR's
publications, the Philippine Journalism Review
(PJR)
and
PJR Reports, she has al so devel oped trai ni ng programs on medi a and the
j us-
ti ce system,
peace reporti ng, medi a and gender-based reporti ng, and other
emergi ng i ssues i n the news agenda.
pEAcEJoURNALTsMTRATNTNG
MoDur-e
.
23
Section 2
Medi a and Pl ural i sm
Mel i nda
Qui ntos
de Jesus
(This paper was presented
at the Journolism Asia Forum 2005, "Medio Ethics
ond Pluralism in Asiai'held on Jonuory 27-30,2005 in Bangkok,Thoiland.)
Understandi ng Pl ural i sm
Pl ural i sm i s an ol d aspect of the human communi ty. Di versi ty has
al ways been part
of human experi ence. From the begi nni ng of ti me,
di fferences were evi dent as a matter of col or, race, l ater l anguage, eth-
ni ci ty, and rel i gi on. Pl ural i sm has made the worl d more i nteresti ng.
l magi ne i f we were al l the same.
Ingrai ned i n human experi ence, pl ural i sm
has al so been observed i n
the heart of many pai nful
confl i cts.
Di versi ty sharpens the sense of personal
and group i denti fi cati on
-
the "l " and
"youi ' the "us"
and "them." Di versi ty gi ves
ri se to compl exi ty
of human exchange and i nteracti on. As travel and mi grati on i ncreases,
as
gl obal i zati on
marks trade and l abor acti vi ti es, so have cul tural di -
versi ty or
pl ural i sm
become more and more part
of how human com-
muni ti es l i ve. And yet,
there remai n huge gaps i n our knowl edge of
one another and i n the acceptance of our di fferences. The l i nes that
separate us can at ti mes l ead to al i enati on, i f not outri ght hosti l i ty.
There are many reasons for thi s. But thi s di scussi on takes up the rol e
of the press
medi a or the
practi ce
of
j ournal i sm
i n medi a i n thi s devel -
opment.
Journal i sm orthe press
ori gi nated i n si mpl erti mes. l ts canons and con-
venti ons have hel d through radi cal and massi ve changes i n communi -
cati on technol ogy al ong wi th paradi gm
shi fts i n customs and mores,
i n atti tudes and i n thought. But as communi cati on has expanded, the
establ i shed cri teri a of news hol d news accounts to l i mi ted scopes.
pEAcEJoURNALISMTRAINING
MoDuu
.
25
News i ncl udes onl y those stori es and i mages of those who are
promi -
nent, events that stand out as out-of-norm, of si gni fi cance and rel e-
vance. These choi ces are made by a sel ect communi ty
-
si gni fi cance
and rel evance deci ded by those who are engaged i n the
gatheri ng
and di ssemi nati on of news. Thi s communi ty, more often than not, i s
part of the establ i shment.
Some
gl i tch i n the
growth of newsrooms has somehow
prevented the
capaci ty of
j ournal i sm
to adequatel y refl ect di versi ty, to mi rror the
vast di fferences of our
j oi ned
human communi ti es to oursel ves. As i n-
stant communi cati on has caused the worl d to shri nk, maki ng
physi cal
di stance i rrel evant, as hi gh speed travel , tel ephony, and Internet have
broken down barri ers and borders,
peopl e al l around the worl d-gov-
ernments and states, associ ati ons and corporati ons, and i ndi vi dual s
-engage
one another i n an unprecedented manner, at a l evel that
coul d not be i magi ned i n the
past, i ncl udi ng the
gatheri ng of di fferent
peopl es i n one
pl ace, i n one soci ety, state, or country.
Yet the news media have lagged behind in the
projection and reflection of
this diversity. Most national media still carry the establishment view that
dominates a society or country to the exclusion of or the marginalization
of others. I would argue that fundamentally this has to do with the use of
media and news as instruments of
power and aspects of power; owner-
ship of resources and the decision-making
power of the
political class.
It is our
position
that these differences make societies more interesting
and the acceptance of differences as a markof
progressive societies. The
failure of the
press to tell as many stories as can be told to reflect differ-
ences is to hold back the spread of freedom and democracy, to restrain
the appropri ate shari ng of
power among the peopl es of the worl d'
The fai l ure of the medi a to mi rror thi s di versi ty or
pl ural i sm i s to con-
tri bute to the di scontent of those who are l eft out. Thi s fai l ure al so
bel i es or makes fal se the cl ai m that
"news"
i s a wi ndow to the worl c
outsi de, openi ng up new l andscapes of the mi nd, new
pi ctures of l i fe
i n
parts
of the worl d we cannot di rectl y experi ence.
In a way, pl ural i sm has become a touchstone of the truth of
j ournal i sm
i n our ti mes,
presenti ng yet another measure of how wel l the news
refl ect the real i ty and si tuati on i n whi ch readers fi nd themsel ves.
There are other i mpl i cati ons.
26
. pEAcE
JoURNALTSM TRA|N|NG MoDULE
Pi ct ure yoursel f as a young Musl i m st udyi ng i n Mani l a. Readi ng t he
morni ng papers or watchi ng the news on tel evi si on i n the eveni ngs,
you wi l l not f i nd much t hat wi l l t el l you about
your communi t y or
yoursel f as a Musl i m Fi l i pi no. Thi s i nvi si bi l i t y i n t he
publ i c sphere
wei ghs on your sense of
yoursel f as a Fi l i pi no. And the excl usi on
from the mai nstream di al ogue rai ses
questi ons about your pl ace i n
thi s soci ety.
The i mpl i cati ons are si gni fi cant. The study of di scontent and i sol ati on
of communi ti es of mi nori ty
groups shows up everywhere. In 1981,
l ong before the Gul f War and the attack agai nst the Worl d Trade Cen-
ter i n NewYork, Edward Sai d had questi oned the ethnocentri sm of the
domi nant Western medi a whi ch determi ned how the worl d sees the
"worl d
of l sl am, wi th i ts more than 800,000,000, i ts mi l l i ons of square
mi l es of terri tory
pri nci pal l y i n Afri ca and Asi a, i ts dozens of soci eti es,
states, hi stori es,
geographi es, cul tures."
That questi on can be re-phrased to appl y to other communi ti es as
wel l whi ch do not see themsel ves
portrayed i n the channel s of com-
muni cati on that woul d otherwi se consol i date our sense of sol i dari ty
i n the 21' t century. Each parti ci pant here can do thei r own qui ck audi t
of what communi ti es or groups are i nvi si bl e i n the
press.
Because the underl yi ng i ssue i s power, and because i nformati on has
been touted to be a source of
power to whi ch al l must have access, we
need to exami ne how the
press or
j ournal i sm
around the worl d di s-
empowers segments and groups of the same soci ety.
l s pl ural i sm i n the medi a the answer?
As wi th many of our concerns about what i s wrong wi th the worl d, the
response requi red i s not
j ust
one answer or one sol uti on. But more
and more, soci ety l ooks at the
press
and the medi a as a cri ti cal factor,
the rol e of whi ch begs to be understood.
Thi s secti on focuses on
pl ural i sm i n the medi a, and thi s means the
news medi a, as a way of starti ng up a conti nui ng di scussi on.
Universal Frameworks of Pluralism
The universal declarations and conventions of the international com-
munity represent fundamental
principles. The Universal Declaration on
pEAcE
JoURNALTsMTRATNTNG MoDutt
.
27
Cultural Diversity adopted by the General Conference of the United Na-
ti ons Educati onal , Sci enti fi c and Cul tural Organi zati on
(UNESCO)
at i ts
31' tsessi on on November 2,2001 recal l ed one of the
purposes assi gned
to UNESCO
-
to"recommend such i nternati onal agreements as may be
necessary to
promote the free flow of ideas by word and imagel'
Thus the Decl arati on
procl ai med "cul tural di versi ty as the common
heri tage of humani ty." The document recogni zed as a
pol i cy i mpera-
ti ve the need for the i ncl usi on and parti ci pati on of al l ci ti zens as
guar-
anteei ng soci al cohesi on, the vi tal i ty of ci vi l soci ety and of
peace. As
such, i t cannot be separated from a democrati c framework.
It makes the
protecti on of cul tural di versi ty as necessary to the human
race as bi odi versi ty i s i n the natural real m, and makes i ts protecti on
a matter of cri ti cal urgency as i t i s embedded i n the uni versal cal l for
respect for and
preservati on of human di gni ty.
In the US, the Hutchi ns Commi ssi on whi ch studi ed the rol e of the
press
i n Ameri can soci ety uphel d cul tural di versi ty as a val ue to whi ch the
press must commi t. Among the fi ve tasks i t assi gns to the
press i s"(t)o
offer a representative
picture
of the constituent
groups
of societyl'
And yet, the coverage of news provi des dai l y evi dence that the
press
conti nues to l eave out of coverage vari ous groups who do not bel ong
to the maj ori ty popul ati on. How many are l eft i nvi si bl e because of the
bl i nders appl i ed i n the news agenda?
The Structure of Power in Society as in the Newsroom
The appl i cati on of thi s framework requi res a
process
of exami ni ng or
audi ti ng the newsroom for i ts personnel and the expansi on of news
sel ecti on to i ncl ude the stori es refl ecti ng mi nori ty groups, thei r needs
and concerns.
l n 20O4,7,000 mi nori ty
j ournal i sts
met i n Washi ngton DC i n pursui t of
a long advocacy to make more diverse the staffs of the nation's news-
gatheri ng
organi zati ons. Thei r count showed that onl y one i n 10
j our-
nal i sts coveri ng the capi tal of Ameri can pol i ti cs i s a mi nori ty
person.
Wi th the growth of mi nori ty
popul ati ons i n the US, the
press corps
worki ng i n the country has remai ned
pal e
i n col or. Wi th the
press
peopl ed
mostl y by members of one domi nant col or group (whi te),
the perspecti ve presented i n the news wi l l most l i kel y show up as that
28
. penct
rouRNALrsM TRATN|NG MoDULE
of the whi te popul ati on. The i ssue i s no l onger l i mi ted to the separa-
ti on of bl ack and whi te. The movement for cul tural di versi ty i n the US
newsrooms was rooted i n the under-representati on of Afri can-Ameri -
cans or bl acks, but now
pushes
for the i ncl usi on of al l peopl es
comi ng
from different parts of the world.
News Selection for Diversity
The most fundamental framework has to do of course wi th a not so
subtl e modi fi cati on of the news cri teri a whi ch refl ect the l ong-hel d
conventi ons i n
j ournal i sm.
Promi nence i s one of the val ues that wei gh
heavi l y on the sel ecti on. l f the person i s i mportant enough, he or she
wi l l get i nto the news, whatever the race or rel i gi on of the subj ect. But
as mi nori ti es are mostl y on the fri nges of power
or
promi nence,
these
news subj ects wi l l be few and wi l l at some poi nt
end up as a token
rather than a totem of di versi ty.
Prominence results in a rather limited group
considered to be "newswor-
thy" per se. There are only a few who are known and recognizable to the
many. Indi vi dual s who do si gni fi cant thi ngs, starti ng up i mportant move-
ments around the world, will find it difficult if not impossible to
get news
attention, until or unless they are involved in events or developments
which have other news values, such as the out-of-norm or relevance.
To l eave cul tural di versi ty where i t i s, un-noted and un-observed, wi l l
cast to i nvi si bi l i ty many members of a soci ety to the tri be of the ex-
cl uded,
peopl e
who do not see themsel ves, thei r experi ences or con-
cerns represented i n the news.
Such gaps
have a pol i ti cal
effect. The i ssues of
pl ural i sm
are a mat-
ter of pol i cy concern. The needs of the poor
and powerl ess
can wel l
remai n on the back burners of pol i cy maki ng or i n the i nacti ve fi l es of
the bureaucracy.
The medi a pol i cy l i nk may not be a cl ear one, but most studi es do
poi nt
to cases that show how medi a and news attenti on have caused
pol i cy makers to attend to a
probl em
or need after the press has pub-
l i ci zed the i ssue, ei ther i n reporti ng or i n commentary.
On another l evel , the communi ty that does not see i ts news i n the
medi a gets
cut off from the di al ogue that serves as soci ety' s
gl ue.
These groups
wi l l not be part
of the common reference that
j oi ns
the
pEAcE
JoURNALTsM TRAINtNG rvrooulr
.
29
many i nto one. Such de-l i nki ng from the mai nstream can l ead to deep
mi sunderstandi ng or the mutual al i enati on of di fferent
groups. The
publ i c
outl ook wi l l be formed accordi ng to uni nformed stereotypi ng.
Eval uati ng the l arger
pi cture, the
press that does not i ncl ude mi nori -
ti es i n the news agenda fai l s the ethi cal mandate for truth-tel l i ng, or
tel l i ng the compl ete story.
The l i terature on medi a and cul tural di versi ty or pl ural i sm often takes
up data that shows content anal ysi s of stori es,
quanti fyi ng space and
ti me gi ven to mi nori ty
groups as wel l as exami ni ng the themes of di s-
course.
Let me note at thi s
poi nt
that we cannot take up
pl ural i sm wi thout
some ki nd of observati on about the coverage of women, whi ch i n the
earl y ni neti es, became
pri ori ty i ssue for advocacy. How were women
covered i n the medi a? What ki nd of gender bi as drove the sel ecti on
of stori es? Indeed, i n countri es where women as a
group remai n voi ce-
l ess and
powerl ess, the
press wi l l need to exami ne i ts performance
and study ways by whi ch other news organi zati on have i mproved the
reporti ng.
The Ethical Mandate for Pluralism
The ethi cal and edi tori al requi rements for truth requi re that the news
account shoul d be accurate and the story compl ete. l f the news me-
di a hol d up mi rrors to soci ety, then the news that excl udes provi de a
fal se i mage of who are there or
prej udi ci al l y deci des that some peopl e
do not matter.
A framework of soci al responsi bi l i ty i nsi sts on
pl ural i sm as a qual i ty of
news sel ecti on. Soci al responsi bi l i ty cal l s for
j ournal i sm
that i ncl udes
al l the consti tuent members of a soci ety, i ncl udi ng those who are mi -
nori ti es. Otherwi se, the record of current events i s a fal se renderi ng of
the real i ty that i s there.
In thi s way,
pl ural i sm i s requi red by ethi cs of the
professi on
as wel l as
the need to treat as equal s the di fferent members of soci ety.
The Cultural Diversity of Asian Societies
Pl ural i sm i n the medi a
presents a chal l enge to al l news organi zati ons
based anywhere i n Asi a as the di versi ty of
popul ati on runs hi gh i n thi s
30
. pEAcEJoURNALTSMTRA| N| NGM0DULE
Dart of the worl d. l t has al so become cl ear that i nternal as wel l as cross
border confl i cts are fuel ed by ethni c and raci al di scontents.
Can
j ournal i sm
medi a pl ay a rol e i n promot i ng great er pl ural i sm i n
Asi an soci eti es? l f so, what i s the best way of doi ng thi s?
True to the character of most
j ournal i sm,
thi s program
does not set
out to come up wi th answers and sol uti ons. Rather, i t hopes to rai se {
questi ons
and encourages the echoi ng of these questi ons i n other fo-
i
rums i ncl udi ng the newsrooms of organi zati ons represented here.
Journal i sts shoul d see the
greater
di versi ty of the Phi l i ppi ne popul a-
.
ti on as part
of i ts strength. But i t can remai n a strength onl y i f the na-
ti onal comuni ty i s abl e to accept and embrace thi s through the custom
\' '
of the country and the appl i cati on of l aw. l t i s our bel i ef that
j ournal i sts
pl ay
a cri ti cal rol e i n promoti ng
such a devel opment.
pEAcEJoURNALt sMTRAI NI NG
MoDuu
.
31
Drscusstott lllores:
The di scussi on focused on concerns i n two areas:
(1)
how the
medi a refl ect di verse or even confl i cti ng vi ews and
(2)
how the
medi a report on Mi ndanao.The
poi nts rai sed were:
o
Bl ogs and onl i ne news do not
promote the sense of con-
nection among different
groups. However, it was noted by
peopl e worki ng for the onl i ne news organi zati ons that re-
cent i nnovati ons i n the Internet coul d address thi s i ssue.
l mprovement i n the coverage of Mi ndanao has shown a di -
versi fi cati on of sources and more space and ti me
gi ven to
the communi ti es affected by confl i ct rather than
j ust
the
combatants and the mi l i tary.
Howevet the rel i ance on
purel y mi l i tary sources seems to
be conti nui ng i n those areas where the Communi st Party
of the Phi l i ppi nes-New Peopl e' s Army-Nati onal Democrati c
Front i s engagi ng the Phi l i ppi ne Armed Forces.
A retool i ng of
j ournal i sts' ski l l s
to enabl e them to di versi fy
thei r sources and to shi ft thei r focus from battl efi el d ac-
counts to the i mpact of confl i ct and war on the communi -
ti es was suggested.
32
. pEAcE
JoURNALTSM TRATNTNG MoDULE
Section 3
Ski l l s and Val ues
Lui sV.Teodoro
War and confl i ct reporti ng has become a maj or
j ournal i sti c
chal l enge
i n a century that coul d be"another century of war"
(Gabri el
Kol ko). The
medi a as a whol e are under
pressure from vari ous
governments (e.9.,
the US) wi th a stake i n the outcome of wars and confl i cts to report i n
thei r favor, and agai nst thei r ri val s.
Underl i ni ng the power of the medi a i s the fact that reporti ng has i n
some cases al so i nfl uenced events
(e.9.,
taxpayer approval of the US
attack on l raq). The term "war
j ournal i sm"
i s thus especi al l y appropri -
ate i n such cases, i n that thi s ki nd of
j ournal i sm
has promoted war over
peace.
Peace Journalism Values
Peace
j ournal i sm
was
proposed by the Norwegi an academi c and ac-
ti vi st Johan Gal tung i n the 1970s as an al ternati ve to war
j ournal i sm.
The concept has been further devel oped by Jake Lynch and Annabel
McGol dri ck
(Peace
Journal i sm, 2005).
Gal tung bel i eved that
j ournal i sm
had devel oped a bi as for war
-
i .e.,
the medi a had been overwhel med by"war
j ournal i sm."
Peace
j ournal i sm prefers reporti ng that encourages
peaceful rather
than vi ol ent means of resol vi ng confl i cts i n human affai rs. l t i s a form
of advocacy
j ournal i sm
based on
peace as a desi red and desi rabl e hu-
man val ue.
Cri ti ci sm of
peace j ournal i sm
usual l y
proceeds from the assumpti on
that advocacy vi ol ates medi a' bbj ecti vi ty." Thi s cri ti ci sm forgets that
PEACEJOURNALISMTRAINING MODUU
.
33
the usual news medi a emphasi s on body counts, wi nners, and l osers,
etc., focuses onl y on certai n aspects of confl i ct and i gnores others. l t
al so i gnores the fact that offi ci al and government sources are often
excl usi vel y used by the news medi a when coveri ng confl i ct.
Lack of
' bbj ecti vi ty"
has been rai sed as a cri ti ci sm of
peace j ournal i sm.
Al though a conventi onal newsroom standard, the noti on of
' bbj ecti v-
i ty" i s mi sl eadi ng. News i s not a mi rror of real i ty but a representati on
of i t. Noti ons of
' bbj ecti vi ty"
deny the sel ecti ve process i nvol ved i n al l
wri ti ng, and the subj ecti vi ty i nvol ved i n emphasi zi ng one set of facts
over others.
Many medi a
practi ti oners fancy themsel ves as' bbj ecti vei but i n most
cases do
present
one set of facts over others, and from the nati onal
and cl ass perspecti ves that shape edi tori al
pol i cy
and
practi ti oner val -
ues. Gal tung argued that Western medi a emphasi ze offi ci al ,
govern-
ment perspecti ves, decl ari ng that "(t)here i s hardl y any di screpancy
between the offi ci al
pol i cy l i ne and the di scourse
produced by
(West-
ern) medi ai '
What Gal tung referred to as "war
j ournal i sm"
i s di sti ngui shed by cer-
tai n characteri sti cs. Among others, i t:
o
l denti fi es
"those
for us" as the
good si de and
"those
agai nst us" as
evi l ;
o lmplies a moral need to choose between"us"and"those against us";
o
l gnores the compl exi ty and context of confl i cts;
o
l s i tsel f a form of advocacy-but i s usual l y di sgui sed under the mi s-
l eadi ng cl ai m of
' bbj ecti vi ty";
o Pai nts confl i cts as dual i sti c and i n bl ack and whi te terms-the
good
(us)
vs. the bad
(them);
o
Emphasi zes the event over the
process that l eads to confl i cts and
wars;
o
Decontextual i zes confl i ct i n vi ol ati on of a maj or
j ournal i sti c
re-
sponsi bi l i ty; and
o Pri ori ti zes offi ci al statements, acti ons and
pol i ci es. Despi te cl ai ms
of medi a autonomy from governments, war
j ournal i sm
i s practi -
cal l y offi ci al
j ournal i sm.
As a form of advocacy, war
j ournal i sm pretends
to be obj ecti ve, but
often distorts and misrepresents reality
(e.9.,
the coverage of the Viet-
nam War)
-
the very"si ns"attri buted to advocacy
j ournal i sm.
34
. pEAcE
JoURNALTSM TRAIN|NG MoDULE
Advocacy
journalism
Advocacy
j ournal i sm
can di stort and mi srepresent real i ty through a
vari ety of means. l t cannot compl etel y represent real i ty; no craft or art
can. But i t can represent real i ty more meani ngful l y i f commi tted to the
basi c
j ournal i sti c
responsi bi l i ty of respect for the facts and to l ooki ng
i nto publ i c i ssues honestl y, systemati cal l y, and extensi vel y.
Peace
journalism
as advocacy does more than relay news of
peace
agreements and the cessati on of wars. l t presents
confl i cts i n al l thei r
compl exi ty, and thus
pai nts a compl ex
pi cture
of the worl d. l t emphasi z-
es context as the key to understandi ng confl i cts. l t reports ongoi ng con-
flicts as rooted in history, and reports simmering conflicts before they
become wars. By exami ni ng the confl i cti ng cl ai ms of protagoni sts and
those affected before and during wars, peace journalism
subjects these
to anal ysi s wi thout i deol ogi cal and other bi ases
(such
as
patri oti sm).
Peace
j ournal i sm
does not end wi th the end of war. l t conti nues to report
on reconciliation and reconstruction efforts, and attempts to find out if
the root causes of conflict
persist
and could lead to future conflicts.
Beyond
"good"
and
"evil"
o
Peace
j ournal i sm
l ooks at the parti es i n confl i ct beyond conven-
t i onal good
and evi l f ormul at i ons
o
Peace
j ournal i sm
assumes that vi ol ence
"i s
the ul ti mate soci al i l l "
o
Byencouraging mutual appreciation of each other's
positions, peace
journalism
can help the
parties in conflict to
prefer peace over war
Non-parti sanshi p
o
Peace
j ournal i sm
i s non-parti san i n that i t encourages l ooki ng
i nto al I
parti es' cl ai ms ("untruths":
Gal tung)
o
Peace
j ournal i sm
stri ves to i denti fy factors that may convi nce un-
reasonabl e parti es
to seek other avenues
o
Peace
j ournal i sm
devotes as much attenti on to the other
party
and to peace makers as much as to
governments
Good
j ournal i sm
The emphasi s on context conforms wi th the Internati onal Pri nci pl es
of Professi onal Ethi cs i n Journal i sm adopted i n a 1983 meeti ng of
pEAcEJoURNALTsMTRATNTNG
MoDuu
.
35
the Uni ted Nati ons Educati onal , Sci enti fi c, and Cul tural Organi zati on
(Facts
must be "reported in their
proper context" so as to
provide "a
comprehensi ve
pi cture of the worl d i n whi ch the ori gi n, nature and
essence ofevents,
processes and states ofaffai rs are understood").
Peace
journalism
skills are the same as those usually
prescribed for all
journalists.
But these include avoiding certain
pitfalls
and emphasizing
aspects of conflict that are often ignored. Research and extensive knowl-
edge of the nature of contemporary conflicts are also necessary skills.
Professional Standards
Peace
j ournal i sm
expl ores the mul ti pl e aspects of confl i ct and pro-
vi des context
(truth-tel l
i ng: accuracy).
o l t consul ts mul ti pl e sources of i nformati on
o l t presents both or al l si des i nvol ved i n confl i ct
(j usti ce:
fai rness
and bal ance)
. l t sees the
parti es i nvol ved as human bei ngs rather than as cari ca-
tures
(humaneness:
compassi on)
. l t encourages
j ournal i sti c
autonomy from pol i ti cal and economi c
interests
(freedom)
Peace
j ournal i sm
i s thus ethi cal , competent
j ournal i sm.
The val ues
and ski l l s of
peace
j ournal i sm
are consi stent wi th the ethi cal and
professi onal standards of
j ournal i sm.
Peace
j ournal i sm
can be more
compl ete and more i nformati ve than war
j ournal i sm,
whi ch has been
known to di stort real i ty, mi srepresent "the otheri ' and encourage war
and vi ol ence.
LUlS V. TEODORO is the deputy director of the Center for Media Freedom and
Responsi bi l i ty
(CMFR)
and the edi tor of i ts monthl y medi a-moni tori ng
publ i -
cation, the PJR Reports. He is also the editor of the Ph ilippine )ournalism Review
(PJR),
the annual refereed
j ournal
of the CMFR. Teodoro teaches
j ournal i sm
at
the Uni versi ty of the Phi l i ppi nes Col l ege of Mass Communi cati on i n Di l i man
where he has served as dean. He chai rs the Commi ssi on on Hi gher Educati on
(CHED)
Techni cal Commi ttee on Journal i sm Educati on and i s al so member of
the CHEDTechni cal Panel on Communi cati on and the Soci al Sci ences.Teodoro
currently writes a column for BusinessWorld.
36
.
PEACE JoURNALISM TRAINING MODULE
DtscusstonNorcs:
The di scussi on focused on whether peace j ournal i sm
was pos-
si bl e gi ven
the pressure
from vari ous sources on
j ournal i sts
to produce
stori es that wi l l ei ther boost rati ngs or ci rcul ati on.
There was consensus that:
Medi a owners, publ i shers,
and edi tors shoul d be more i n-
vol ved i n the promoti on
of
peace j ournal i sm.
But some
parti ci pants
expressed doubts that owners woul d commi t
to making peace
reporting a matter of
policy.
Professi onal standards demand that an event shoul d be
covered professi onal l y,
and accordi ng to the ethi cal stan-
dards of
j ournal i sm,
whi ch means provi di ng
context and
l ooki ng i nto the si tuati on of the communi ti es affected by
conflict.
Correspondents-who are usual l y on the frontl i nes-l ack
support from thei r medi a organi zati ons i n terms of ade-
quate pay,
or even hazard pay,
and must often spend their
own money to get
to and stay in an area of conflict.
Di versi fi cati on of sources i s now possi bl e
through the
use of new communi cati on technol ogi es-such as mobi l e
phones
and the Internet-to contact al l parti es
i nvol ved i n
a confl i ct, rather than
j ournal i sts' bei ng
l i mi ted to ci ti ng the
mi l i tary because they are usual l y the ones avai l abl e. Even
rebel s now have mobi l e phones
and Internet-capabl e l ap-
tops.
Peace
j ournal i sm
actual l y demands no more than what
j ournal i sm
used to be
-
that i s, compl ete, accurate, fai r, rel -
evant and contextual i zed reporti ng, whi ch among other
requi rements demands that reporters present
both si des
i nvol ved i n an i ssue, or, as i n thi s i nstance, confl i ct.
pEAcEJoURNALTSMTRATNING
MoDuu
.
37
Section 4 a
Some Do's and Don'ts
Mel i nda
Qui ntos
de Jesus
\-
A good press hel ps peopl e
to thi nk and engages them i n di al ogue.
Good, wel l -researched stori es hel p peopl e thi nk and
promote
mutual
understandi ng among vari ous groups.
o
l denti fy/Understand the peace process i ni ti ated by the govern-
ment
o
Know who the parti ci pants
are
o
Understand, i f any, the terms/framework of negoti ati ons
o
Establ i sh the l andscape, the terrai n of confl i ct
o
Search out other actors i n the fi el d, i nnocent vi cti ms
o
Contextualize conflict in reality of the place,
effect on daily life
o
Wri te about the
' dai l i ness"
of l i fe, what stays the same, copi ng
mechani sms duri ng cri si s. Mi l i tary perspecti ve
shoul d not be the
onl y
perspecti ve
i n the press
o
Story shoul d be based on facts that you yoursel f val i dated
o
Provi de background and context to any outbreak i n hosti l i ty
o
Avoi d sensati onal i zi ng vi ol ence
o
Story should
provide
a context, not be
presented
as isolated ran-
dom i nci dent
o
Clean out text of stereotypes
o
Write about peace
efforts
o
Write about differences as a fact of national social reality
o
Provi de opti ons for peace,
confl i ct management, and resol uti on
pEAcEJoURNALTsMTRAI NI NGMoDUU .
39
.
Get the children's stories out in the
press
o
Get the views of all those involved and affected by violence and
war
o
Reports empower the
public in the endeavor to resolve conflict
and bring antagonists to truce that opens up meaningful levels of
peace-bui l di ng
40
.
PEACEJoURNALISMTRAININGMODULE
Section 4 b
Some Do's and Don'ts
Luis V. Teodoro
The vi ol ence that attends confl i cts i n the modern worl d i s onl y the
ti p of the i ceberg. But the medi a often emphasi ze vi ol ence to the ex-
cl usi on of the hi story, as wel l as roots of, confl i ct. Journal i sts can hel p
readers/viewers/listeners
better understand conflict by keeping the
fol l owi ng i n mi nd.
o
Trace the confl i ct' s ori gi ns to the
past;
i t di d not happen onl y yes-
terday
o
Fi nd out whose i nterests are i nvol ved i n confl i ct and what conse-
quences
there may be for affected popul ati ons
o
What l essons does the confl i ct potenti al l y provi de?
Can these l es-
sons help prevent
future conflict?
o
Do not portray
a confl i ct as consi sti ng sol el y of two
parti es
o
Exami ne other groups
and thei r goal s.
Do these add up to an out-
come more compl ex than what i s conventi onal l y assumed?
(e.g.
the Mi ndanao confl i ct: are there onl y two parti es
and thei r
goal s
involved?)
o
Do not categorize the
parties
into "us" and "them"
-
or into
"self"
and
"the
other' i whi ch di vi des the contenders i nto good (us)
and
evi l (t hem)
o
Fi nd out how di fferent or how much the same are the "good" and
the "evi l "
o
Do not make opi ni on sound l i ke an establ i shed fact
o
Report on remaining issues, if any, even after a peace
agreement
has been concl uded
pEAcEJouRNALrsMTRAI NI NGMoDul e
.
41
. Expl ore and take seri ousl y
peace proposal s and i ni ti ati ves wher-
ever they come from, not
j ust
those from' bur si de"
o
Contextual i ze, contextual i ze. Do not report an act of vi ol ence to
suggest that the cause was
past vi ol ence, and the remedy further
vi ol ence
o What are the causes of the vi ol ence? Have
peopl e tri ed other av-
enues and been frustrated or bl ocked?
o Do not arbi trari l y assi gn bl ame for vi ol ence
o Do not focus on only one
party's suffering, fears, and
grievances
o
Inqui re i nto the
parti es' goal s and
gri evances: what do they want
and why?
o
How wi l l the
popul ati on be affected by these
goal s?
o Do not overemphasi ze di vi si ons.There may be shared val ues and
goal s between or among the
protagoni sts
o Unl ess
you have uni mpeachabl e evi dence, do not focus excl u-
si vel y on the human ri ghts abuses of onl y one si de
o
Treat al l cl ai ms of human ri ghts vi ol ati ons seri ousl y and name al l
wrongdoers if evidence exists
o
Do not demoni ze
groups through the use of terms such as "vi -
ci ousi "' brutal i ' and "barbari c"
o Report wrongdoing as completely as
possible. When
quoting, pro-
vide readers/listeners/viewers
a sense of the source's reliability
o
Do not take si des by usi ng
"extremi st,""fanati ci ' and
"fundamental -
i st" reckl essl y
o Report on what
peopl e have done and can sti l l do to address the
i ssues i n a confl i ct
o Do not descri be
peopl e i n di sempoweri ng terms
(e.g.,"patheti ci '
"devastatedi"'defenseIess")
o
Avoi d the i mpreci se use of emoti onal l y-l aden words
(genoci de,
massacre, terrori sm) unl ess
you are certai n they appl y to the event
you are reporti ng
42
. pEAcE
JoURNALTSMTRA|N|NG MoDULE
Dtscusstou Nores:
The coverage of confl i ct has tended to worsen di vi si ons i n so-
ci ety rather than heal them, among other reasons because the
tradi ti onal concept of news emphasi zes casual ti es, damage to
property,
and reports on whi ch si de i s wi nni ng or l osi ng. The
parti ci pants
agreed that:
.
Body counts desensi ti ze the publ i c
and reduce confl i ct to a
numbers game
i n whi ch readers/vi ewers/l i steners
tend to
thi nk that confl i ct i s onl y al l about who i s wi nni ng. Body
counts are al so unrel i abl e, si nce each protagoni st
tends to
exaggerate the other si de' s casual ti es and mi ni mi ze thei rs.
o
Coveri ng confl i ct shoul d consi st of more than reporti ng
the casual ti es on both si des, and i t i s necessary to attri bute
properl y.
l t was poi nted
out that whi l e edi tors usual l y ask
for body counts, the reporti ng shoul d al so i ncl ude peace
efforts.
The commi tment to deepen coverage by, among others,
i ncl udi ng peace
efforts, confl i ct medi ati on, and resol uti on,
as wel l as the i mpact of confl i ct on the communi ti es shoul d
be made at al l l evel s, from the reporters on the ground
to
the edi tors at the desk.
Confl i ct anal ysi s-what the causes of the confl i ct are, what
each si de wants, etc.-i s a necessi ty i n provi di ng
the publ i c
the reports that wi l l enabl e i t to understand confl i ct.
Reporters shoul d not al l ow thei r bi ases to i ntrude i nto thei r
reporti ng by reporti ng opi ni on as fact, or by commenti ng
on what he or she i s reporti ng
-
pri nci pl es
basi c to the
prac-
ti ce of professi onal j ournal i sm.
Onl y i n the op-ed pages i s
the l atter permi tted,
whi l e adherence to the facts i s at the
very bottom l i ne of
j ournal i sti c
responsi bi l i ty. In reporti ng,
i t i s necessary to present
the reader the facts wi thout bi as
and adornment so as to al l ow hi m or her to draw hi s or her
own concl usi ons.
pEAcEJoURNALI SMTRAI NI NGMoDUU
.
43
Section 5
Reporti ng Mi ndanao:
l ssues and Probl ems
Luis V. Teodoro
The Center for Medi a Freedom and Responsi bi l i ty
(CMFR)
conducted
studi es of sel ected Phi l i ppi ne medi a' s coverage of the
"Mi ndanao
probl em"
i n 2000 and 2003, and of Mi ndanao i n 2006. l mprovement
was evi dent i n 2003 and 2006, but certai n probl ems persi sted i n the
coverage.
The 2000 Study
Fol l owi ng a
government
mi l i tary offensi ve i n Mi ndanao i n March 2000
agai nst the Moro l sl ami c Li berati on Front
(MILF)
and the hostage-
taki ng by the Abu Sayyaf Group
(ASG),
CMFR l ooked i nto the March
to June coverage by five Manila-based broadsheets
(BusinessWorld,
the Manila Bulletin,the Philippine Daily lnquirer,The Philippine Star, and
Today).The study covered both the news and opi ni on pages
of these
newspapers.
Findings
Extent of coverage
o
1,633 arti cl es appeared i n the fi ve broadsheets duri ng the March
to June peri od
studi ed
o
There was a steady
growth
i n the number of arti cl es as the
fi ghti ng i ntensi fi ed: 179 i n March;220 i n Apri l ; 543 i n May; and
691 i n June
o
More and more arti cl es found thei r way i nto the front pages
-
from
67 i n March to 370 i n June
o
Col umns on t he cri si s numbered 1 12; edi t ori al s 102
pEAcE
JoURNALTSM TRATNTNG MoDul e
.
45
Subject matter
o
Jol o host ages- 317
o Battlefield reports- 279
o
Basi l an hostages-180
o
Bombi ngs and ot her ki dnappi ngs-136
o
Government
pol i ci es-108
o
Peace negoti ati ons- 97
o
Nati onal economy- 80
o
Peace and uni ty- 66
o
Sol di ers- 9
o
Mi ndanao si t uat i on-
48
o
The MILF- 46
o
The Abu Sayyaf- 37
o Local busi ness- 23
o Evacuations- 24
o
Women and chi l dren- 8
o
Federal i sm- 23
Sources cited
o
Government and mi l i tarY- 1,055
o The AbuSayyaf-72
o
The MILF- 67
o The busi ness communi t Y-
18
o Ci vi l soci ety- 37
o The rel i gi ous sector- 38
Treatment
o
Posi ti ve
(news)- government and the mi l i tary
o
Negati ve
(news)- the ASG, the MILF, and Musl i ms i n
general
o Mi xed
(edi tori al s)-
Musl i ms and Musl i m
personal i ti es
o
Negati ve(edi tori al s)-government
Contextualization
o 22 out of the 1,633 arti cl es were background/hi stori cal
materi al
o
These were mostl y col umns and edi tori al s
o Onl y one broadsheet tri ed to
get the MILF' s
gri evances and
i ntenti ons from the MILF i tsel f: i t i ntervi ewed MILF Chai r Sal amat
Hashi m
46
. pEAcEJoURNALISMTRAINING
MoDULE
Coverage issues
o
Vi rtual l y one-si ded sourci ng resul ti ng i n l ack of fai rness and
bal ance
o
Lack of backgroundi ng /contextual i zati on was al so evi dent
o
There was some evi dence of bi as/prej udi ce
o
Pauci ty of arti cl es on pol i cy i ssues was a maj or weakness
o
Emphasi s on battl es and other vi ol ence obscured the causes of
the confl i ct and appeal ed to common prej udi ces
and bl oodl ust
{
-,
o
Exposure of ASG on the same l evel as the MILF tended to make
these organi zati ons co-equal
o
Cal l s for extermi nati on i n some arti cl es were especi al l y di sturbi ng
Consequences
\-
o
l ncreased anti -Musl i m prej udi ce
o
Narrow appreci ati on of Mi ndanao real i ty
o
Possi bi l i ty of conti nui ng mi sunderstandi ng and confl i ct rather
than peace
The 2003 Study
CMFR l ooked i nto the three-month coverage
(February
3 to May 5) of
the same broadsheets
j ust
before the mi l i tary offensi ve agai nst the
MILF and after the bombi ngs i n Davao.
There were 2,894 arti cl es on the "Mi ndanao probl em,"
i ndi cati ng
i ncreased coverage.
Findings
\,
Subject matter
o
Pol i ce i nvesti gati ons, body counts and ongoi ng vi ol ence- 33
reports
o
Busi ness and economy- 546
o
Government pol i ci es-
590
o
Mi l i tary assaul t on the MILF stronghol d i n Pi ki t- 167
o
Evacuati ons- 123
o
Davao bombi ngs- 310
o
Bal i katan-rel ated stori es- 265
PEACE JOURNALISM TRAINING tr,tOOUU
.
47
Contextualization
o Background/hi stori cal
materi al - 135
(5 percent of total compared
to 1 percent i n 2000)
o Incl uded news
(1
1 2 or 83
percent)as wel l as col umns and edi tori al s
( 13)
Sources cited
o Government and mi l i tary- 2,087 out of 3,550 sources menti oned
t
o
(there
was more mul ti -sourci ng i n 2003)
o
Civif society- 477
o The MILF- 324
(Spokesperson was interviewed often)
o
The rel i gi ous sector- 252
o
Forei gn-127
Treatment
Negative: Abu Sayyaf- 73
percent
MILF and MILF
personal i ti es- 80
percent
Government- 68 Percent
lssues in the 2003 coverage
o Overwhel mi ng use of
government sources
o Pronounced
presence of stori es wi thout sources
o
Emphasi s on vi ol ence conti nued despi te the wani ng of vi ol ent
i nci dents
Improvements
o
Mul ti -sourci ng
was evi dent
o The number of background arti cl es i ncreased
o
Civil society sources were consulted more often
o Three fourths of the materi al was neutral
But despi te these i mprovements,
government was sti l l the over-
whel mi ng source. Backgroundi ng/contextual i zati on
was sti l l i nad-
equate. Emphasi s on vi ol ence al so conti nued.
The 2006 Study
The coverage of Mindanao during the
period March 1 to April 30 of the
originaf five broadsheets
plus ManiloStandardTodoywas
studied. The
study included but was not limited to conflict, and was meant to find out
48
.
PEACE JOURNALISMTRAINING MODULE
how Mi ndanao as a whol e was bei ng reported. There were 996 arti cl es
about Mi ndanao i n the si x broadsheets duri ng the
peri od
studi ed.
Findings
Subject motter
o
Busi ness and t he economy- 157
o
Government affai rs- 121
o
Mi l i tary confl i cts- 86
o Pol i ce- 83
o
Cri mes- 79
o
Hostagi ng- 3
o
Others
(touri sm,
festi val s, human i nterest)- 143
Sources cited
o
Government- 421
o
Mi l i t ary- 145
o
Pol i ce- 1 19
r
Civil society- 89
o "Man on the street"- 48
o
Fami l y members of vi cti ms of vi ol ence and cri me- 1 2
Consequences
o
Possi bl e i mprovement of reader appreci ati on of Mi ndanao i ssue
o
The coverage made
possi bl e
understandi ng that not al l of
Mi ndanao i s engul f ed i n vi ol ence
o
Conti nued negati ve bi as agai nst Musl i ms
Coverage
problems
o
Li mi ted access to "the other si de" and avai l abi l i ty of
government
sources
o
Commerci al need to
produce stori es that sel l has l ed to emphasi s
on fi refi ghts and body counts
-
vi ol ence sel l s
o
Maj ori ty bi ases are refl ected i n some
j ournal i sts'
reports/
comments
Proposed solutions to the limitations
of media coverage
Gi ven the fi ndi ngs of these three studi es, i t woul d seem that despi te
i mprovements, contextual i zati on remai ns a
probl em,
together wi th
pEAcEJouRNALrsMTRAI NI NGMoDul e .
49
the focus on vi ol ence and mi ni mal attenti on to
peace i ni ti ati ves.
Among the sol uti ons that the
press may adopt are the fol l owi ng:
o
Consul ti ng experts and
grass roots organi zati ons
o Assi gni ng more and more i n-depth backgroundi ng
o Encouragi ng l ess focus on vi ol ence to
gradual l y educate readers
o Emphasi zi ng the roots of the
"Mi ndanao probl em" i n
j ournal i st
bri efi ngs
Academi c i nsti tuti ons, wi th the support of medi a advocacy
groups,
can hel p by:
o Offeri ng
peace
j ournal i sm as an el ecti ve i n
j ournal i sm
col l ege
programs
o Incl udi ng
peace
j ournal i sm
i n conti nui ng educati on
programs for \-,
j ournal i st s
o
Educati ng the
publ i c through medi a l i teracy
programs to demand
better medi a coverage
50
. pEAcEJoURNAL| SMTRA| N| NGMoDULE
Dtscusston Nores:
The di scussi on focused on i ssues such as whether the Center
for Medi a Freedom and Responsi bi l i ty
(CMFR)
moni tors of Mi n-
danao coverage made a di sti ncti on between wi re and l ocal
j ournal i sts' reports,
the need to i ncl ude the communi ty
press
i n future moni tors, whether there has i ndeed been i mprove-
ment i n the coverage, and the non-publ i cati on of stori es that
were submi tted to the nati onal papers but were ki l l ed by the
desk. There was a consensus that:
There were efforts on the part of some Mi ndanao corre-
spondents to previ de background stori es on the Mi ndan-
ao confl i ct i n 2000 so as to
provi de
a context for readei s to
understand events.
However, the central desks of the Mani l a newspapers
woul d often ki l l such stori es, or el se rewri te them to em-
phasi ze encounters and casual ti es. There was general
agreement that thi s happens i n many cases, wi th the re-
porters not havi ng any control over the fi nal versi ons of
the stori es that carri ed thei r byl i nes.
What real l y matters i s what fi nal l y appeared i n pri nt, and
i t i s i mpossi bl e for any moni tor to trace the devel opment
of a story from the ti me i t i s fi rst submi tted, unti l i t i s pro-
cessed and
pri nted.
CMFR moni tors need to i ncl ude the coverage of el ecti ons
by the communi ty
press i n 2010. The coverage of confl i ct
coul d al so be so moni tored
-
i .e., to i ncl ude sel ected com-
muni t y
publ i cat i ons
and news programs i n addi t i on t o t he
nati onal press.
pEAcEJoURNALI sMTRAI Nt NG
l aoourr
.
51
Section 6
The Road Ahead:
Journal i sts i n Confl i ct Areas
.
Luis V. Teodoro
The fundamental questi ons
j ournal i sts
i n confl i ct areas need to ask
themsel ves are:
(1)
Shoul d
j ournal i sts
hel p bri ng peace to soci ety?
(2)
Can they?
(3)
l f the answer to both
questi ons i s yes, how can they hel p bri ng
peace to society?
Peace
journalism
o
Uses confl i ct anal ysi s to meet the
j ournal i sti c
i mperati ves of
accuracy, bal ance, and fai rness
o
Provi desa practi cal gui deforthe responsi bl eexerci seofj ournal i sti c
i nterventi on and power
What is needed
\-.
o
Coverage that hel ps readers/vi ewers/l i steners understand the
causes of confl i ct by traci ng thei r roots to the way the soci al ,
economi c,
pol i ti cal ,
and cul tural systems have devel oped over
ti me
(hi story
and context)
o
Coverage that i ncl udes al l the parti es that have a stake i n confl i ct,
as wel l as thei r
goal s, rather than a focus on the most vi si bl e
protagoni sts (e.9., government
and rebel s)
o
Coverage that gi ves peace i ni ti ati ves and suggested sol uti ons
promi nence regardl ess of thei r ori gi ns
o
Coverage that hel ps equi p
peopl e wi th the means to di sti ngui sh
between the stated and actual
goal s
of the
protagoni sts
so that
they can act i n thei r own behal f
(empowerment)
pEAcE
JoURNALTsM TRATNTNG MoDul e
.
53
I
Are the;cc
possible in the context of
o The media environment
-The
ownershi p system
-The
l egal system
-
Journalists' state of
preparednes
o
Thepol i ti cal envi ronment
54
. pEAcEJoURNAL|SMTRA|N|NGMoDULE
Drscussron Norcs:
The concl udi ng sessi on el i ci ted several suggesti ons on how
the medi a organi zati ons coul d focus on
peace j ournal i sm
as
wel l as on what shoul d be covered.
One suggesti on was to trai n desk peopl e and edi tors i n
peace
j ournal i sm,
si nce they edi t reports i nto fi nal form.
It was al so suggested that
j ournal i sts
l ook i nto al ternati ve
outl ets for stori es that don' t
get publ i shed.
As far as what el se shoul d be covered was concerned, i t
was poi nted out that there was a l ot of restl veness i n the
mi l i tary and that, i n addi ti on to the confl i ct between the
government and the Moro Nati onal Li berati on Front, the
Moro l sl ami c Li berati on Front, and the New Peopl e' s Army,
t he di vi si ons i n t he mi l i t ary shoul d al so be expl ored and
reported. Thi s i s i mportant because the mi l i tary coul d
change the
pol i ti cal l andscape and adversel y or
posi ti vel y
i mpact Phi l i ppi ne democracy.
Government
pol i ci es on confl i ct, as wel l as the roots of re-
bel l i on, al so need to be exami ned and reported, as wel l as
such i ssues as mi ni ng, whi ch affect the envi ronment and
whi ch coul d tri gger unrest i n the communi ti es. Another
necessary subj ect of coverage i s the armed struggl e i n
Luzon and i n Vi sayas, and i ts roots i n poverty and i n the
l and
probl em. There are al so i ssues of tri bal confl i cts and
l ocal pol i ti cal al l i ances. Regi onal and i nternati onal i ssues
-for
exampl e the "war on terror"-shoul d al so be reported
because they affect events i n the Phi l i ppi nes, such as
gov-
ernment deci si on to i nvi te U5 troops i nto the country.
To deepen coverage,
j ournal i sts
shoul d vi si t confl i ct areas.
Echo semi nars on
peace j ournal i sm
were al so suggested,
as wel l as a di rectory of experts on confl i ct, bri efi ng
papers
f or
j ournal i st s,
and a
j ournal i st s' onl i ne group f or shari ng
i nformati on.
PEACE JOURNALISM TRAINING tttOOUl r
.
55