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7/29/2019 A Guide for Professional Journalism in Conflict Zones
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3A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: STRUCTURE OF THE MEDIA
The news, the media and the publicThe publicThe journalist
Chapter 2: THE JOURNALIST AND HIS WORK
I, the journalistBut I just report the news, dont I???
First there was me then there were othersMy eect as a journalistThe cost o journalism to the journalist or how ar do
you want to go?Beore we go urther.
Chapter 3: JOURNALISM IN TIMES OF CONFLICT CONCRETE STEPS TOWARDS PROFESSIONAL REPORTING
Choosing a story
Choosing how to present societyChoosing to allow space or others in your reportHuman beings rst and oremostChoosing your terminology
Proessional Journalism
Conclusion
Appendix: About Search or Common Ground
5
8
11
111517
19
1921
253133
36
37
38
40424445
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52
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5A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This manual and practical guide or journalists working
in conict situations has been developed and produced,
based on a two year intensive project run by the Jerusalem
ofce o Search or Common Ground (SFCG), a veteran in-
ternational non-governmental organization with expertise
in the eld o conict transormation. The project engaged
Palestinian and Israeli senior and mid-level media proes-
sionals in a process o enrichment, skill development, in-
teraction, networking and dialogue or the purpose o in-creasing the awareness o the role they play in reporting
on the Arab/Israeli conict and on how that reporting inu-
ences the public.
First and oremost we would like to acknowledge the
passionate engagement o the participants in the project,
Israelis and Palestinians alike, who shared their experiences
with honesty, and dedicated scarce time resources to learn-
ing new possibilities. Most o the examples and quotations
in this guide stem rom their readiness to take risks and
their openness to new horizons.
Special thanks goes to our senior advisory board com-
prising leading Palestinian and Israeli media personalities
and business people, who guided us on strategies and tac-
tics or recruiting and working with journalists in the region
and, in particular, Mohamad Daraghmeh or his assistance
during the rst year.
We would also like to thank USAID or the nancial oppor-
tunity to implement the project and write this manual, and
in particular we want to acknowledge the help and guid-
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
6 A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
ance o the Conict Management and Mitigation (CMM)
specialists who worked closely with us - Elizabeth Ramirezin the rst year, and Joubran Joubran in the second.
This manual would not have come to ruition without the
dedication o the Jerusalem ofce sta directly involved in
the project; Suheir Rasul, Chie o Party and Sharon Rosen,
Senior Editor - co-directors o the ofce; Carol Daniel Kas-
bari and Ziad Khalil Abu Zayyad, managers in the rst and
second years respectively; Elisha Baskin and Dana Moss, as-
sistants to the project in the rst and second years respec-
tively, Rami Assali, nancial director and Fadi Rabieh, our
acilitator and coach during the second year.
We would also like to acknowledge the wisdom and
expert acilitation o Shelley Ostro and Danny Gal in the
rst and second years o the project respectively, and the
superb acilitation and partnership o the sta o the Irish
Peace Centres during the visit o the journalist participants
to Northern Ireland in 2011. Thanks also to Associate Pro-essor, Tamir Sheaer, and Alpha International, or their eval-
uations o the project.
Special gratitude goes to John Marks, President o Search
or Common Ground, and Susan Collin Marks, Senior Vice
President, or their acilitation and continuing support
throughout the project and to Leena El-Ali, publisher o the
Common Ground News Service and MENA director, who
assisted with this manual. Thanks also goes to the sta o
Search or Common Ground in our Washington Headquar-
ters and other eld ofces or sharing their knowledge and
experiences o working with media in conict zones as wellas to the nancial department or its assistance.
Finally we would like to thank Dana Moss or her inspira-
tional writing o this manual, Sharon Rosen or her quality
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
7A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
editing, Azmi Tubbeh and Shira Marom or the Arabic and
Hebrew translations respectively, Ziad Khalil Abu Zayyador the design, and Samar Dissi and Vera Kreidlin or their
copy editing.
Our hope is that journalists, particularly in conict zones
around the world, will nd it useul.
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8 A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
INTRODUCTION
Mass communication has heralded a new era where the
presence o the media pervades public lie as never be-
ore. Reading articles online in the morning, checking cell-phone updates whilst waiting in queues, viewing twitters
and watching television in the evening we are constantly
updated on events taking place around the world.
We at Search or Common Ground1 believe that journal-
ism as a proession has the capacity to inuence the publicand leave its mark on society and on history. A story may
not only reect what is happening on the ground it can also
engender a wide range o eelings and views among the
public which might then react in a variety o ways. In other
words, journalists are in a position to make a dierence. As
a result o this belie Search or Common Ground has beenworking with journalists operating in conict zones rom
Burundi to Lebanon- or nearly thirty years in order to inu-
ence attitudes on the ground towards a more constructive
approach to dealing with discord2.
This manual is an output o a two year project, unded byUSAID, involving Israeli and Palestinian senior and mid-lev-
el journalists in Israeli and the Occupied Palestinian Territo-
ry.3 Our goal is to share the learnings rom the participating
journalists, and the project as a whole, in the hope that it
1 Search or Common Ground is an international not- or- prot organization workingin the eld o Conict Transormation with 37 ofces in 25 countries including Jerusalem.
2 For more inormation on programmes please see:www.sfcg.org
3 USAID unded Conict, Management and Mitigation (CMM) project administered and
run by Search or Common Grounds Jerusalem ofce entitledPromoting Common Ground
Print and Broadcast Journalism in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza; 2009-2011
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INTRODUCTION
9A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
will benet others in the region and around the world who
are grappling with the crucial job o reporting news, partic-ularly in times o conict. Whilst our journalists came rom
broadcast (T.V. and radio) and print media we believe that
journalists involved with new media, including the blogo-
sphere, grapple with similar issues. In addition, whilst every
conict has its own unique conditions, questions raised
about the role o journalists and their reporting are univer-sal and have broad implication.
We do not have denitive answers to the many questions
we pose in this manual but we hope that they will spur
on your own thinking as journalists and encourage you to
reect urther on your proessional roles. The manual hasthereore been created as a time out or journalists and
students o journalism - to reect on your role as investi-
gators and deliverers o inormation to society. Journalists
deal with extraordinary levels o pressure in their daily lives,
racing rom deadline to deadline and ever-mindul o the
competition or a scoop. As a result, they have little time
and opportunity to examine their role as journalists and
what it means to themselves and those around them.
But time or sel-reection is absolutely essential i a
person is to grow in his or her proession. This manual is
designed to create space or journalists to do exactly that,with room or readers to write down their own eelings and
thoughts to the issues raised in these pages in order to en-
courage the ree ow o reaction and response to the ideas
discussed.
Both budding journalists and long-term proessionals inthe eld are invited to take a pause so to speak; to reect
on their work, their time in the eld, and their proessional-
ism. In short, we are asking journalists to answer or them-
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INTRODUCTION
10 A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
selves the question: How can I, using my unique skills and
abilities, be the most proessional journalist I can possiblybe?
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CHAPTER 1:
THE NEWS,
THE MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC
The amount o attention paid to an event is not neces-
sarily a result o the importance o that event itsel. Ater
all, signicant events take place across the world on a daily
basis. Generally, the media only report on a small numbero the stories that are potentially o interest to the public
realm, with a critical impact on these events themselves, as
well as on those not reported. Descartes might well say
today I am in the news thereore I am.
Arguably, even when a specic event is reported, its im-port may dier according to the source and style o the re-
port and the outlet o delivery to the public. Two dierent
newspapers or television channels, or example, can bestow
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12 A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
dierent signicance to the same event.
Can you, as journalists, think o examples o when thishas happened? Please write down your examples here:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Various elements impact the media and the work o
journalists within this rame. The two most important are
economics the need to reach high ratings and politics,
those o the media outlet itsel and the political landscapeo which it is a part. This is complicated even urther in so-
cieties that have experienced entrenched conict with an
adversary in what is oten seen as an existential, win-lose
struggle. In these situations, the enemy Other is oten
presented in specic ways, Moreover, there is a dynamic in
both local and international news outlets to spotlight con-ict stories in any given society or country believing that
i it bleeds it leads, with the result that people, both near
and ar, oten receive a skewed picture o what is happen-
ing on the ground.
Using the Israeli-Palestinian example, the media o bothnations, more oten than not, ocus on the violent con-
rontations between the two peoples. They provide little
inormation about the daily lives o the other side whilst
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13A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
emphasizing the responsibility or political, military or so-
cio-economic crises on the enemy population. Choosinga certain narrative or raming oten results in only specic
stories reaching the headlines. These are more likely to
highlight their own people as victims and lay the blame or
the violence on the other side. In times o high-level con-
ict these patterns oten become even more rigid.
Are you, as journalists, aware o situations like these?
Have you sometimes ound that you yourselves can be
caught up in the emotions o your own society in times
o crisis?
What happens in times o war or heightened hostilities? Are your main sources o inormation the military or the
political leaders rom your own side?
Do you sometimes nd that ater the event, your opin-
ions might change as a result o new inormation or re-
duced tension? Can you think o a time when the media reported an out-
break o hostilities one way and changed its perspective
ollowing the event? Can you think o a personal exam-
ple?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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14 A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
Given the prevalent paradigms o conict reporting and
the ocus on negating the Other, the media tends to ignorethose stories that oer a dierent reality. In the Middle East
region, there are many stories o goodwill between Israe-
lis and Palestinians that demonstrate positive interactions
and human relations. These stories can be just as dramatic
and exciting as those that ocus on the negative or ex-
ample o the story o Palestinian Authority reghters thatcame to assist Israelis battling the ames raging in the Car-
mel orests in 2010.
What eect do you think reporting negative stories
about the Other has on the public?
When you investigate and/or read positive stories o co-
operation between peoples in conict, what eect does
it have on you?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Recognize the importance o how the media as a
whole rame and portray an issue and how raming
inuences both your reporting and how the public
understands the conict.
Be aware o your responsibility as a journalist andrecognize the power that your reports may have to in-
uence individuals and governments.
See yoursel as a conduit that provides inormation
to the public and recognize that you have a great deal
o responsibility in what inormation is presented to
the public and in how the public receives it.4
THE PUBLIC
Ultimately, whatever we write or prepare or broadcast as
journalists, is intended or reader and viewer consumption.
Some publications do try to cater to a certain sector o so-
ciety while other outlets, though widely available, are oten
seen to be more afliated with one section o society than
another.
4 These bullet points were compiled jointly by Palestinian and Israeli senior media advisors
and Search or Common Ground sta or the enhancement o Proessional Journalism
in Confict Situations, during the project, Promoting Common Ground Print and Broadcast
Journalism in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. The full text can be found at the end of Chapter 3.
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16 A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
Do you believe you write or a specic public or do you
write or society at large?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Even when investigating a story or reporting on a certain
event, journalists are oten overtaken by the necessities o
daily lie the constant deadline, the computer whose battery
needs charging, the editor on the phone. As a result, thoughtso the public may not be uppermost in journalists minds.
Which o your articles do you think the public most en-
joys reading?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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17A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
Whilst taking into account the aphorism there is no ac-
counting or taste it is clear that the content o some jour-nalism seems to have more mass appeal than others. For
example in recent years we have seen a rise in publications
that ocus on celebrity gossip. Do you think there is a dier-
ence between what interests the public and what is in the
public interest?
How would you dene the public interest?
What is your role as a journalist in relation to the public
interest?
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THE JOURNALIST
Journalism is a unique career path, both or the opportu-
nities it aords and the hardships it entails. Yet beore we
are career proessionals, we are human beings, impacted
by nurture and nature; dual orces which exert their own
unique pressures. We are all products o our amily - our re-
lationship with our parents, the way we compete with andprotect our siblings. Yet as important as the role o our am-
ily is in creating our identities, they are also strongly inu-
enced by the society, religion, nation, and socio-economic
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18 A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
status into which we are born. Inevitably, we look at the
world through subjective spectacles. And much like thephysical spectacles many o us wear, our internal ones need
to be checked every once in a while.
Moving on, our next chapter ocuses on sel-awareness as
an integral component o proessional journalism.
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CHAPTER TWO:
THE JOURNALIST
AND HIS WORK
I, THE JOURNALIST
Who are journalists? Dedicated, proessional journalists
are curious, enquiring people, passionate about providing
inormation that enables the public to understand that in-
ormation - oten in a new light. Investigative journalists aremany a time in the oreront o exposing scandals and shin-
ing a light on corruption and injustice. First and oremost,
however, journalists are human beings and, like all o us, are
products o their environment.
Although journalism is a unique proession, it is muchlike other career paths in that motivating actors or choos-
ing the proession inuence the way people see and do
their jobs. A person that embarks upon a teaching career
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20 A GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN CONFLICT ZONES
out o an inability to decide on other options, or example,
will perorm dierently rom a teacher who is motivatedby a love o reaching out and contributing to the optimal
growth o children.
People become journalists or a wide variety o reasons.
In our media project we held discussions with Israeli and
Palestinian journalists about their motivations or embark-
ing upon such a career. These ranged rom wanting to
change the world to a more concrete, I started in sports
journalism because I loved sport. Many o the journalists
began their careers partly as a result o political events,
such as the Israeli journalist who revealed I began working
as a journalist during the Intiada; during the time o sui-cide bombings. A Palestinian journalist, ater much delib-
eration, realized that although he was initially ambivalent
about journalism as a proession, he embraced his career
path ollowing an aternoon where he experienced a par-
ticularly long wait and interrogation at a checkpoint.
How did you reach your choice to be a journalist?
In what ways do you think dierent motivations aect
journalistic styles?
How do you think the political motivations or the career
choices o the two journalists quoted above might aecthow they report the same event?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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BUT I JUST REPORT THE NEWS, DONT I????
We all hold assumptions as human beings. These are
ormed as a result o our experiences which in turn are
based on our amily context, age, socio-economic back-
ground, religion, education nationality and environment.
The way we see daily lie and how we dene what is reality
is ltered through these lenses. It is well nigh impossible
not to let our personal assumptions trickle down into our
proessional work.
In the Israeli and Palestinian context, there is oten a ten-
dency to include stereotypical assumptions in the report-
ing rame.
One example where stereotypical assumptions dramati-
cally changed was in the media reportage on the deaths o
the Abuelaish daughters whose home was bombed by the
Israeli army during the 2009 Israeli invasion o Gaza1. News
o these deaths broke live on air, when their distraught a-ther Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a physician with a home in Gaza
and who, or most o his lie, treated patients in both Pales-
tinian and Israeli hospitals, phoned his riend, Israeli Chan-
nel 10 news reporter, Shlomi Eldar, as he was sitting in the
studio during the eight oclock prime time evening news
programme. This most probably was the rst time that a
substantial number o the Israeli public saw human tragedy
in the ace o an innocent Palestinian as well as empathy
given to him by his Israeli riend. Israelis suddenly realized
that not all Gazans were guilty. This had a proound eect
on Israeli attitudes towards the bombing o Gaza with many
Israelis doubling their eorts to bring about a cease re.
1 For more inormation, see, I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuelaish 2011, published by
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London
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It is possible to view an event in diverse ways because o
the innite experiences o our lives. A journalist who haspersonally experienced an assault and now has to cover
a crime scene is likely to look at and report it dierently
rom a journalist who has not undergone a similar expe-
rience. Similarly, journalists who have been soldiers, have
experienced a suicide bombing, have had a amily member
killed, lived through an Intiada or suered hardships atcheckpoints, are likely to react dierently when writing a
story about these issues than those who have not. O these
journalists, some will have more whilst others will have less,
personal awareness o how their experiences might aect
their output.
Think o an example where an event has been reported
by dierent journalists in dierent ways. Can you imag-
ine how their personal experiences might have aected
the way they reported the event?
In what dierent ways do you think your own experi-ences may inuence your work?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Beyond personal experiences, or journalists that work in
conict zones, their communal and national identities arealso relevant. We are an integral part o a wider grouping
as are our amilies and riends. And as part o that group
be it community and/or nation we and our loved ones are
aected by the events happening around us. As a result,
when hostilities break out, journalists can become swept
up in the nationalistic eelings o a society as a whole.
Examples rom our project clearly reected these pat-
terns. As one Israeli journalist reported I was very happy
when We Con the World (a video mocking the Turkish ac-
tivists on the Mavi Marmara otilla against the blockade o
Gaza in 2010) was sent around. I enjoyed writing about it.Meanwhile, a Palestinian journalist who reported on a pris-
oner release admitted, Like most Palestinians, I identied
with the prisoners. The whole story made me angry. An-
other Israeli journalist related, in times o war I am an Israeli
rst whilst a Palestinian journalist insisted o course I am
going to present our national cause to the world.
Consider whether you sometimes nd yoursel becom-
ing emotionally invested in a story you report?
In what particular issues have you noticed your own
emotional reactions?
In what ways have you noticed your being happy, sad,
rustrated, or any other emotion about a subject, aect
your style o reporting?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Even during quieter periods when conict is not raging,
the way we write continues to be aected by our identities.A Palestinian participant mentioned that I always report
the views o the Palestinian Authority. I dont include the
statements o other parties I think they are less impor-
tant Another Israeli journalist argued, I present the views
o the Israeli government and I include a statement rom
the Palestinian Authority. My readers can then decide or
themselves.
What messages do you think have been conveyed in
each o these examples?
Reecting on your own work, how do you think it con-veys messages?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Understand your own views and biases.
Be aware that in addition to being a journalist,
you are also a human being, and, beore you report
during a time o conict, take a careul look at your
emotions.2
2 These bullet points and all that follow in this chapter were compiled jointly by Palestinian
and Israeli senior media advisors and Search for Common Ground staff for the enhancement
ofProfessional Journalism in Conict Situations, during the project, Promoting Common
Ground Print and Broadcast Journalism in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. The full text can
be found at the end of Chapter 3.
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FIRST THERE WAS ME
THEN THERE WERE OTHERS
Oten, it is only as we become more aware o ourselves
and our surroundings that we develop an awareness o the
complexity o others. On an individual level, as we become
more aware o the various infuences that shape us such asour relationship with our parents, amilies, riends and com-
munities, we are more able to see such patterns in the way
other people interact with their environments. Without an
in-depth understanding o the motivations and viewpoints
o the other person, we oten build assumptions that may
not be accurate. Journalists know that the most proessionalway to discover inormation is to be curious, investigate, ask,
listen, and observe beore deducing. This works when turn-
ing the process inwards and nding out about our own moti-
vations, thoughts and emotions. It also works well when try-
ing to discover the motivations o others. At the same time
it reduces the risk o stereotyping and making assumptions
that are not based on thorough investigative reporting.
Can you think o an example when youve made an as-
sumption about someone else in your reporting that was
later proved incorrect? Examine what led you to the as-
sumption and what you might have done dierently i pre-paring the report now.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Incorrect assumptions about others also happen when
reporting takes place within societies. A Palestinian journal-ist participant mentioned an incident in his town whereby
a man was accused and presumed guilty o harassing a
child in an incident that made headlines. It was only ollow-
ing a thorough investigation that the man was ound to be
innocent o the charge.
This phenomenon replicates itsel on an international
basis. In situations where there are physical obstacles pre-
venting two conicting sides rom meeting, as is the case
between Israelis and Palestinians, assumptions are even
more likely. Kept apart by checkpoints, ences and walls,
Israelis and Palestinians hardly enter each others territories and lives. Few know each others languages which adds to
the ignorance and results in a tendency to assume a certain
image and homogeneity in each others societies and cul-
tures which does not exist in reality.
In a meeting between our Israeli and Palestinian journal-ists in February 2011 we discussed recent political events,
including the U.S. veto in the U.N. Security Council con-
demning Israeli settlement building. One Palestinian jour-
nalist was stunned to learn that there were sections o Is-
raeli society that had disagreed with the U.S. use o the veto
and believed it to be harmul to Israels security in the longterm. As this journalist exclaimed sometimes we orget
that there is diversity within each o our societies.
When we start breaking down our assumptions we are
more open to acquiring a better understanding o the Oth-
er and the values and presuppositions that guide their ac-tions. The journalist mentioned above would have learnt o
the range o opinions held by Israelis and adapted her views
accordingly had she made an eort to ollow the news in
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Israeli media outlets. Oten, all it takes to break down as-
sumptions is a pro-active stance in investigating them - inother words making use o the basic tools o journalism.
Can you think o an example when youve made an as-
sumption about a society or country as a whole in your
reporting?
Examine what led you to the assumption and what youmight have done dierently i preparing the report now?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Among the most eective ways to check that our assump-tions are based on a comprehensive analysis o the situa-
tion is to create contacts with those about whom we are
reporting. Such contacts would allow or varied perspec-
tives on a specic event. The most valuable and enriching
way to do this is to physically meet people rom the other
side when possible. Seeing and hearing the range and di-
versity o human lie on the other side o a divide enables
us to greater understand complexities and diverse views in
a society.
Part o our two year journalism project involved bringing
Israeli and Palestinian journalists together on eld visits toeach others side in order to deepen their understanding o
the intricacies o each society. On one eld visit, the jour-
nalists visited the Israeli Channel 10 Television Studios in
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Tel-Aviv. Palestinian journalists noticed a large photograph
o (ormer Palestinian President) Yasser Araat hanging onone o the walls. The picture caused much conusion, with
Palestinian journalists exclaiming, This would be like hav-
ing a photo o (ormer Israeli Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon
hanging in our headquarters. This is unimaginable!!! One
Palestinian journalist assumed it was out o a desire to
mock the ormer Palestinian President. Yet the Israeli jour-nalists explained that or them, President Araat was a sym-
bol o the Palestinian nation and, as the newsroom in which
his photo hanged covered the Israeli-Palestinian conict, it
seemed to them completely appropriate.
Another eld visit entailed bringing Palestinian and Israelijournalists to the Old City o Jerusalem a place at the ore-
ront o conicting claims concerning sovereignty between
the two sides. Christians, Jews and Muslims tend to only vis-
it the Holy Sites that hold religious meaning or them, and
stay clear o the sacred places o other aiths. On this eld
visit the journalists toured a wide variety o historical and
religious sites that are o signicance to all the peoples in
the region. Touring together, seeing the concrete reality o
lie in the Old City, and discussing their assumptions, Israeli
and Palestinian participants themselves awoke to a new
reality. As one Palestinian journalist said, ater visiting theWestern Wall, the holiest site or Jews and seeing people
engrossed in prayer, I now know how deep, how rooted
the eeling about this place truly is. Meanwhile, an Israeli
journalist, when visiting a church, exclaimed I didnt even
know hal these places existed.
On another occasion, when the Israeli journalists visited
their Palestinian colleagues in Bethlehem, one journalist
commented I was surprised. I thought the place would
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be more religious, but there were all types o people there,
both religious and less religious, conservative and more lib-eral. Meanwhile another highly experienced Israeli journal-
ist, who had spent much o his proessional career report-
ing on Israeli settlements in the West Bank said, I always
thought that settlements naturally belonged there. I now
realize theres another narrative. Do you reect the diverse
views o people in your reporting? I so, how?
When writing about a conict situation, how do you re-
ect the complexities o views and approach?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
At various times during our media project the gap in
views and attitudes between the Israeli and Palestinianjournalists was proound. During one discussion that took
place on an overseas trip the Palestinian journalists were
inuriated when Israeli journalists called a Palestinian riend
who had come to visit, a terrorist. The disagreement be-
came very heated, with accusations ying across the room.
The Palestinian journalists elt oended by the use o the
word, while the Israelis elt it was justied. In arguing, the
Palestinians ocused on the painul cost o the occupation,
the Israeli army and checkpoints to their lives, while the Is-
raelis ocused on the dire threats to Israels security. Both
sides reerred to the death o loved ones in justiying theirstance and both ocused on the question o who suered
the most, and who was right. Emotions ran deep but it
was rom that proound place o common eelings and
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MY EFFECT AS A JOURNALIST
What eect do the media actually have? Does it really
matter what you write?
Some media reports change the path o countries as a
whole. One notable example is the 1969 report o a young
U.S. journalist called Seymour Hirsch. His story unearthedthe killing and rape o Vietnamese civilians by U.S. soldiers
in Mai Lai. The story gained traction and within a week it
appeared in all o the U.S.s most important media outlets,
sparking national outrage. As a result, anti-war sentiment
moved rom the ringes o U.S. society to its mainstream,
strengthening protests against the war and eventually lead-
ing to U.S. military withdrawal rom Vietnam and the end o
the war. Meanwhile, Seymour Hirsch was awarded a Pulitzer
Prize or his work. One o basic roles o a journalist is to be the
link between an event and public awareness o that event. .
This relationship can also be reected on a smaller scale.Sometimes we clearly see a public reaction to our work. In
act it has become highly popular to install a talkback sec-
tion in many newspapers and outlets that is dedicated to
publishing the reaction o readers to certain stories where,
on a daily basis, the public expresses its support, surprise or
outrage in relation to a certain piece.
Have you experienced reactions to your stories?
What are your reactions to the dierent types o reac-
tions?
Do they aect your style o reporting?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
But what happens when the news we write aects us
directly? Ater all, as was mentioned beore, journalists arecitizens o a specic country and members o a certain so-
ciety. As a result, they inevitably report on developments
that also aect them rom dramatic pieces on decisions
to go to war to a story about a teachers strike that concerns
their childs schooling.
In what ways might you think about the way in which
your reporting may actually aect you as part o the
community about which you are reporting?
Can you provide an example o when that might have
happened in the past and how it may have been reect-ed in your writing?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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See yoursel a conduit that links inormation to the
public and recognize that you have a great deal o re-sponsibility in what inormation is presented to the
public and in how the public receives it.
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THE COST OF JOURNALISM TO THE JOURNALIST OR
- HOW FAR DO YOU WANT TO GO???
The work o journalists in exposing stories and reporting
the unpalatable oten comes at a great cost to journalists
themselves. Journalists are among the rst victims in a war
zone, with the Committee to Protect Journalists reporting
that 79 journalists were killed in 20103. Aside rom the vio-lence inicted on journalists, they can also become targets
o anger and rustration or the public.
Beyond this, the long hours and ever-present stress takes
its own emotional toll. As one journalist noted during our
discussions, I sometimes get tired and angry rom my job,and need to let o steam. I think this aects my relationship
with my amily.
Do you sometimes sense you are paying a mental, physi-
cal and/or emotional cost or being a journalist? I so,
please describe.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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3 http://www.cpj.org/killed/2010/
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Sometimes issues that arise during your role as a journal-
ist also have an economic cost. Economic penalties can beofcially legislated. Some countries hand out nancial pen-
alties or harming the countrys image or undermining
trust in its institutions. Journalists in newspapers owned
by governments or political parties can nd themselves out
in the cold i they write a less than positive account o that
partys actions. Deying the government can have a rangeo increasingly serious personal costs to the journalists in-
cluding the threat o prison and even death.
Even in an environment which is considered to have a
ree press, economic pressures oten reign supreme, a pris-
oner to ratings. Some journalists complain that it would bedifcult or them to write something their audience would
not approve o as people may stop reading or viewing their
stories and they would then be adversely aected.
Are you aware o economic/rating/consensus/policy
considerations aecting your reporting when carrying
out your work?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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The relationship between journalists and their editors
is very signicant and can be particularly sensitive i theyhold dierent viewpoints. One Palestinian journalist in our
project reected that I have had to consistently argue with
my editors about certain stories that I wanted to publish.
Israeli journalists spoke o disagreements with their editors
about the use o terminology. One brought an example o
diering views on how to describe the people on board theMavi Marmara Flotilla attempting to break the Gaza block-
ade in 2010.
Have you experienced diering viewpoints with your
editor that has aected your reporting?
Over what was the disagreement?
How ar did you push back?
Did it have an eect on your relationship with your edi-
tor?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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It is up to each one o you to decide how ar you are pre-
pared to go in order to become the most proessional youcan be in our role as journalists. Sometimes you may need
to take steps that will be outside you comort zone.
BEFORE WE GO FURTHER..
Being a proessional journalist may have its costs and we
have laid out some o them above. At the same time this is
your chosen proession.
What do you see are the benets or you o being a jour-
nalist? List some o them below:
How do you stay true to yoursel and your proession as
a journalist?
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CHAPTER THREE:
JOURNALISM
IN TIMES OF CONFLICT
CONCRETE STEPS TOWARDSPROFESSIONAL REPORTING
Prior to preparing a journalistic piece, it is worthwhile
looking inwards and taking a spot-check. Ask yourselthe ollowing questions and reect on the answers: How
aware am I o my own thoughts, eelings and views on the
event in question? Do I identiy with a particular side? What
assumptions might I hold about the event that need veriy-
ing? Answering these questions is the rst step.
What else is needed to put proessional journalism into
practice?
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1. Choosing a story
Editors and the public are always looking or a dierent
angle, a resh view, a new insight.
Reporting on conict situations generally provides plen-
ty o exciting news but how the inormation or opinion is
imparted depends a great deal on the proessional skills o
the journalist.
In every conict, the public can nd daily reports on the
enemy by reporters that highlight a narrow, militarized,
portrayal o a homogeneous adversary. But is that the
whole picture?
When you prepare a story, how do you convey the range
o daily lie in the society o the other side? Do you tend to
ocus on its militarized nature?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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A couple o Israeli journalists rom our project decided to
write a story on Qalqilya, a town in the West Bank that hasseen much violence and bloodshed. Yet they looked at it
rom a resh angle, choosing to write about its zoo, and the
enthusiastic response o Palestinian society to its expan-
sion. Israelis reading this story were thus able to see anoth-
er side o the Palestinian public than is usually portrayed;
one that they could identiy with as parents and children.
It is true that some stories choose us, such as an inter-
national political summit or an outbreak in hostilities. But
even within these rameworks we can include an angle that
broadens the brushstroke o the story to include relation-
ships that are not only adversarial. One example could behighlighting behind the scenes cooperation between as-
sistants o opposing parties to reach agreement. Another
could be the highlighting o diverse voices in societies in
conict, not only ocusing on those who blame the other
side and support violence but also those who condemn it
and recognize their role in aggravating it.
How do you choose the angle o your story?
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2. Choosing how to present society
We are aware o the diversity in our own society because
we know it so well. Yet we tend to view other societies as
largely homogenous. This is partly the result o national
narratives in conict situations which encourage a zero-
sum approach towards the opposing side which is viewed
as inherently aggressive and intrinsically hostile.
When you report on the reaction o the other side to an
outbreak o hostilities, are you presupposing a specic
response?
Moreover, do you nd yoursel portraying that response
as universal or the whole society?
Do you allow or the same variety o voices that exist in
your society to be heard rom the other side?
In reality, people within every society may act and react
in dierent ways depending on their background and envi-
ronment, as was discussed previously.
In your coverage o the news how do you go about inter-
viewing and/or quoting a variety o perspectives?
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Covering all bases requires a solid understanding o the
variety o positions on a conict. This may be as simple asscouring a range o newspapers and websites rom both
sides or developing a local set o contacts that you can call
upon to provide an understanding o the wider picture.
For example a piece can detail:
Last night, Islamic Jihad launched 13 rockets rom
Gaza into Beer Sheba. The rockets caused widespread
damage, with residents o Beer Sheba calling or retali-
ation against this threat rom Hamas-controlled Gaza.
OR
Last night, Islamic Jihad launched 13 rockets rom
Gaza into Beer Sheba. The rockets caused widespread
damage, with residents o Beer Sheba calling or retali-ation against this threat rom Hamas-controlled Gaza.
Hamas, meanwhile, is divided on how to respond to
this action rom Islamic Jihad with the moderate wing
o Hamas urging a clampdown o the group which it
says is threatening their authority.
Fact checking and background research should include
instances even when various gures proclaim outright an
adversarial position. We are usually aware o the divergence
between word and deed in our own society, and oten astatement by one o our own politicians may be scoed at
and dismissed as rubbish However we tend to take the ut-
terings o the other sides political representatives with ut-
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most seriousness. Providing a ull picture contributes to a
more multi-aceted and accurate view o the realities o theregion and the confict.
3. Choosing to allow space or others in yourreport
As we have explored in a previous chapter, being simul-taneously both a journalist and a member o society aects
your output, particularly in times o heightened conict. I
a journalist is writing about a union strike, she is likely to
present the views and justications o both union members
and employers, as well as their dierent take on what con-
stitutes what really happened. However, when reporting
on a conict, too many reporters, in identiying with their
own national narrative, tend to ignore the alternative real-
ity that is seen by the other side.
I journalists are aware that as members o a society they
are aected, even inuenced, by their national narrative asproessionals it is all the more important that they allow
space or the narrative o the other in their reporting.
Unlike news reports where the journalist does not insert
his/her own opinion, editorials that do oer a specic opin-
ion can still allow space or the narrative o the other in or-der to provide a uller picture. Take a look at the ollowing
examples o an opinion on a prospective unarmed demon-
stration in the West Bank and note the dierences:
In a move that is sure to heat matters urther, Palestin-
ian Authority President , Mahmoud Abbas encourageddemonstrators to march non-violently towards Israeli
settlements, calling or collected action against the
Occupation.
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OR
In a move that is sure to heat matters further, Palestin-
ian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas encouraged
demonstrators to march non-violently towards Israeli
settlements, calling for collected action against the Oc-
cupation. The Palestinian Authority believes that negoti-
ations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahusgovernment will not yield results and that such a step
will create pressure on the Israeli government to agree
to the independence the Palestinian Authority seeks.
Introducing the narrative o the opposing side does
not mean that you are betraying the legitimacy o your
own national narrative. Rather, it means that you are able
to observe the various truths that exist and convey this
complicated picture o daily lie and historical events
the essence o a journalists role. As one Palestinian jour-
nalist noted during our project ater a joint Israeli/Pales-tinian trip overseas, Beore this trip I never would have
written the other sides viewpoint. Now I understand that
it is part o my job and my responsibility as a journalist
to do so.
An Israeli journalist, ater listening to his Palestinian col-
leagues, mentioned I guess rom now on I will try and in-
clude Palestinian aspirations when reporting what their
politicians say, so that people can understand actions and
words in context.
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4. Human beings rst and oremost?
A sports journalist reporting a wrestling match where
both parties are injured will detail each sides suering and
the lasting eect o their injuries. A report on a high prole
divorce will, regardless o the reasons or the dissolution o
the marriage, acknowledge the painul eect on both par-
ties.
Yet as a result o the intense emotions released during
times o hostilities and the national tendency to view the
conict in winner takes all terms, journalists tend to ocus
only on the suering and the victims in their own society.
This exacerbates the sense o victimhood each side eelsand encourages the eeling that the other side is totally to
blame or the pain and suering.
Acknowledging that your national adversary can and
does suer is an integral part o humanizing the Other. In
entrenched conicts, a dynamic emphasizing the unique
right o one society over another is oten evident, ena-
bling and legitimizing military operations and the use o
violence. The opposing side is portrayed, not as individuals
with their own loves and losses, emotions and pains, but
as nameless, aceless enemies. The anticipated corollary o
this is that the Israeli and Palestinian media rarely mentionthe names o those Palestinians and Israelis rom the en-
emy side who have died as a result o the conict.
As one Israeli journalist mentioned during our discus-
sions One o the ways orward in the conict is giving all
the victims a name, giving them respect, and making them
human. I would like to see newspapers do that more oten.
We can push our editors to do that. A Palestinian journalist
talking about a horric murder o a Jewish amily in the set-
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tlement o Itamar, said In the past, I would have said that a
amily o settlers had been killed. I think rom now on I willcall them the Fogel amily.
The importance o seeing people as human beings and
not just adversaries extends beyond those who have died
or been injured however difcult that might be in conict
situations. A man is not just an Israeli soldier. He also has a
name and a amily who cares or him. No Palestinian is only
an extremist. He is also the son o someone who loves him.
5. Choosing your Terminology
In journalism, we tend to rely upon stock phrases or terms
in order to convey our message. This is even more prevalent
when the pressure to le a story is high. To ensure that you
are not giving your public a mistakenly homogenous view
o the societies embroiled in the conict, it is important to
careully choose the terms you use. Similarly, emotionallyloaded terms that provoke a bloodthirsty view o an entire
society, or are intended to arouse hatred or anger are likely
to only exacerbate the conict.
Heres how one Israeli journalist described her dilemma: I
was covering the tenth anniversary o the bombing at theDolphinarium (a Tel-Aviv nightclub that suered a suicide
attack in July 2001) and I wasnt sure how to reer to the
person who had carried out the attack. Do I call him simply
Palestinian? Do I say terrorist? In the end I settled or sui-
cide bomber. I elt i I merely reerred to him as Palestinian
it would seem as though I was trying to tar all Palestinians
with the same brush.
A Palestinian journalist ollowed up by stating I know
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some people think o Gilad Shalit as simply an Israeli oc-
cupying soldier who is a prisoner, much like Israel holds ourpeople prisoner. But I think o him as a young man called
Gilad Shalit who happens to be serving in the Israeli army.
Below are some terms oten used by journalists that
encourage generalizations about a society or nation as a
whole and deliver an erroneous image o inherent aggres-
sion. Although examples may be specic to the Arab/Israeli
conict, similar problems in terminology are evident in oth-
er conicts around the world
The use o Israelis or Palestinians in blanket terms. E.g.
Israelis believe that they have a religious right to the
land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean
Sea. Instead, ensure to attribute claims or belies to
specic groupings, e.g. the settler group Gush Emunim
believes that Israelis have a religious obligation to set-
tle the land between the Jordan River and the Mediter-ranean Sea.
Reerring to the country or society in question instead
o its leadership. E.g. Israel is ocused on building settle-
ments in East Jerusalem. Instead, pinpoint the relevant
actors The current Israeli government is ocused on
building settlements in East Jerusalem.
The use o terms such as aggression instead o dening
the action. E.g. Palestinian aggression has threatened Is-
raeli civilians. Instead, describe the specic action such
as Rocket launching by Islamic Jihad has threatened Is-
raeli civilians.
The use o Nazi or Islamo-ascist to describe an entire
society.
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The use o the word entity as opposed to reerring to the
country or people by name. The use o genocide, genocidal and ethnic cleansing to
reer to an action when this does not adhere to the legal
denition o the term. Instead, one can note the number
o victims o the action and elaborate on why the action
has taken place. E.g. The memory o the Jenin genocide
killed in 2003 lives on can instead be replaced with The
memory o the 54 Palestinians killed in Jenin in 2003 in
the attack by the Israeli army continues to anger most
Palestinians.
The use o moderate when reerring to a liberal/open
point o view o a given religious person. The assump-
tion is that there is something innately extreme in ull
Muslim or Jewish observance. E.g. Moderate Muslims
in the West Bank dont want a Palestinian state gov