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Master of Arts in Media, Peace and Conflict Studies Curriculum Development Francesca Namatovu Journalism Ethics and Peace Building July 2012 Abstract This curriculum addresses how journalism ethics contributes to peace and how a lack of ethics may impede peace building. Its focus is on peace journalism and those initiatives within peace journalism that enhance advanced, better and accurate journalism in reporting war and peace. Research on the ground shows that journalism is losing its ethical face especially in reporting events that manifest conflicts. This has been a big manifestation in developing countries that still experience a continuum in the development systems, a shift in the media system and post conflict reconstructions. There has been enough literature to explain the role that peace journalism has played to address this challenge in order to advance peace building. In addition, new and non-traditional methods of journalism like crowd mapping and citizen journalism have been developed to back up peace journalism initiatives and peace building. To address the above challenge, this curriculum asks: Which theories and models are there to explain for the role of journalism ethics in peace building especially in conflict-affected societies like Africa or any other society faced with conflict? Secondly, what can be done for journalism to acquire a new meaning for peace building? Peace Journalism in this curriculum contributes to a solution; that journalism that is not conflict sensitive makes violence and conflict part and parcel of the society. The other solution that may help address the challenge is the idea of addressing and reporting issues about the whole ordinary community, their needs, and keeping the grassroots involved in constructive development (from the development media theory).Worth noting is the fact that new media has contributed to redefining who a journalist is and a change in their role of gatekeepers of information, by allowing citizen participation in publishing and an encouragement in the new forms of journalism that are more interactive and urgent. It is here that peace journalism seeks to challenge conventional journalism by working actively for peace through the media. This curriculum is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Media, Peace and Conflict Studies.

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Page 1: Francesca Namatovu - Journalism Ethics and Peace Building

Master of Arts in Media, Peace and Conflict Studies

Curriculum Development

Francesca Namatovu

Journalism Ethics and Peace Building

July 2012

Abstract

This curriculum addresses how journalism ethics contributes to peace and how a lack of ethics may impede peace building. Its focus is on peace journalism and those initiatives within peace journalism that enhance advanced, better and accurate journalism in reporting war and peace. Research on the ground shows that journalism is losing its ethical face especially in reporting events that manifest conflicts. This has been a big manifestation in developing countries that still experience a continuum in the development systems, a shift in the media system and post conflict reconstructions. There has been enough literature to explain the role that peace journalism has played to address this challenge in order to advance peace building. In addition, new and non-traditional methods of journalism like crowd mapping and citizen journalism have been developed to back up peace journalism initiatives and peace building. To address the above challenge, this curriculum asks: Which theories and models are there to explain for the role of journalism ethics in peace building especially in conflict-affected societies like Africa or any other society faced with conflict? Secondly, what can be done for journalism to acquire a new meaning for peace building? Peace Journalism in this curriculum contributes to a solution; that journalism that is not conflict sensitive makes violence and conflict part and parcel of the society. The other solution that may help address the challenge is the idea of addressing and reporting issues about the whole ordinary community, their needs, and keeping the grassroots involved in constructive development (from the development media theory).Worth noting is the fact that new media has contributed to redefining who a journalist is and a change in their role of gatekeepers of information, by allowing citizen participation in publishing and an encouragement in the new forms of journalism that are more interactive and urgent. It is here that peace journalism seeks to challenge conventional journalism by working actively for peace through the media.

This curriculum is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts in Media, Peace and Conflict Studies.

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DECLARATION OF ACADEMIC HONESTY

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Permission for use of the curriculum

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Acknowledgments

I owe thanks to God for bringing me thus far.

Thanks to my supervisor, Professor Julia Hoffmann, for her supervision of this second curriculum

and her untiring effort to see me finish it. I will always be thankful professor.

Without Uganda Martyrs University giving me a chance to have this opportunity, I would not have

had this degree. I acknowledge the support of Dr. Ngabirano Maximiano and the Department Staff

for their advice and encouragement.

My utmost thanks go to the Dutch government and all the people of the Netherlands who funded

the Great Lakes Programme, of which I am a beneficiary. It has been a unique experience.

Thanks to the dearest and untiring GLP administration, both UPEACE (Costa Rica) and UPEACE

(Africa) Programmes. You surely made my learning process a success. To my fellow GLP colleagues

with whom I begun the journey, and all my classmates in Media, Peace and Conflict studies

programme, you shared your knowledge and wisdom. I am very thankful. I can’t forget the editor

for the job done. Thanks Tara Ruttenberg.

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Dedication

I dedicate this curriculum to my dad, Mr. Henry Balibulala Mbogo, the GLP Program and Uganda

Martyrs University.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION OF ACADEMIC HONESTY ........................................................................................................ i

Permission for use of the curriculum .............................................................................................................. ii

Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................... iii

Dedication .................................................................................................................................................... iv

CHAPTER ONE (RATIONALE OR FRAMEWORK) ............................................................................................... 1

(i). International: ..................................................................................................................................... 2

(ii). Regional: .......................................................................................................................................... 3

(iii). Country: .......................................................................................................................................... 4

(iv). Local: .............................................................................................................................................. 6

(b). Course description: .............................................................................................................................. 6

(c). Main Goal: ........................................................................................................................................... 7

(i). Significance: ...................................................................................................................................... 7

(ii). Relevance: ........................................................................................................................................ 7

(d). General Objectives: .............................................................................................................................. 7

(e). Intended Learning Outcomes: .............................................................................................................. 8

(f).Contents: ............................................................................................................................................... 9

(g). Methodology: ..................................................................................................................................... 15

(i). Strategies: ........................................................................................................................................ 15

(ii). Resources: ...................................................................................................................................... 16

(h). Evaluation: ......................................................................................................................................... 16

(i). Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................ 18

CHAPTER TWO (ADMINISTRATIVE) ............................................................................................................. 19

a). Specific Course Title: ........................................................................................................................... 19

(b). Course Code ...................................................................................................................................... 19

(c). Prerequisites: ...................................................................................................................................... 19

(d). Course Strength: ................................................................................................................................ 19

(e). Credits: ............................................................................................................................................... 19

(f). Course meeting times and place: ......................................................................................................... 19

(g). Intended Participants:......................................................................................................................... 19

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(h). Where the course fits within the general programme of studies (at the Department and Programme

levels): ...................................................................................................................................................... 19

(i). Assessment of student performance .................................................................................................... 19

1. Criteria: ............................................................................................................................................ 19

2. Tools: ............................................................................................................................................... 19

(j). Instructor’s biography: ........................................................................................................................ 20

CHAPTER THREE (TEACHER’S MANUAL) ..................................................................................................... 21

Session one: INTRODUCTION OF THE COURSE JOURNALISM ETHICS AND PEACE BUILDING ................. 21

1.1. Learning Objectives ................................................................................................................. 21

1.2. Content: ................................................................................................................................... 21

1.3. Learning outcomes ................................................................................................................... 31

1.4. Session Methodology: ............................................................................................................... 31

1.5. Session Evaluation: .................................................................................................................. 33

1.6. Readings: ....................................................................................................................................... 33

(i). Required: ......................................................................................................................................... 33

(ii). Recommended ............................................................................................................................... 33

Session 2: JOURNALISM AND COVERAGE OF CONFLICT .............................................................................. 34

2.1. Learning Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 34

2.2. Content ............................................................................................................................................. 34

2.4. Expected Outcomes .......................................................................................................................... 39

2.5. Session Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 40

2.6. Session Evaluation ............................................................................................................................. 41

2.7. Readings ............................................................................................................................................ 41

(i). Required: ......................................................................................................................................... 41

(ii). Recommended: .............................................................................................................................. 41

Session 3: THE ROLE OF JOURNALISM IN PEACE AND CONFLICTS .............................................................. 42

3.1. Learning Objectives: .......................................................................................................................... 42

3.2. Content: ............................................................................................................................................ 42

3.3. Learning Outcomes: .......................................................................................................................... 47

3.4. Session Methodology: ........................................................................................................................ 47

3.5. Session Evaluation: ............................................................................................................................ 48

3.6. Readings: ........................................................................................................................................... 48

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(i). Required ......................................................................................................................................... 48

(ii). Recommended: .............................................................................................................................. 49

Session 4: IS PEACE JOURNALISM A SOLUTION FOR PEACE BUILDING? ...................................................... 50

4.1. Learning Objectives: .......................................................................................................................... 50

4.2. Content: ............................................................................................................................................ 50

4.3. Learning Outcomes: .......................................................................................................................... 54

4.4: Session Methodology: ........................................................................................................................ 54

4.5. Session Evaluation: ............................................................................................................................ 55

4.6. Readings: ........................................................................................................................................... 55

(i). Required: ......................................................................................................................................... 55

(ii). Recommended ............................................................................................................................... 55

Session 5: PRESENTATIONS ON THE INITIATIVES WITHIN PEACE JOURNALISM .......................................... 56

5.1. Learning Objectives: .......................................................................................................................... 56

5.2. Content: ............................................................................................................................................ 56

5.3. Learning Outcomes: .......................................................................................................................... 57

5.4. Session Methodology: ........................................................................................................................ 57

5.5. Session Evaluation: ............................................................................................................................ 58

5.6. Readings: ........................................................................................................................................... 58

(i). Required. ......................................................................................................................................... 58

(ii). Recommended: .............................................................................................................................. 58

Session 6: MEASURES FOR JOURNALISTS’ PROFESSIONAL GROWTH ............................................................ 59

6.1. Learning Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 59

6.2. Content ............................................................................................................................................. 59

6.3. Expected Outcomes .......................................................................................................................... 63

6.4. Session Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 64

6.5. Session Evaluation ............................................................................................................................. 64

6.6. Readings ............................................................................................................................................ 65

(i). Required: ......................................................................................................................................... 65

Session 7: NEW MEDIA AND PEACE BUILDING ............................................................................................. 66

7.1. Learning Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 66

7.2. Content ............................................................................................................................................. 66

7.3. Learning Outcomes ........................................................................................................................... 73

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7.4. Session Methodology: ........................................................................................................................ 74

7.5. Readings: ........................................................................................................................................... 75

(i). Required: ......................................................................................................................................... 75

(ii). Recommended: .............................................................................................................................. 75

Session 8: GUEST SPEAKER FOR ONE DAY ON THE ROLE OF JOURNALISM ETHICS AND PEACE BUILDING. . 76

8.1. Learning Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 76

8.2. Content: ............................................................................................................................................ 76

8.3. Learning Outcomes: .......................................................................................................................... 77

8.4. Session Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 78

8.5. Session Evaluation: ............................................................................................................................ 78

8.6. Readings ............................................................................................................................................ 78

Session 9: VISIT TO UMCAT-SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM FOR 2 DAYS .............................................................. 79

9.1. Learning Objectives: .......................................................................................................................... 79

9.2. Content. ............................................................................................................................................ 79

9.3. Learning Outcomes: .......................................................................................................................... 80

9.4. Session Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 80

Visit the school-UMCAT ............................................................................................................................. 81

9.5. Session Evaluation: ............................................................................................................................ 81

9.6. Readings ............................................................................................................................................ 82

Session 10: WRITING A PROJECT ON DEVELOPMENT JOURNALISM ............................................................. 83

10.1. Learning Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 83

10.2. Content: ....................................................................................................................................... 83

10.3. Learning Outcomes ...................................................................................................................... 84

10.4. Session Methodology ................................................................................................................... 85

Students imagine themselves as journalists ................................................................................................... 85

10.5. Session Evaluation ....................................................................................................................... 86

10.6. Readings....................................................................................................................................... 86

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................. 87

Annex 1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 92

(International Principles of Professional Ethics in Journalism) ................................................................................... 92

Principle IV: The journalist's professional integrity ............................................................................... 92

Principle V: Public access and participation .......................................................................................... 92

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Principle VI: Respect for privacy and human dignity ............................................................................ 92

Principle VII: Respect for public interest .............................................................................................. 92

Principle VIII: Respect for universal values and diversity of cultures .................................................... 93

Principle IX: Elimination of war and other great evils confronting humanity ........................................ 93

Principle X: Promotion of a new world information and communication order ................................... 93

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CHAPTER ONE (RATIONALE OR FRAMEWORK)

(a). Introduction:

For media, good code of conduct makes journalism and news; ethical and realistic and contributes

for a peaceful society. Good journalism is based on Key ethical issues such as truth, objectivity,

sensitivity, privacy, social responsibility, media laws, and democratic principles. Debate on the

above issues; has invoked concerns about roles and responsibilities of journalism; which have

become an increasingly important aspect everywhere. This is because media occupies a special

position in any democratic society as it impacts, directly or indirectly on a large number of its people.

The importance of journalism ethics becomes more pronounced as news reporting gets driven more

and more by the free market where people are exposed to television news, radio broadcasting,

newspaper articles and the new digital media; therefore leading to a decline in the traditional

professional ways of journalism and giving rise to active participation of the citizens in news making

This implies that as digital media comes into play on the side of journalists as well as reporters and

editors, there isa correlation with expanding freedoms through social media for citizens journalism

while new avenues for news reporting change face, and the area of media scope grows big. The

reason for this is that citizens everywhere have become acquainted with media production which

goes hand in hand with low costs because of access of new forms of technology; and yet profit

making; calling for the question of ethics here. All these ways of citizen participation lead to

collective contributions (citizen democracy). At the same time, Citizen Journalism challenges

conventional journalism and makes it too slow to satisfy citizens’ needs; yet citizen journalism does.

Citizen journalism provides news to citizens which undermines journalists’ role to provide news,

which has led to loss of meaning for professional journalism (Lewis, 2010).

Journalism with ethics and of ethics contributes a lot to a just and fair society that leads to peace and

stability especially. “A responsible ethic is needed in a world where news media will bring together a

plurality of different religions, traditions and ethnic groups and cultures” (Indeje, 2012, n.p.). The

question is; which role will journalism ethics play in the new media and the globalised world? Only

the future can tell.

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(i). International:

At the international level, advent of new media in the era of globalization, is a great contributing

factor for the changes in journalism reporting of current events and a distortion of old original ways

of reporting. This has caused journalists around the world a kind of fast and instant reporting which

is characterized by unethical reporting. Ochieng (2007) explains that journalists for example who

cover conflicts, sometimes lack objectivity and do not give the truth about what has happened since

they are never at the scene of the conflict. For example, the genocide in Rwanda saw a continuous

hunting for journalists because the media had contributed to the incitement of the genocide.

Because of this, many journalists were afraid to be present at the scene of the genocide and others

hid for their lives. Journalists outside other countries would report the conflict from outside Rwanda

and this would not give the exact kind of happenings in Rwanda. This has caused new thinking in

journalism through enhancing global journalism ethics to guide the conduct of journalists

throughout the world. Global journalism ethics argues for a new system of ethics in journalism that

will take into account its global reach and impact. It aims at reshapingthe aims and principles of

journalism such as; reporting the truth, avoiding bias, distinguishing news from opinion, serving the

public and others. Global journalism ethics also provides for a system of knowledge for news

reporting amidst technological advancement where stories and ethics; do not match; and a way that

leads to peace building efforts (Ward, 2012).While there exists a global journalistic ethics, there on

the other hand is an existing global movement of scholars who write on the subject, journals, and

books on global journalistic ethics that contribute to peace building efforts. They include scholars

like Cooper, Christians, Plude, White & Thomas (1989); Black & Barney (2002); Ward and

Wasserman (2008) and others.

Meetings and seminars that support the ethics of journalism have been organized in all parts of the

world since 1978 under the auspices of UNESCO. In these meetings, they discuss international

declarations of new media principles such as development of an international approach to the study

of media communication and journalism (Ethic Net, 1983). Many initiatives have been advanced in

the area of media communication and journalism but the most outstanding ones have involved the

need to restructure media system. There was a consensus on the need to establish a set of principles

which would guide proper dissemination of information throughout the world and the first attempt

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was in 2003 when the United Nations held two meetings at the movement of the “World Summit

on the Information Society”. It was held in Geneva and 175 countries participated in coming up

with a plan of action and having new principles. In order to see this work, another summit in

Tunisia, 2005 called for implementation of the 2003 Geneva principles. The biggest concern to be

discussed during this summit was the issue of “growth of new online media and the “digital divide”

that exists between the Global North and South” (Ward, 2012, n.p.). These attempts have had their

own criticisms as they range from scope, norms, and ethics that include economics, politics and

technology (Ward, 2012).These help journalists from anywhere in the world to work within the

framework of these new principle and adhere to this command from UNESCO; which becomes

part and parcel of the democratization process of information and communication both at the

national and international basis, for the purpose of bringing about a peaceful coexistence among

nations and respect of their cultures. It is here that the journalists’ duty or role becomes a priority to

promoting a democratized society within the information age by safeguarding peace and promoting

this peace. This is the picture of what new media in the global world should do as values are

compared to suit the aim of peace building (Ward, 2008).

(ii). Regional:

Media in East Africa has been bent to private growth with the increase in radio and television

stations in the past 15 years since liberalization of the sector began. This has led to dominance of

private control as a whole and led to high consumers’ choice even amidst complaints in the content

of the news. Butegwa (2006) thinks that the lesson for this is that growth in private media should be

followed by an increased investment by those in control, towards journalism trainings, and emphasis

on journalism ethics. Another lesson she thinks is that the more resources like human resources are

invested into the media, the higher the quality of journalism while low and poor resources,contribute

to poor journalism and a low output leading to poor quality. It is important that journalists have the

necessary training through which to build knowledge and experience of the facts about journalism

and what it means to be a journalist in order to respond to issues like an increased number of citizen

participation in new making because of poor quality in journalism. Therefore, good investment into

journalism will always lead to good quality of journalism and a higher citizen demand for the news

(Mshindi, n.d, as cited in Butegwa, 2006).

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(iii). Country:

Butegwa (2006) contends that Media in Uganda has grown tremendously with the commercialization

of radio stations and; a monopoly of one company sponsoring the news broadcast on a national

station for many days, thus compromising the product. The result of this monopoly is seen in how

private ownership becomes a basis for unfair distribution of information to the public through

biased information, and the aspect of commercialization of news. These have resulted into

importing of media like music on FM stations into the country and the other result is dominance of

religious programmes. For example, Uganda has had a number of newspapers, magazines, radios

and others that have been opened by individuals, the government or even some big enterprises.

When the missionaries came to Uganda, they owned magazines, newsletters and Notes; they were

published by the church Missionary Society in 1900 and became providers of information that time:

CMS also published the Luganda monthly religious newsletter Ebifa mu Buganda beginning in

1907, and in 1934 renamed the publication Ebifa mu Uganda. This Publication was redesigned

into a bi-monthly journal in 1956, and again in the late 1950s into an English-language

church newspaper under the title New Day. Similarly, in 1911, the Roman Catholic Munno

was published as a monthly religious newsletter. While primarily a religious publication, in

themid-1950s, Munno began to take interest in and comment on current political

developments. Munno remained in circulation until 1976 when Idi Amin banned its

publication (Ssewanyana, 2007, p.9).

The Kingdom of Buganda was very influential in ownership of the Uganda herald published in 1912,

yet even other kingdoms later produced their own radio stations that broadcasted in both their local

languages and English. Majority people got so much interested in the Uganda Herald newspaper

which also the western community read so much. The more it got famous, the more it was censored

and restricted it has started talking about the political aspects of the society. Some of these

publications were done in local languages and others in English. Before independence in 1962, there

were a lot of restrictions put on media. At the regime of Museveni, people were given more freedom

to express themselves but at the same time restrictions acted as a guideline for the conduct of the

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people on radio stations, televisions and in newspapers. And because there has been ownership of

media into private hands, there has not been any serious demarcation and expectations on what

private owners ought to do and what not to do. Media in Uganda has been as portrayed as

redundant and only providing for music and religion. However today, freedom of expression is

enshrined in the 1995 Constitution but it is subject to statutory and regulatory restrictions as well as

regular government sanction attacks and interference. These sanctions have come in form of

Electronic Media Act (36), passed in 1996, In 1997 Uganda Communications Act (37) by the

parliament, in 2005, Media Centre by the government of Uganda, in 2006, under Museveni

established the new Ministry of Information and National Guidance.

The government of Uganda under Museveni has a broad regulatory framework for this freedom of

expression. For example, The Press and Journalist Act of 1995(35) established the Media Council as

well as the National Institute of Journalists of Uganda (NIJU), and it’s the responsibility of the

Media Council to regulate the conduct of journalists and their standards. The other role that the

media council pays is to check any differences between the government, the public and the media in

terms of information irregularities and also to censor all information that is to go to the public. In

the same way, the National Institute of Journalists of Uganda, launched in 1997, was established to

maintain the professional standards for journalists. One of the standards that are expected is that

journalists have to obtain a university degree and this has been met even though with criticisms

(Sewanyana, 2007).The other concern is that, people have resorted to a buyers’ market for news

where journalists earn less than 1 dollar for a news story. This has created meaningless and unethical

survival ways on the side of the journalists that neither satisfies the journalists nor the public;

bringing the whole journalism profession to stake and a result of poor product of the news

(Butegwa, 2006, pp. 12-14.)

Efforts have been done in addressing the problem. For example OHCHR with the Uganda Human

Rights Commission discussed about this issue of journalism losing quality and poor content of news;

where they addressed ways on how to rectify it and produced a DVD on this problem. In a

statement released to celebrate World Press Freedom Day, the Office encouraged the Government

and Parliament of Uganda “to take all necessary steps to protect the right to information, “critical

for building a professional, free and independent media” (UNHR, 2010, n.p.)

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(iv). Local:

Uganda Martyrs University in particular the Department of Good Governance and Peace Studies; is

envisioned as teaching and promoting ethics in every aspect. This explains why every course taken in

the university has an element of ethics; and this applies to students who graduate in the university

and go to live in communities and in society in general. As a consequence, this Master’s Degree

course, titled “Journalism Ethics and Peace Building”, will be introduced at Uganda Martyrs

University in the department, in order to engage students in explaining, exploring, describing and

analyzing the role of journalism ethics and be able to apply ethical and responsible reporting that

helps in lasting peace.

(b).Course description:

This course seeks to deepen understanding on the role that journalism ethics plays in peace building

and conflicts. Questions addressed in this course include how can journalists contribute to peace

building initiatives? How can the two studies on media and peace building work together to bring

about peace? Through methods like presentations, visiting a school of journalism, and writing a

project, on development journalism, students will be able to identify answers to the topic of

journalism ethics and its role in peace building (peace journalism); they will be able to explore issues

and apply these issue and ideas into their own local journalism settings. The course is aimed at

exploring those initiatives within peace journalism and some non-traditional initiatives of journalism

that have not been given enough exploration. Initiatives such as International Media Support

Conflict Sensitive Journalism and non-traditional journalism initiatives like citizen journalism have

the potential to contribute to peace building. Issues such as ethical concerns in journalism, framing

in media, are essential for peace building while practicing journalism. The design of the course aims

to target local journalism within developing countries and promoting development journalism which

addresses reporting about grassroots problems that cause conflicts in a society; and using a kind of

conflict sensitive approach to peace building. The course may be of particular interest to students of

sustainable peace and conflict management and students of Development Studies and Ethics.

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(c). Main Goal:

The main goal of this course is to find out how journalism ethics can contribute to peace building

and also how the lack of ethics sustains conflicts in societies, therefore, a need to find the link

between journalism ethics and peace building. Secondly, the other goal would be to find ways of

addressing journalism challenges within the media system that impede peace building.

(i). Significance:

Through transformative teaching methods, significance will be seen in enhancing knowledge and

awareness in the field within the global, regional and national contexts of students’ respective

countries. This course will also be significant for human resource development in the field of

journalism and also a firm foundation for the students in other related fields, as well. Students will

be in a position to have space for critical engagement and discuss the roots, purposes, aims and

applicability of different existing journalism ethics models and their relevance to peace building.

(ii). Relevance:

This course is relevant for students’ preparation for their own personal conduct that can apply to

their professions and the dilemmas that accompany their professions. Reason for this is because

ethics is sometimes overlooked and not given attention.

(d). General Objectives:

Students will show an understanding of the principles and ethics of accepted journalistic

practice, and how the ethics helps in the practice of peace journalism. This will be

demonstrated through the presentation they will do in class and the final project.

To analyze and engage in discussions of journalism role in conflict and peace building

process.

An analysis of the critic of peace journalism and what different scholars say about this.

Students will think of the different initiatives within peace journalism

The role that the development media theory plays in peace building will also be tackled. This

will lead to looking at this theory within local journalism especially in developing countries.

Students at the climax of the course will engage in writing projects on peace journalism

material. These will teach them how to write and differentiate between peace journalism

writings from the traditional journalistic writing.

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(e). Intended Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the whole course

Students will have an understanding of the principles and ethics of accepted journalistic

practice,

How ethics helps in the practice of peace journalism.

They will have a picture on the journalism role in conflict and peace building process.

Students will have the knowledge to establish the link between peace journalism and peace

building.

They will begin to apply the knowledge acquired in class into their own local journalism

setting.

They will be able to present their written projects from this course

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(f).Contents:

Session Topic Required/Recommended Readings

Session

1

INTRODUCTION OF THE

COURSE JOURNALISM ETHICS

AND PEACE BUILDING.

Definition of the terms Journalism Ethics and Peace Building

Introduction to Mass Communication Theories and Critique

Watching the documentary ‘Little Alien’ for the purpose of engaging students in the discussion on ethical and unethical journalism

Required:

Ward, S. (2008). Global Journalism Ethics : Widening the Conceptual Base, 1(1) 139-141.Retrieved on July 5, 2012 from http://www.gmj.uottawa.ca/0801/inaugural_ward.pdf

Gunaratne, S (1996). Social Responsibility Theory Revisited: A Comparative Study of Public Journalism and Developmental Journalism. Minnesota: Moorhead State University.

Recommended

Biersteker, T. (2007). Prospects for the UN Peace building Commission. Human Rights, retrieved on July 5, 2012 from http://unidir.org/pdf/articles/pdf-art2630.pdf

Kusturica, N. (2009). Little Alien Film. Journeyman Pictures. Vienna. Retrieved July 15 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNSvTboiI2w&feature=related

Session 2 JOURNALISM AND COVERAGE

OF CONFLICT

War Journalism Theory (Reporting News)

Mainstream Media and Coverage of Conflicts

Western Media Coverage of Conflict of South (Framing)

Required

Hawkins, V. (2011). Media Selectivity and The Other Side of the CNN Effect: The Consequences of Not Paying Attention to Conflict. Media, War and Conflict, 4(1), 55-68. Retrieved on June 26, 2012 from http://mwc.sagepub.com/content/4/1/55.abstract

Ituma, M. (2010). Media Framing of Conflict and Militarization of Aid in Africa: The Case of Somalia. Retrieved on June 29, 2012 from http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/profiles/blogs/media-framing-of-conflict-and

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Michira, J. (2002). The Images of Africa in Western Media. Retrieved June 29, 2012 from. http://www.teachingliterature.org/teachingliterature/pdf/multi/images_of_africa_michira.pdf

Recommended:

Bratic, V. & schirch, L. (2007). Why and When to Use the Media for Conflict Prevention and Peace building. Prevention. European Centre for Conflict Prevention pp. 5-20. Retrieved on June 30, 2012 from http://www.sfcg.org/articles/media_for_conflict_prevention.pdf

Session 3 THE ROLE OF JOURNALISM IN

PEACE AND CONFLICTS

Relevance of Wolfsfeld theory

The Influence of Media in Peace and Conflicts

Peace Journalism Model

Required

Wolfsfeld, G. (2007). The Role of the News

Media in Conflict and Peace : Towards a More General Theory. Department of Political Science Department of Communication. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Aho, M. (2004). Media’s Role in Peace building; George a Thesis Presented in Partial Completion of the Requirements of The Certificate-of-Training in United Nations Peace Support operations, Mason University, Pp. 27-42. Retrieved on June 30, from http://media.peaceopstraining.org/theses/aho.pdf

Peleg, S. (2006). Peace Journalism Through the Lense of Conflict Theory: Analysis and Practice, 5(2), pp.1-17. Retrieved on June 30, from http://cco.regeneronline.de/2006_2/pdf/peleg.pdf

Recommended:

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Peleg, S. (2007). Samuel Peleg In defense of peace journalism: A rejoinder. Writing,6(2), 1-9. Retrieved July 1, 2012 from http://www.cco.regener-online.de/2007_2/pdf/peleg.pdf

Session 4 IS PEACE JOURNALISM A

SOLUTION FOR PEACE

BUILDING?

Overview of Peace Journalism

Peace Journalism and Peace Building

Is Peace Building a solution for Peace building? (Criticism)

Required:

Lynch, J. (2007). Peace Journalism and its Discontents, 6(2), 1-13. Retrieved on July 1, 2012 from http://www.cco.regener-online.de/2007_2/pdf/lynch.pdf

Odero, M. (2010). What is Peace Journalism; World Association of Christian Communicators Seminar, Dar-es-Salam. Retrieved on July 2, 2012 from http://africa.waccglobal.org/what%20is%20peace%20journalism_.pdf

Recommended

Sagaral, L (2007)Engendering Peace Journalism (1).A Presentation at the 3rd “Women Making Air Waves of Peace”. NDFCAI-WED Training Center. Cotabato City

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Session 5 PRESENTATIONS ON THE

INITIATIVES WITHIN PEACE

JOURNALISM

Required.

Nathalie, H. (2011). Political Posturing and the Need for Peace Journalism in South Africa: The case of Julius Malema. 41-55. Retrieved July 2, 2012 from http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/5/0/0/5/5/p500553_index.html?phpsessid=c03670d95504b581b726a7e112fdb1a1

Arsenault, A., Powers, S., Putzel, J., Zwan, J. V. D., & States, C. (2011). IMS | Conflict Sensitive Journalism: Moving Towards a Holistic Framework 1. Communications, (January), 1-9.

Recommended:

Youngblood, S. (2010). Peace/Conflict Sensitive Journalism Insights. Retrieved July 3, 2012 from http://stevenyoungblood.blogspot.com/2012/06/military-journalists-set-aside.html

Lee, S. (2010). Peace Journalism: Principles and Structural Limitations in the News Coverage of Three Conflicts. Journal of Mass Communication and Society, Issue (13) 4. Pp.361-384.

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Session 6 MEASURES FOR JOURNALISTS’

PROFESSIONAL GROWTH

What is media training of journalists?

The underlying ideological assumptions about journalists’ training

Journalist Training as Western Oriented. What is the future for Journalism especially for local Journalism?

Required:

Murphy, S. &Scotton, J. (1987). Dependency and Journalism Education in Africa Are There Alternative Models. Africa Media Review, 1(3), African Council on Communication Education. pp.11-35. Retrieved July 3, 2012 from http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/African%20Journals/pdfs/africa%20media%20review/vol1no3/jamr001003003.pdf

Banda, F. (2008). The Interpretation of Conflict: Can Journalists Go Further? The case of Linking The teaching and Training of Journalists to Constructing a Peace-building Role in the World. Retrieved on July 4, 2012 from http://www.rjr.ru.ac.za/rjrpdf/rjr_no28/interpretation_of_conflict.pdf

Becker, L. & Lowrey, W. (2000). Independent

Journalism Training Initiatives : Their Impact on Journalists and Journalism Education, James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research College of Journalism and Mass Communication University of Georgia. Pp.2-28. Retrieve on July 3, 2012, from http://www.grady.uga.edu/coxcenter/Activities/Act_2000_to_2001/Materials00-01/iamcr2001.pdf

Session 7 NEW MEDIA AND PEACE

BUILDING

Impact of New Media

Required

Nishikura, M. (2008).Thesis Summary: How New Media Contributes to Peacebuilding. New Media Technology: The Next Platform in Peace building. Retrieved July 5, 2012 from

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on Peace Building

How New Media Challenges the Definition of a Journalist

How do Non-Traditional Journalistic Activities like Citizen Journalism contribute to Peace Building?

http://luvmegumi.blogspot.com/2008/05/thesis-summary-how-new-media.html

Hermida, A. (2010). Rethinking the Role of the Journalist in the Participatory Age. University of British Columbia. Retrieved July 6, 2012 from http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/07/rethinking-the-role-of-the-journalist-in-the-participatory-age190.html

Recommended:

Eli, (2007). Things You Should Know About Citizen Journalism. Scenario. Educause Learning initiative. Retrieved July 2 2012 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7031.pdf

Glaser, M. (2006). Your Guide to Citizen Journalism. Media Shift. Retrieved July 2 2012 from http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2006/09/your-guide-to-citizen-journalism270.html

Session 8 GUEST SPEAKER FOR A DAY No required readings, besides those of the course that the students should use, quote.

Session 9 VISIT TO A SCHOOL OF

JOURNALISM FOR 2 DAYS

No required readings, besides those of the course that the students should use, quote

Session

10

WRITING A PROJECT ON

DEVELOPMENT JOURNALISM

No required readings, besides those of the course that the students should use, quote

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(g). Methodology:

The course will employ a transformative pedagogical approach. This is student-engagement into

their learning process. Methods that will boost students’ involvement will include; group

presentations because such groups help students to understand themselves better; their strength and

weaknesses and to support each other, student facilitation will enable empowerment and

communication skills, research on the different topics, student-led discussions, teacher-led

discussions, and plenary discussions.

(i). Strategies:

The above mentioned methods will help throughout this course. The facilitator will journey with the

students throughout the course with the aim of interaction, empowerment and enabling an

atmosphere of appropriate learning. The following methods will be used.

Group discussions and presentations: students will be given a chance to make their own groups

or the facilitator may choose to do it. Questions or topics or scenarios or articles etcetera will be

given to be discussed to the whole class according to the teacher’s arrangement. A mixture of both

sexes will enable balance and sharing. The group sizes will depend on the number of students taking

the course. Each group will decide on which way to do their presentation (creativity); following the

facilitator’s instructions. The facilitator will see to it that students do their best.

Power point presentations: power point presentations may help the facilitator in lecturing, or

reference additions to compliment the lecture. Slides will be provided to the students for further

comprehension of what was taught. This helps them to follow up the lecture.

Student-led discussions: These will be discussions facilitated by a student or group of students.

These arise from the insights from class or outside class or within their groups.

Research: Research is emphasized as part of students learning in Uganda Martyrs University. This is

because students are encouraged to practice it even in their class work. This is done also through

giving a certain percentage of work to students and the other percentage be researched by students.

This widens their knowledge arenas. Students will be provided a question or topic on which to

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research, and they will have to present to the class their findings; they will facilitate plenary

discussions on the same topics.

Teacher-led discussions: The teacher will engage students in a discussion on certain issues about

the course. This will help get the students’ knowledge level on these issues. Movies may be

presented, case studies employed or something else that can involve the students’ discussion vividly.

Question and answer sessions: The students and the facilitator will ask and answer questions

related to the day’s topic of discussion.

Debriefing: Students will give a recap of the course from the previous session. This helps students

at the end of the day to follow up the course outline.

(ii). Resources:

The resources that will be used during the course will include: handouts, articles related to the

course, movies, books and chapters from books, films/clips, recommended websites, media and

memory publications, reports in line with this course topic, articles from journals and internet.

(h). Evaluation:

Participation in making an outline for the course: At the beginning of the course, the facilitator

will seek the students’ views on what ought to be in the outline even if the facilitator already has one.

This will be answered anonymously. Answers contributed will be used in the new course outline

content that the facilitator will have ignored or forgotten; to direct the kind of pedagogical approach

that may suite the students’ concerns.

Take away: The students will be asked on a daily basis, at the end of each day, to say what they will

take from of the day’s class. The facilitator will be able to have an overview of what students

understood and what they did not understand clearly through omitted aspects in the “take away.”

An alternative to this will be to know from the students what they liked or what they want changed

in the course.

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Discussion: The other method of evaluation that the facilitator will use, will be based on the active

involvement of the students in contributing to the richness (content-wise) of discussions by the

students, and how easily students are able to talk about a specific topic. This will depend on the

facilitator’s creativity in making students take an active role in class.

Question and answer sessions: students and facilitator will engage in question and answer

sessions. The readings and class lectures will make clear to the teacher how well and how much

students have understood.

Evaluation triangle: This is a triangle where the top part means that someone clearly understood

the content, and the base means that someone has actually not understood anything from the course

content. Students will be asked to indicate where they feel they fit regarding understanding of the

course content. This triangle also evaluates the teacher’s ability to deliver or finding ways to help

those who are at the base so that they get to the top.

Debriefing: the students will give a brief report of the previous class. This will be used to tell what

the students understood.

Short notes or summary: students may at times be asked to write short notes or summarize about

their understanding from a session (200-300 words). These short notes will be used by the teacher to

tell how students conceive about the topics.

The evaluation serves to inform the facilitator about the students’ performance, students’ strength

and a prioritized need for developing the strength of a student. The final evaluation is an assessment

of candidate performance on skill areas.

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(i). Bibliography

.eeble, R. (2001). Ethics For Journalists. London New York: Routledge.

Lynch, J. & Galtung, J. (2010). Reporting Conflict: the Low Road and High Road. In Reporting Conflict: New Directions in Peace Journalism. University of Queensland Press.

Lynch, J. & McGoldrick, A. (2010). A Global Standard for Reporting Conflict and Peace. In R.L. Keeble, J. Tulloch & F. Zollmann (Eds.), Peace Journalism, War and Conflict Resolution. New York: Peter Lang.

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CHAPTER TWO (ADMINISTRATIVE)

a). Specific Course Title: Journalism Ethics and Peace Building

(b). Course Code: Will be assigned by the university (Uganda Martyrs University) in particular by

the Department of Good Governance and Peace Studies.

(c). Prerequisites: Accredited Master’s Degree and Under-Graduate level.

(d). Course Strength: The Course will run throughout the semester with a three-hour session each

week.

(e). Credits:3 credits

(f). Course meeting times and place: The venue for sessions will be one of the lecture rooms and

that will be decided by the management of the university and the department much later.

(g). Intended Participants: It will apply to media practitioners, journalists, and those who work in

media organizations.

(h). Where the course fits within the general programmed of studies (at the Department and

Programmed levels):

The course is designed for students mastering in Sustainable Peace and Conflict Management, in the

Department of Good Governance and Peace Studies, Uganda Martyrs University. There is also hope

of opening a Department of mass Communication and Journalism studies.

(i). Assessment of student performance

Students will be assessed on levels of:

1. Criteria: Group discussions and presentations, engagement in discussions, demonstrated critical

analysis of the concepts on the different topics, ability and willingness to facilitate group discussion

and presentation, simulation, written essays.

2. Tools: Group works and presentation, reflection papers, personal essays of 1500 words that will

be given accordingly, journal keeping and a final project.

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The assessment format is as below:

Class attendance and participation 10%

Individual/group presentation 10%

School Visit Report 20%

Total 40%

Final project 60%

Grand total 100%

(j). Instructor’s biography: The course will be facilitated by Miss Francesca Namatovu. She holds

a Bachelor’s degree in Ethics and Development Studies from Uganda Martyrs University, Uganda.

She has a Masters in Media, Peace and Conflict studies from the University for Peace, a United

Nation’s mandated University, Costa Rica.

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CHAPTER THREE (TEACHER’S MANUAL)

Session one: INTRODUCTION OF THE COURSE JOURNALISM ETHICS AND PEACE BUILDING

1.1. Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to understand the ethical issues within the documentary and relate to

journalism

Students will identify the challenges with journalism today

Students will be able to apply the relevance of this topic to local journalism in Uganda

The course will entail opening the students’ thinking on the introduction of the normative

theories of mass communication that can apply to journalism roles and to peace building.

1.2. Content:

Watching the Documentary-“Little Alien”

The documentary “Little Alien” was produced in 2009 by Kusturica. It explains how “teenagers fled

crisis regions and undertook an extremely dangerous journey to Europe, all alone, hoping for one

thing: to live. After arriving here, they fight to live normal lives, struggling against a system that

demands, they then sacrifice their youth to an uncertain future” (Kusturica, 2009. n.p.). The purpose

of this documentary for the class is to help students learn how to relate what happened in movie

within journalism situation today. In this way, students will be able to explain the ethical dilemmas

within the movie and also find those dilemmas within journalism and then apply that to their

situations. They will at the end of this course, able to deal with dilemmas, to suggest what can really

apply in journalism and what is not possible and create a ground for effective journalism to

contribute to peace building.

Definition of the terms Journalism Ethics and Peace Building

Ethics refers to the rightful conduct which is accompanied with ownership of responsibility and

how this responsibility leads to the best interactions within the environment in which one exists and

works and within the available values and principles. Ethics is reasonableness and a use of a practical

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judgment about decisions and choices (Ward, 2008). Furthermore, ward believes that there is

difference between Ethics and morals whereby “ethics” from the etymological point of view comes

from the Greek word “ethos” which means “character” and this relates to a level of people who

have good virtues and rightful conduct. Whereas “Morality” comes from “mores” which; implies

customs and values of a specific group or society (Ward, 2008).

Journalism in terms of ethics is described as a type of applied ethics which analyses the act of

journalism, its principles and values to a given situation and their given conditions. It is about tracing

the must do’s for journalists in relation to what news organizations must do in a given society. Some

of the concerns/ problems that ought to be focused on; on the side of journalists include: the limits

of free speech, accuracy and bias, fairness and privacy, the use of graphic images, conflicts of

interest, the representation of minorities, and the role of journalism (Ward, 2008). For journalism,

the code of ethics is seen as “a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues” founded and

presented in truth for “public enlightenment” and serve as a “forerunner of justice” (Edmond, 2005,

p.1). This implies that Journalists have a duty to serve the general public regardless of the political

and economic influences.

The other point to note is the fact professional standards of the journalist prescribe due respect for

the national community, its democratic institutions and public morals which calls for a journalist’s

role in fostering the rights and freedoms for the people and their democratic societies. This can only

best be described in circumstances where there is freedom of expression for journalists and the

people. For societies that practice censorship for journalists, democracy may not be practiced and

this means that journalists will not take into consideration the meaning of democracy. To this end,

there are differences in the code of ethics for journalists in different countries. For example, North?

America has different code of ethics for journalists from the Ugandan code of ethics for journalists

depending on who defines journalism ethics and a difference in the media systems (Edmond, 2005).

Besides those differences in having specific codes of conduct for different countries, there is also a

universal code of conduct for journalists throughout the world that must be followed by journalists

and this acts as an ethical guideline that can be used in meaningful reporting that includes the role

for democratic preferences and a desired democratic space that eliminates all threats of harm and

misconduct which can then lead to processes of peace building. They range from journalists acting

independently, being accountable, seeking truth and minimizing harm as below. As attached the

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Journalists’ code of conduct (Society of Professional Journalists, 2012).See Appendix 1 at the end of

the sessions.

Defining Peace Building

Former UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali; defines peace building in this context as an “action to

identify and support structures which will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid a

relapse into conflict” Boutros still believes that peace building is defined differently according to

different agencies and argues that when peace building is defined differently, there is a lack of

consensus on peace building effort for many countries. Peace building is built on the assumption

that democracy and the market provide for the people a conducive environment for peace and this

is the liberal meaning of peace building (Biersteker, 2007, p.39.). At this point, journalists become

supporters and active participants in the protection of human rights because it becomes a role

towards their ethical and moral standards in reporting and addressing important topics that

everybody becomes involved. This brings me to the thought that since peace building stands on

grounds of democratic societies, journalism ethics still has a role to play since it also exhibits levels

of democracy and responsibility towards uplifting the rights and freedoms of the people; thus,

making the relationship between journalism ethics and peace building. It is logical enough an

assertion: a reliable, independent and diverse media would inevitably enable democratically-inclined

societies to better resolve conflicts without violence.

Yet the Security Council, (2001) defined peace building in a more technical way as:

The Security Council recognizes that peace building is aimed at preventing the outbreak, the

recurrence or the continuation of armed conflict and therefore encompasses a wide range of

political, developmental, humanitarian and human rights’ programmes and mechanisms. This

requires short and long term actions tailored to address the particular needs of societies

sliding into conflict or emerging from it. These actions should focus on fostering sustainable

institutions and processes in areas such as sustainable development, the eradication of

poverty and inequalities, transparent and accountable governance, promotion of democracy,

respect for human rights and the rule of law and the promotion of a culture of peace and

non-violence. The Security Council further affirms that a comprehensive and integrated

strategy in peace building must involve all the relevant actors in this field, taking into account

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the unique circumstances of each conflict situation. The Council emphasizes that a well-

planned and coordinated peace building strategy can play a significant role in conflict

prevention. In this connection, the Council underlines that international efforts in peace

building must complement and not supplant the essential role of the country concerned(UN

Security Council, 2001, n.p.).

According to the Security Council, (2001), media and journalism is one of the actors in the field of

peace building that plays a vital role especially through the practice of democracy and the rights of

the citizens. This is where conflict sensitive journalism applies as it calls for journalists’ ethical action

in reporting on areas of urgent issues and raises the voice on certain issues that affect the society and

in this way building peace.

Introduction to Mass Communication Theories and Critique

Normative Theories of Mass communication (Social Responsibility Theory)

Normative theories of mass communication include authoritarian, libertarian, social responsibility,

soviet communist and development theory but my focus will be on the social responsibility theory

and development theories. In this context, social responsibility theories explain the social role that a

journalist should have towards the government and the society at large. To me they are the essence

of what the journalist ought to do. The development theories explain the relation that the media and

the media should have to lead to the development of a country and eventually peace. These

normative theories describe the ideal roles and functions of journalism. The assumptions of social

responsibility theory are:

Media should have absolute freedom even from government interruption.

Media should be free to distinguish between truth and falsehood; good and evil

Press should serve as a “watchdog” on the government thereby serving as the fourth

branch/fourth estate of the governmental structure

Media should adhere to strict ethical standards

Respect for the dignity, privacy, rights and well-being of the public encountered when

gathering and disseminating information(Gunaratne, 1996, n.p.).

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Criticisms of the Theory

The theory of social responsibility addresses that media has the absolute freedom from government

intervention and interference. Unfortunately there cannot be absolute freedom otherwise; the given

freedom may be misused. But at the same time, if the media takes over the control and may never be

interfered, then there is prone to be irresponsible action that can cause chaos and conflicts. It is also

not true that the government can fail to intervene even when the media uses hate speech to incite

violence or conflict like a case of Rwanda where the media played a terrifying role in the genocide.

This brings about inadequacy in the theory as well as in practice. The above assumptions are only

true in countries that are developed in the information age. Countries in developing countries still

experience a slow shift in the media sector while others are far advanced such that they are not able

to have freedom to that extent. Countries like the USA have its people’s advocate for freedom in

whatever form and they can easily sue one who limits their freedom to express themselves. For

example, The Arab world is running with the pace of the new media and so the media may be able

to control even the government even when people still struggle to get to the media freedom

platform. Whereas journalists in the developing countries are still prevented by the old ways of

reporting and media which does not help them to function as expected but instead keeps them even

more fearful to do their work of journalism because they fear to report about a certain issue. This

then becomes a limitation to expressing themselves and being truthful which limits the peace

process.

Global journalism ethics emphasizes the fact that there is a consensus that journalists ought to be

objective and truthful while reporting as central values for good journalism. It’s also true that to

some, objectivity is relative according to individuals and the one practicing journalism.

The theory puts a lot of responsibility on media as it gives absolute powers to the media even

without government intervention. The media on its own cannot accomplish much. It needs the help

of other bodies to make media function well. For example, media needs the government for its

political powers for censorship and regulations, media needs the non-government organizations for

democracy and human rights promotion, the media needs the military for protection during wars

and difficult areas, it needs the people and this explains why the journalists themselves come from

the society of the people and an explanation for citizen journalists. Having absolute responsibilities

is unrealistic as it leaves loopholes for media and its functions. For example, the media in Uganda

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may not be effective in its roles because it is not a strong body to get those absolute powers. What

we ought to know is that media is not just seen as an enterprise like others in the

business sector of any society, but due to its unique nature, society expects a particular role which

media must play in getting rid of social evils, educating people, criticizing government policies and

exposing other wrong doings in a society.

Relevance of this theory to Local Journalism

This theory has been used in cases of application of freedom of expression in most African settings

where the media has become a platform for people to express themselves although at the advent of

the new media, this theory has had both positive and negative connotations in terms of its appraisal

and criticism. According to my understanding, there exist different African media systems in Africa

that explain a different system for a particular country. Although these systems are different, there

exists a kind of struggle to reach the level of other countries especially in terms of freedom of

expression and democracy. There has been a tremendous change in the last decade in the media

system in Africa as some governments have stopped monopolizing the media except for some

countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo-Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville, Somalia. This has given

media the mandate to improve and grow in terms of information communication and educating the

people which has been done through empowerment of the people through speaking about issues

that affect their societies and encouraging societies that express their rights to expression. In this

case, the radio and television play a powerful role to educate the people. Amidst all these changes,

there still exist challenges like resource scarcity in line of human resource, finance and others. This

has been so in different countries with their differences in media systems (Lucian, n.d.).

For example, Ghana’s media system empowers media as actors and facilitators because it is a

democratic country that allows for promotion of the rights of the people including those in the

media. This is arranged from the top to the bottom from president to the opposition party since

1992, with an independent judiciary with constitutional bodies which include among others the

National media Commission. Worth noting is that the media in Ghana has been in relation with the

politics of the country. In Nigeria on the other side of the coin, there is a struggle for freedom of

expression and also a fight against any censorship options form the government (Lucian, n.d.).

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However, journalists in some countries are so much warned and threatened which limits their role

for democracy and peace building initiatives. A country like Rwanda now does not have a strong

group of journalists since the genocide happenings in Rwanda. Charles Kabonero, a journalist and

Editor of the independent weekly Umuseso newspaper ran from Rwanda into Uganda because his

life was being threatened, for his independent reporting which cannot work within Rwanda’s media

system (Brown, 2009). Some run into exile to other countries and most of them are still afraid to

truly practice their professional ethics and their roles. It is important that government work hand in

hand with the media in fostering media development which leads the nations into development

programs that lead to peace. This leads us to the theory of development in mass communication.

Development Media Theory

This theory was first coined in the 1960’s in the Philippines (Stevenson, 1994, as cited in Gunaratne,

1996). This theory explains that a political journalist’s role is to inform and present to the reader the

findings, interpret these findings and pose relevant conclusions for the audiences while a

development journalist has the role of making sure that these findings are passed on to the audience

and brings meaning to these finding while presenting these findings to the audience to see their

relevance to development and at the same time provokes the audience’s reaction for the findings.

Both the political journalist and the development journalist work hand in hand in bringing

development information to the audience but they differ in the way they do affect the audience. This

aspect of promoting findings entails a journalist showing the readers how important development is

to the whole society and nation and how readers can collaborate to work towards this problem. This

implies that the government and the media played a very significant role towards establishing the

development of a country (Chalkey, 1968, as cited in Gunaratne, 1996). The following differences

between a political journalist and a development journalist explain the importance that each kind of

journalist has to play in the development process. Their differences in the way they present the

findings to the audience; when worked hand in hand, can bring about development. Gayner (2007)

explains in his analysis how the two journalists are different in both developed and developing

countries. For him, political journalism is the same as mainstream journalism.

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Development Journalist Political Journalist

Setting the media agenda for the public

and managing those forces that set the

agenda for themselves as journalists

In the developed world, he has three roles:

adversarial towards established forms of power;

interpreting the world we live in; and

disseminating information (Weaver and

Wilhoit, 1991)

He is concerned with the imbalances in

the global news flow and the need for

Third World perspectives in world news

(Thussu, 1996; Nordenstreng, 1995)

Concerned with news. That’s it.

He or she must also investigate and report

on how that information was arrived at

He is limited to the timely, objective and

accurate reporting of information

Emphasis on “investigating the process

behind the story rather than merely

recording the news itself” (1996:8).

Does not place emphasis on investigating the

process behind the story. Merely records the

news itself

Development is not linearly linked to

news alone. Other media formats and

influences too like entertainment, or

incidences that happen within the society.

Development is news alone

From the above differences, what we ought to know is that a journalist whether political or

development journalist, works for commercial aims-to get money and earn a living and this becomes

a limitation and a roadblock to journalists in developing democratic societies especially in developing

countries. There are many things that may influence a journalist’s role for peace building. It may be

individual influence from the journalist him/herself, may be the routine work in which the journalist

works and he gets used to what he does especially when it does not pay him well and hence leads to

cases where the journalist has to look for an extra job or find ways of increasing his pay or when it

becomes boring because of the same things being done, the organizational structures may also limit

the free flow of a journalist’s ways of functioning and also, extra-media and ideologies-Hierarchy of

influences approach (Reese, 2001, as cited in Gayner, 2007).

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Development journalism was aimed at addressing the whole ordinary community, their needs, and

keeping the grassroots involved in constructive development (Aggarwal, 1978, as cited in Gunaratne,

1996). Aggarwal still asserts that development media theory is about making reporting relevant of

the development of national and local needs, its implementation and the effect it causes on the

people by government officials. Fair (1988, as cited in Gunaratne, 1996) accepts that the

development media theory is about helping in the peace building initiatives as he says “it is a kind of

news that is related to the primary, secondary and tertiary needs of the country’s population; news

that satisfies the needs of a country’s population and contributes to self-reliance; news that relates to

development or to the social, economic or political problems (Gunaratne, 1996, p.99).

Keita (2011) asserts that development journalism in Africa started way back in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

It was initially for the purpose of reporting development although its objective changed later to

favor of a type of government in power. Take for instance, cases where principles of being true,

being neutral, reporting what is on ground, all no longer apply in some government in Africa. This

means that development journalism here fails because the people within Africa like leaders of

governments influence the development negatively and so failing the system. South Africa at the

same time, believes in the media’s role to foster development and no other (Keita, 2011).I would say

that this theory can best describe how peace building can come about in a kind of development

cycle which involves the participation of the people, their grassroots and their initiatives and the

journalist being the one to bring meaning to these people through reporting what is on ground and

finding meaning of it. (Galtung &Vincent, 1992, pp. 151-165, as cited in Gunaratne, 1996, pp. 99-

101), have what they call a 10 proposal plan that can help journalists in reporting development issues

that can help this development media theory help flourish in peace. They include:

Whenever there is reference to development, make it concrete in terms of human beings

A development oriented mass media should focus not only on the economics but also on

the military, political and cultural aspects

Mere economic data will never do without accompanying dispersion data.

Focus on relations, not only differences, and do so not only within countries, but also

between countries.

A development oriented press would do well to focus on the totality of concrete life

situations

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A development oriented journalism would never forget the dimension of democracy

There is always the possibility of reporting about development, not critically in terms of

problems, but constructively in terms of positive programs.

Allow the “people” to talk

Go one step further and let the people to some extent run the media.

Let people run more of society, and then report on what happens (Gunaratne, 1996, pp.99-

101)

The above proposal is discussed by Johan Galtung the “father” of Peace Research (Gunaratne,

1996).Galtung and Vincent propose this plan as guide for today’s development journalism. Both

believe that the important task of a development journalist is to find out development issues that are

both in developing and developed countries, identify them, investigate them and make them clear

that they lead to development and them bring meaning to the audience by showing them what they

ought to do, leading to opening their minds and creativity and freedoms to participate in this

development. To this point, Galtung and Vincent consent that there is a relationship between

development, democracy and participation which need to be fully discovered and exploited so that

nobody else interferes with the development of a another country to impede its peace building(See

Galtung and Vincent, 1992, pp.151-166).

From the above, peace becomes important for development while development cannot do without

peace. They symbiotically relate with one another. When there are indicators of development, there

will be signs of sustainable peace. The UN report An Agenda for Peacein1992introduced the term

“peace building” and there has been a worldwide acknowledgement of this concept and its

significance and yet steps towards peace building have been taken. At the same time, some steps

taken have not seen for the desired peace. This has continuously prevented further peace. In 2001,

statement on peace building from the Security Council stated that “the quest for peace requires a

comprehensive, concerted and determined approach that addresses the root causes of conflicts,

including their economic and social dimensions. It recognizes that peacemaking, peacekeeping and

peace building are closely interrelated and that peace building is aimed at preventing the outbreak,

recurrence or continuation of armed conflict and therefore encompasses a wide range of political,

developmental, humanitarian and human rights programmes and mechanisms” (Norwegian Ministry

of Foreign Affairs, 2004, p.14). To this point, media and journalism are part of the approaches that

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can help to address peace building through establishment of all forms that lead to conflict and

chaos.

1.3. Learning outcomes

Students will have the understanding of the ethical issues within the documentary and relate

them to journalism

They will be acquainted on the challenges of journalism in the contemporary world today

and know on how to address this problem.

Through the normative theories, students will be able to find the relevance applicability to

their local situations of journalism towards peace building

1.4. Session Methodology:

Methodology/Strategy Activities Resources

Students will brainstorm on what

they understand by the course

topic.(15 minutes)

Participation from everybody.

More questions are expected

from the students about the

course

Books, pens, laptop for

lecturing

Watching documentary. (little

alien (Nina Kusturica, Austria

2009- 94 min)

Students will watch the

documentary, active listening,

jotting down of the ethical

issues they see.

Students will debrief on the

documentary after watching it.

They will do this by sharing

what they have seen,

highlights and insights.

Questions and discussions will

be characteristic of the session

YouTube, Projector, laptop,

documentary

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Presentations within groups of 7

students

Students will present on the

missing gap within journalism

(problem of journalism today)

and also share on how

mainstream media works out

the whole process of

journalism. They will also

present on the relevance of

journalism ethics to local

journalism within their

countries.

Groups, note books, pens and

manila charts.

Introductory lecturer on the

theories of mass communication

Lecturer will do the teaching.

Students will also participate

in the lecturing process

through their participation of

asking questions

Projector, laptop, questions

and answers

Take home Students will write each a 1

and a half paged paper on

how they would relate peace

building and development in

their own countries. They

should do this paper without

any reference to other

scholars. It should come from

what they know and have seen

about development and peace

building

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1.5. Session Evaluation:

This session’s evaluation shall mainly be based on a short questionnaire to students; which the

lecturer will use to find out students’ level of understanding. The questions will come from the area

that students have tackled. Take-away will be part of the evaluation. This is expected to be a highly

academic exercise. Questions and answers will also act as evaluation session.

1.6. Readings:

(i). Required:

Ward, S. (2008). Global Journalism Ethics : Widening the Conceptual Base, 1(1) 139-141.Retrieved

on July 5, 2012 from http://www.gmj.uottawa.ca/0801/inaugural_ward.pdf

Gunaratne, S (1996). Social Responsibility Theory Revisited: A Comparative Study of Public Journalism

and Developmental Journalism. Minnesota: Moorhead State University.

(ii). Recommended

Biersteker, T. (2007). Prospects for the UN Peace building Commission. Human Rights, retrieved on

July 5, 2012 from http://unidir.org/pdf/articles/pdf-art2630.pdf

Kusturica, N. (2009). Little Alien Film.Journeyman Pictures. Vienna. Retrieved July 15 2012

from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNSvTboiI2w&feature=related

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Session 2: JOURNALISM AND COVERAGE OF CONFLICT

2.1. Learning Objectives

Students will be able to define and analyze war journalism

Students will be able to analyze mainstream media and the coverage of the conflict and

provide the criticism to this media coverage of conflicts

Students should be able to understand how the western media portrays the south and be able

to compare with what is actually on the ground

2.2. Content

War Journalism Theory (Reporting News)

The media plays an important role in attracting attention of the public. The events on certain

conflict are fed to the general public by the media, sometimes; media reporting on conflict can

escalate the conflict depending on the news reported. This is what is tackled in this section as far as

war journalism.

War Journalism

Sometimes there can be a pre-disposition towards the patterns of reporting conflicts that may be

known as “War Journalism”, or “Journalism biased in favor of war” (McGoldrick, 2006, p.2). War

journalism was first defined by Johan Galtung (n.d) as journalism about conflict that is: Violence

oriented, Propaganda oriented, Elite oriented and Victory oriented (Lynch, 1998, as cited in

McGoldrick, 2006, p.2). Therefore, in war journalism violence seems to make more sense and is

portrayed as the only solution. Why should this be the case yet the journalists strive so hard to be

‘neutral’ and ‘objective’. Thus, reporting news in one way or the other have an impact on conflict in

a given situation.

According to Nohrstedt (2009), “Wars are not only fought by military means but by media means as

well. Alongside the fighting on the ground, at sea, and in the air, a media war is fought over public

opinion and the willingness to fight of populations and troops” (Taylor 1997, p.119; Thussu &

Freedman 2003, p.7 as cited in Nohrstedt, 2009, p.1). It is imperative to note that the media

becomes a battleground, and journalists are drawn into the conflict, either voluntarily or under

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orders, or even unawares (Nohrstedt, 2009, p.1). To advance this, the media is used either directly or

indirectly to influence the general public to preferably support the parties in conflict. (Nohrstedt,

2009), further contends that Media and journalists have gained an increasingly central position due

to developments in media technology such as satellite TV channels broadcasting 24/7news too

rapidly that it is possible to report live from a combat zone (Nohrstedt, 2009, p.96).

In addition, the visual media increase the power of influence on the public that is why media is so

instrumental during conflict. For example, during the LRA war in northern Uganda, Mega Fm Radio

and other local newspapers were very influential and their reporting could change the public

perception about war (Nassanga, 2007). From this perspective, it is observed that media is at a

forefront during war. Therefore, conflicting parties are making ever greater efforts to influence,

steer, and control the reporting distributed through international media, and this is especially true in

the case of visual materials such as photographs and videos and other printed media in order to

capture the attention of the public (Nohrstedt, 2009).

In words of Nohrstedt (2009),” War has always been highly newsworthy. Depictions of the

course of wars, of victories and defeats, are very dramatic and affect the fates of many

people – in some cases almost the entire world. War news attracts a large audience and often

deeply engages people both emotionally and intellectually. Public opinion is mobilized to an

extent that otherwise has no counterpart even in the established democracies (Gitlin &

Hallin 1994 as cited in Nohrstedt, 2009, p.96)”.

The journalists report stories on armed conflicts, campaigns, war victors, and crashing defeats, all

these have a great impact on conflict. For instance the stories about victor parties tend to attract the

public towards siding with the war heroes. To this effect the journalists’ role in war cannot be

underestimated. War propaganda is viewed as a continuation of such conflict stories. By portraying

the struggle of what is known as good and evil, we are persuading to take position in the conflict

(Nohrstedt, 2006)

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Mainstream Media and Coverage of Conflicts

Mainstream media include the channels through which information is disseminated to the general

public, such as the radio stations, Television, newspapers among others. Mainstream media are at

times directed towards promoting the interests of the military and governments in their coverage of

war. Accordingly mainstream media are seen as operating propaganda instruments of dominant

economic, political, social, cultural and military interests (Keeble, Tulloch, & Zollman, 2010). They

further base their assertion in lines of Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman’s “Propaganda Model”.

To Chomsky and Herman (n.d.) the mainstream media in Western societies for example USA and

UK are to a very considerable level free from state intervention, however, the mainstream media

function as if they are part of the state propaganda machinery (Keeble, et al. 2010, pp. 216-217). In

their 1988 book called ‘Manufacturing Consent-The Political Economy of the Mass Media’ Edward

Herman and Noam Chomsky introduced their ‘propaganda model’ of media. This propaganda

model stipulates that there are five classes of ‘filters’ (advertisement, source of mass media news,

flak, etc.,) in society which determine what is ‘news’, in simple terms what is printed in newspapers

and what is broadcasted on radio and television (Herman & Chomsky as cited in Cromwell, 2002,

n.p.).

This model also present how dissent from these mainstream media is little or zero, coverage while

governments and other big corporations gain access to the general public to convey their messages

(Cromwell, 2002). It is such mainstream media that tends to convey message on conflict in favor of

the victor parties during conflict thus influencing the public. A case in point is Uganda where the

New vision newspaper tends to cover only what is in line with the interests of the government and

portrays the other party as weak, defeated or seeking for surrender (Nassanga, 2007).

Sometimes the mainstream media coverage on conflict may escalate the conflicts as one party tend

to be dissatisfied with the news as another is fighting hard to maintain media popularity. The

question remains how does the news media coverage affect conflict? The mainstream media can

shape the public’s attitudes about conflict. The media often determines what the public perceives the

conflict is about, its root causes and the consequences of the conflicts and generally how to think

about it (Gamson, 1989 as cited in Reuben, 2010). Reuben further argues that mainstream media

coverage has a great impact on both domestic and international conflicts; in particular the

mainstream media coverage of conflict can lead to either constructive or destructive outcomes of

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this conflict. This is because the potential personal, economic, and social costs of conflict are

substantial. It is therefore worth noting that, “the community whether local, national, or

international is better served by conflict coverage by media, which may be constructive and that

leads to the effective resolution of conflict with a minimum of negative costs, than by coverage that

is destructive” (Reuben, 2010, p.47).

The above argument may lead us to reframe the question: under what circumstance does the

mainstream media’ coverage of conflict promotes constructive or destructive results? According to

Arno (2009), the news media plays an important role in facilitating the process of conflict

management in society especially in a democratic society. However, News media coverage of

conflict can play a leading role in fueling fires of hatred that can lead to death of many people as

seen with extermination of Jews during the Holocaust in 1942 and the Tutsi Rwanda genocide in

1994 (Seib, 2002). On the right note, it can also be in securing peace as was a case in Northern

Ireland (Spencer, 2004). Thus the mainstream media can play both the constructive and destructive

role in conflict.

Western Media Coverage of Conflict in the Global South

(Framing)

Framing is a “scattered conceptualization” with previous studies lacking clear conceptual definitions

and relying on context-specific, rather than generally applicable operationalisations” (Entman, 1993,

p.51 as cited in Scheufele, 1999, p. 103). To Entman (1993), to frame is to select some parts of a

perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote

a particular problem definition, casual interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment

recommendation” (Entman, 1993, 52). Additionally, Price, Tewksbury, & Powers (1995), assert that

framing and presentation of events and news on conflict in the mass media can affect how recipients

of the news can understand and interpreted that events. This therefore, shows how the western

media can influence the public perception on the conflict on Africa and thus more conflicts and

wars in Africa.

To Ituma, (2010), media framing is defined as how the media depictions affect the ways that

constrain how audiences interpret events, the way in which the story is told. It is such depictions

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that may affect the audiences’ perceptions on the certain conflicts in Africa. In relations to this,

Ituma had this to say:

“Media analysts also argue that frames help reporters to select and relay news in an efficient fashion

as explained by the Gramscian theory, which states: “The revolutionaries will seek to replace the

ruling class concepts and values and educate the subordinates of their oppression. Values held dear

by the old culture will be destroyed” (Ituma, 2010, n.p.).

The western media portrays Africa as a continent of endemic violence, conflict and civil war. Africa

has experienced different forms of conflict ranging from tribal clashes, armed conflicts, and civil

wars to genocide. It is worth lamenting that be it crisis in Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo

government versus Congo rebels, conflict in Angola, Sudan clashes, or the 1994 genocide in

Rwanda, the reports of this kind have a high premium in the western media and they may earn a

headline or front page story status ( Michira, 2002, n.p.). It is imperative to note that while it may be

difficult to achieve objectivity in such reporting by western media, many observers still argue that

the Western media coverage about conflict in Africa are crisis-driven in such a way as to portray

African continent as naturally savaged, warlike, violent and steeped in tribal hatred (Michira, 2002).

This is the kind of framing that takes an unethical place in covering of conflicts in media and

specifically journalism which accelerates the rate of violence and conflicts in Africa However, this

leads to furthered conflicts as the media sometimes becomes an accelerator within the controversy.

HOW?(Gamson and Modigliani 1992 as cited in Vraneski and Richter, 2002) stress that what people

say and think will always influence the media to write stories about it and also what the media writes

and says and shows will be influenced by what the public has as opinion. Therefore, media’s impact

comes with construction of the realities that already exist. Still, if the media does not interact with

the people, it may never get the reality out of it. Media and the public give each other reality of a

kind of discourse at hand. Hence, giving meaning to this discourse (Scheufele, 2001).

In Michira (2002), media coverage does not mention the western support to such conflicts in Africa;

both materially and militarily is not mentioned. According to Michira (2002), the US has supported

many undemocratic regimes in Africa as a means to create a favorable environment for natural

resources (oil, mineral resources). A case in point is former president Siad Barre of Somalia and

Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (current Democratic Republic of Congo) among the many. From this

argument it can be observed that the western media tend not to portray such instances where the

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western governments support the conflict in Africa. Those rebel leaders who are supported by the

western are perceived as freedom ‘fighters’ such as the late Jonas Savimbi of Angola (Michira, 2002).

So then which role does framing of a certain situation of conflict play in peace?

Michira (2002) further argues that the western media comfortably avoids to talk about the ties

between some conflicts in Africa and the role of the western powers in the politicizing ethnicity by

pitting certain “tribes” against others in the “Divide” and “Rule” policy adopted mostly by the

British and Belgian colonial governments. In addition, the artificial drawing up of national

boundaries during the “Scramble and Partition” of Africa saw the division and polarization of Africa

communities that had earlier lived as one for centuries (Michira, 2002). These issues will never see

the light of the day and make the headline in the western media.

Most of the media coverage on Africa conflict shows it as unstoppable, tribal violent, and normal.

Therefore, such coverage tends to make the conflicts in the south to appear ugly, than before yet the

role of the western powers in the conflict is left out in the western media. Conclusively, it is right to

argue that the western media focus more on the interests of their mother countries, and their

activities to promote western popularity in the south (Ituma, 2012). It is safe to conclude that

western media heavily frames conflicts in Africa as severe in order to increase public support for

government action even if the conflict is not severe. Therefore, western media should portray the

actual situation on the ground so as to promote peace building than framing the situations towards

violence than peace. Such media should at least emphasize reconciliation, negotiation and the

importance of peace in their fasts. How do reporters report a conflict when they are far from the

scene of the conflict? This carries with it some issues of incredibility, lies and exaggerations; which

leaves the countries in Africa in the state of conflicts.

2.4. Expected Outcomes

Students should show their understanding in defining and analyzing war journalism

Demonstrate their skills in identifying the impact of frames.

Be able to understand the framing theory and western media reporting on conflict in the

south especially in Africa.

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2.5. Session Methodology

Methodology/Strategy Activities Resources

Debriefing (10 minutes)

From previous class or insights

since the last class.

By students. Each will have to

show that she/he understood

the previous lessons. So each

will contribute at least what

she/he learnt

Manila papers, Markers

Students will still brainstorm of

what they know about how

conflicts are covered in media.

This will entail knowledge on

what they have read, experienced

and been told. They can still give

case studies and examples.

-students will do this by giving

case studies or examples of

experiences they have

watched or read. Active

participation is done here.

Manilas, markers, books, pens

and sharing

Non-conventional lecturing with

students’ active participation on

theories of conflict coverage

Students and lecturers

cooperate here.

Students will give examples of

frames that media uses in

covering conflicts. Each from

his/her country will have to give

these examples of such frames

Students will go into groups;.

This will help in the

argumentation process and

help them too to develop

their own new ideas on the

framing issue.

Imagination Technique Students do this by going into

a kind of small questionnaire

that the lecturer will

formulate. The questionnaire

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will be on the aspect of media

coverage of conflicts.

Take Away Students will speak out what

they have taken away as

significant

2.6. Session Evaluation

The students will be given a minute paper; in addition the evaluation will be based on their

participation and key takeaways from the session. Questions and answers in the class will contribute

to students’ evaluation

2.7. Readings

(i). Required:

Hawkins, V. (2011). Media Selectivity and The Other Side of the CNN Effect: The Consequences of Not

Paying Attention to Conflict. Media, War and Conflict, 4(1), 55-68. Retrieved on June 26, 2012

from http://mwc.sagepub.com/content/4/1/55.abstract

Ituma, M. (2010). Media Framing of Conflict and Militarization of Aid in Africa: The Case of

Somalia. Retrieved on June 29, 2012 from

http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/profiles/blogs/media-framing-of-conflict-

and

Michira, J. (2002). The Images of Africa in Western Media. Retrieved June 29, 2012 from.

http://www.teachingliterature.org/teachingliterature/pdf/multi/images_of_africa_michira.p

df

(ii). Recommended:

Bratic, V. & schirch, L. (2007). Why and When to Use the Media for Conflict Prevention and Peace

building. Prevention. European Centre for Conflict Prevention pp. 5-20. Retrieved on June 30,

2012 from http://www.sfcg.org/articles/media_for_conflict_prevention.pdf

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Session 3: THE ROLE OF JOURNALISM IN PEACE AND CONFLICTS

3.1. Learning Objectives:

To understand the functions of journalism and the role of journalism influence in building

peace and conflicts.

To focus on peace journalism model and how it can challenge the market-driven “objective”

journalism.

To demonstrate an understanding of the principles and ethics of journalistic practice, and

how those principles form the foundation of peace.

3.2. Content:

It is an acknowledged fact that information plays crucial role in most processes undertaken by

mankind. Journalism dispenses information that generates various views, opinions, and feelings and

at times they can foster cooperation, division and hatred or provoke positive or negative actions and

reactions. The different effects produced by journalism is in a way due to the fact that contemporary

media reporting give mixed messages that are likely to have multiple meanings and as such

complicating their understanding, explanation, interpretation and evaluation (Eldridge, 1993, cited in

Aho, 2004). It is in this understanding that Wolfsfeld, (2004) contends that journalism has differing

roles in peace processes as well as conflicts. This session is geared at examining the relationship

between journalism and the two aspects. At the beginning, the theoretical underpinnings that inform

the role of news media in peace and conflicts shall be covered followed by the discussion of the

relevance of journalism to peace building. Additionally, attempts shall be made to details the

relevance of peace journalism to local journalism with a special focus on developing countries. It is

instructive to note at the outset that the role of media in peace and conflicts is studied under the

context that media functions as an agenda setting agency, it can impede of facilitate the processes

and at times, journalism facilitates a more accelerated public policy (Livingston, 1997 as cited in

Aho, 2004). It is necessary to grasp the role of journalism in both peace processes and conflicts in

order to maximize the possibilities of journalism functioning as a tool for peace rather than being

and agent for conflicts and other misunderstandings in the society.

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The Influence of Media in Peace and Conflicts

There are various scholars who have written on the way media can influence both peace processes

and conflicts. The various roles played by media determine the nature of the influence exerted; and

the extent to which such outcomes can either be peaceful or conflicting. Wolfsfeld (2004) details

four major ways in which media can influence the peace process. It is from these four ways that

when such similar influences do not result into constructive peace process, they bring about

conflicts. Media defines the political atmosphere that can either be healthy for peace or conflicts, it

helps in shaping the debate between and among various groups in the society such as government

and the opposition, Civil Society, common citizens, academia and others, it shapes the kind of

strategy and behaviour that can be adopted by parties to the conflict or in a certain circumstance and

on the other hand, media is essential in accrediting or eroding the legitimacy of the party or parties

to a conflict of peace process (Wolfsfeld, 2004).

Definition of the political atmosphere in which the peace process of conflict take place; almost everyone in the

society, community, country or even at international level depend on the media for particular

information. The information that is communicated by various journalists generates awareness on

various issues including peace and conflicts. For instance, during a peace process such as negotiation

or mediation, citizens, the general public and other stakeholders to the process, follow news and in

such a way, they are informed on potential developments and the type of news received can generate

hostility, trust, cooperation or violence (Wolfsfeld, 2004). In such a manner, news sources;

televisions, newspapers, radio and others are instrumental in influencing the atmosphere in which

peace processes or conflict is pursued.

Determining the nature of debates in the processes; The media plays a significant role in influencing which

particular issues gain access to the people and therefore form part of the agenda for the debate in

many interactions. It is an undisputable fact that what is debated by people in various areas partly

originates from media reports. Wolfsfeld (2004) explains that media determines who and what kind

of arguments reach the public. It is now a common practice in many areas that whoever wants to

communicate a message to the larger public depends on the media and journalist. Prominent

politicians, celebrities, organizations and other individuals work hold press conferences whenever

they have something they wish the public to know. The type of media and the outreach and access

of such media chosen to a great extent, tells what becomes the ‘talk-of the day’ to most people. In

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peace process or conflict situation, this whole influence is important as it determines not only the

nature of the debate but also the possibility of the process moving forward or escalation of the

conflict.

News media also inform about the strategy and behaviour of various groups in peace process or conflict

(Wolfsfeld, 2004). Media reports communicate on the strategy and behaviour being used and

demonstrated by parties involved in a peace process or conflict. By so doing, they shape future

strategies and behaviour for different groups and in that way, they determine whether progress in

the process can be attained or worsened. Journalists can convey success, blame, failure, hatred,

reluctance, judgement or other kind of information. All these feed in the process and help determine

the success or failure of the undertaking. It is therefore worth noting that journalism occupies a key

position in peace and conflicts and the kind, choice and manner of reporting are to be carefully

sorted if media is to work constructively towards peace.

On the other hand, journalism influences the peace processes as it functions as an instrument that either

raises or lowers the public standing or legitimacy of those involved in a conflict or peace process (Wolfsfeld,

2004).Depending on how the media reports on certain groups or parties to a conflict or peace

process, it is evident that the public can be influenced to support or oppose the particular group

they see as working in their favour. Whether the people become supportive or opposed to certain

groups, actions, strategy or behaviour, the peace process or conflict moves towards resolution or

transformation or towards a more complicated and difficult situation.

Peace Journalism Model

As it has been depicted earlier above that the media and journalism in general play a double-edged

role in the sense that they influence both peace processes and conflicts, it is important to have a

grasp of the kind of journalism that fosters peace and the one that is likely to promote war or

conflicts. Peace oriented journalism embraces different features and practices than those exhibited

by war oriented journalism and was for the first time developed by Johan Galtung who is sometimes

referred to as ‘the father of peace and conflict studies’ and has since then been emulated by other

scholars in the field including Lynch and McGoldrick 2005 cited by Peleg (2006). These two models

are as summarized below.

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PEACE/CONFLICT

JOURNALISM

WAR/VIOLENCE JOURNALISM

Peace-Orientated

1. Explore conflict formation, x

parties, y goals, z issues, 'win-win'

orientation.

2. Open space, open time; causes and

outcomes anywhere, also in

history/culture.

3. Making conflicts transparent

4. giving voice to all parties, empathy,

understanding

5. See conflict/war as problem, focus

on conflict creativity

6. Humanization of all sides; more so

the worse the weapon.

7. Proactive: prevention before any

violence/war occurs.

8. Focus on invisible effects of

violence (trauma, damage to

structure/culture).

War-Orientated

1. Focus on conflict arena, 2 parties,

1 goal (win), war, zero-sum

orientation.

2. Closed space, closed time; causes

and exits in arena, who threw the

first stone.

3. Making wars opaque/secret.

4. 'us-them' journalism, propaganda,

voice, for 'us'.

5. See 'them' as the problem, focus

on who prevails in war.

6. Dehumanization of 'them'; more

so the worse the weapon.

7. Reactive: waiting or violence

before reporting.

8. Focus only on visible effect of

violence (killed, wounded and

material damage).

Source: This model has been adopted from Peleg (2006, p. 5)

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In order for journalism to be instruments of peace it is essential that journalists working for private

or public agencies such as newspapers, radio, televisions and all other sources practice peace

journalism with all the features though not detailed to those listed above. While it cannot be totally

disputed that peace journalism has a role in peace building, it is necessary to assert categorically that

is not a self-sustaining solution and a single answer to peace building. In other words, peace

journalism is useful when is employed as part of a large comprehensive approach to the process.

Part of the reasons as to why peace journalism is not the only solution to peace building is the fact

that it has inherent weaknesses that are expressed as criticisms to peace journalism. The model of

peace journalism whose features have been detailed in this section is critiqued by various

stakeholders, prominently among them being Edward, Said and Gadi Wolfsfeld. Edward Said

critiques peace journalism and argues that it can only help in peace building when the biases of

writers are taken into consideration, the forms used in reporting are properly shaped and he also

labels criticism based on orientalism, mainly depicting how Western media have been reporting

particularly regarding Islam (Perez, 2006)

Journalism can contribute towards peace when journalists adhere to the ethics of their work. It is

however acknowledged that though some journalists may be willing to work in accordance with the

stipulated codes, they face challenges that may either be systemic, personal or at times just because

doing so compromises the interests and values of various stakeholders who may be owners or

funders. There are certain codes of conduct guiding journalism. According to (Ratief, 2002 as cited

in Aho, 2004, p. 22),

While it is in a way guaranteed that if media adheres to the stated codes of conduct, it is possible that

journalism will help lessen chances of being causative agents of conflicts and fulfil their roles

responsibly, it is important to note that the way the codes are stated, leaves loop-holes for

manipulation and poses questions that cannot be answered right away. For instance, many codes as

exemplified by such codes as number (ii), (vii) and others are likely to be manipulated especially

when it is unclear, what comprises a ‘legitimate’ public interests, who defines it, when, why and how.

Moreover, having a list of codes is not enough; there is a need to transcend the mere establishment

and address concerns over enforcement, effectiveness and contextual realities in which media

operate. Additionally, there are other issues that are to be uncovered regarding the role of media in

different parts of the world. Media is sometimes used as a tool for propaganda and hence it

represents power relations and interests that may facilitate or impede their instrumentality as agents

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47

of peace. In this case, media has been seen serving the interests of powerful and strong groups in

society like the rich, and those in power. The media does this through their business oriented goal of

making profits within these media organizations and other factors like influence from the public on

advertising; which help the media to form ideas and present them to the public with the purpose of

serving the interests of those powerful elites. Money and power are the driving forces here. This can

be explained well in Chomsky and Edward Herman Propaganda Model. For news to be called news,

they have to go through stages to satisfy the demands of the powerful and by the time it reaches the

audience, it has no real meaning and there has been a filtering of what ought to have been delivered

to the public and then what must be delivered to the public is discarded because it goes against what

the powerful expects and want (Delta, 2005).

3.3. Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this session, students will have knowledge on functions of journalism and the

role of journalism influence in building peace and in conflicts.

Students will be able to apply the peace journalism model into their own local journalism

settings and challenge the market-driven “objective” journalism.

They will have the ability to demonstrate an understanding of the principles and ethics of

accepted journalistic practice, and how those principles form the foundation of peace.

3.4. Session Methodology:

Methodology/Strategy Activities Resources

Debriefing (10 minutes)

May be from previous class or

insights since the last class.

By students(participatory in

nature)

Manila papers, Markers

Brainstorming with the class on

the role of journalism in peace

especially from local contexts.

Students will participate fully

in this activity as they will all

share about the what they

know about journalism role in

peace

Questions and answers, text

books etc.

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Non-conventional lecturing by

the lecturer with students’

interruption of questions,

queries, any supplements and

compliments.

Students will at times be

expected to participate in

answering some questions

posed by the lecturer or what

will have inspired them

Manilas, markers, laptop and

projector

Group discussions Students will discuss in groups

about certain questions that

will be given by the lecturer.

The discussions will be

especially on the peace

journalism model and how

important it is.

Papers, books, manilas,

projectors, laptop and

anything that will help

students discuss well

3.5. Session Evaluation:

Students will be evaluated according to their active participation in class. The examples that they

give and their active involvement will tell more whether they are in line with what is being taught or

not. Their activeness in the class will also tell who is following or not. The questions and answers

have so much to contribute to a student’s understanding; yet their input during class is also

important. Silence in class is an indicator that the student is either not with others or it is just

personality; of which the lecturer may not be sure of. So it’s important that the student speaks and

contribute to measure his/her understanding.

3.6. Readings:

(i). Required

Wolfsfeld, G. (2007). The Role of the News Media in Conflict and Peace : Towards a More General

Theory. Department of Political Science Department of Communication. The Hebrew

University of Jerusalem.

Aho, M. (2004). Media’s Role in Peace building; George a Thesis Presented in Partial

Completion of the Requirements of The Certificate-of-Training in United Nations Peace

Support Operations, Mason University, Pp. 27-42. Retrieved on June 30, from

http://media.peaceopstraining.org/theses/aho.pdf

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Peleg, S. (2006). Peace Journalism Through the Lense of Conflict Theory: Analysis and Practice, 5(2),

pp.1-17. Retrieved on June 30, from http://cco.regeneronline.de/2006_2/pdf/peleg.pdf

(ii). Recommended:

Peleg, S. (2007). Samuel Peleg In defense of peace journalism: A rejoinder. Writing,6(2), 1-9.

Retrieved July 1, 2012 from http://www.cco.regener-online.de/2007_2/pdf/peleg.pdf

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Session 4: IS PEACE JOURNALISM A SOLUTION FOR PEACE BUILDING?

4.1. Learning Objectives:

To focus particularly on the possibility of peace journalism.

To acquire an overview of the relevance of peace journalism especially to developing

countries

To possess an understanding of peace journalism role in peace building.

4.2. Content:

Introduction

There is a consensus that journalism can influence both peace and conflicts in the society. It is also

understood that not all journalism or work of media is favourable for peace. Lynch, (2012) defines

peace journalism as act of choice done by editors and reporters on what and how to report it which

opens the society’s way of looking at non-violent means to conflict. Amid such an acknowledgement

that journalism and media have a place in peace building in the society, there have been mixed

perceptions regarding the role of media in peace. As such, while some scholars, analysts,

practitioners and commentators express appraisal, others usually critique the role of peace

journalism and its ability of serving as agents for peace building. Some analysts as exemplified by

Odero, (2010) argue that the relevance of peace journalism is context specific and it has much

relevance in places like Africa, Asia and South America. Journalism has also a role towards peace

and conflicts in all other parts of the world that are not necessarily in the developing and poor

world. In this session, an attempt is made to address the question as to whether peace journalism is a

solution to peace building or not. Efforts are therefore dedicated at assessing the features or

characteristics of peace journalism that are important in peace building and their relevance in

developing countries especially those in Africa. Besides, this part examines the appraisals and

criticisms labelled on the role of peace journalism in peace building.

Peace Journalism

As introduced earlier above, not all journalism can promote peace and therefore serve a purpose in

peace building. The famous model which is used to describe peace journalism is attributed as being

peace-oriented in the sense that it encourages non-violence and dialogue, fosters win-win outcomes,

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51

it humanizes all parties to the conflict, focuses on mostly invisible impact of violence, it is

transparent and it is proactive and attempts to address potential conflicts before they break out and

fosters creativity. This can be achieved by editors and reporters making choices of what stories to

cover and about how to report them and this creates opportunities for society to consider and value

non-violent responses to conflict (Peleg, 2006, p. 5).

Additionally, peace journalism is truth-oriented by the fact that in all reports, attempts are made ad

exposing truths about all parties without favouring or discriminating against any one (Perez, 2006).

Other characteristics of peace journalism include being people oriented and solution-oriented

(Perez, 2006). There are other features associated with peace journalism. Odero (2010) puts forward

that peace journalism is and should be visionary, compassionate, responsible and ethical. The

features are not exhaustive.

Peace Journalism and Peace Building

Journalism that is characterized by all the discussed characteristics is said to be essential in helping

create a full functioning society politically, economically, socially and all other aspects of life

especially after war, efforts that are generally termed; peace building. Part of the explanation attached

on the ability of media or journalism at large to have potentials for peace building is that media is

instrumental in building a culture of peace, it is an agent of transformation and it is endowed with

formative powers (Odero, 2010). Media can help create a culture of peace by acting ethically,

refraining from perpetuating stereotypes, naming certain parties or by not instigating violence.

Similarly, media when used constructively serves as a tool to transform people’s beliefs, ways of

thinking and perception, promotes tolerance and compassion. As a result, a transformed society is

more likely to undergo a formative phase and hence becoming more peace-oriented.

On the other hand, the media performs various functions in relation to conflict prevention and

peace building. Among such functions include; serving as providers and interpreters of information,

acting as watchdogs, influencing policy makers, bridging parties to conflicts, promoting peace and

functioning as both diplomats and gatekeepers (Odero, 2010, p. 6). The media provides information

to people and analyses it and hence enables people to be informed and in some cases, such

interpretations may foster reactions. Investigative media also uncovers unknown and hidden

information and informs the public and hence serve as ‘watch-dogs’ in the society and through the

various news coverage, media is influential to policy makers and shapes options, agenda and debates

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52

for public policy. The media serve as diplomats when they pass message between and among parties

to a conflict of peace process such as negotiation or mediation and others and in so doing, they can

play a bridging role in the sense that relationships between parties may be strengthened or weakened

depending on what is communicated (Odero, 2010).

Is Peace Building a solution for Peace building?

While it cannot be totally disputed that peace journalism has a role in peace building, it is necessary

to assert categorically that is not a self-sustaining solution and a single answer to peace building. In

other words, peace journalism is useful when is employed as part of a large comprehensive approach

to the process. Part of the reasons as to why peace journalism is not the only solution to peace

building is the fact that it has inherent weaknesses that are expressed as criticisms to peace

journalism. The model of peace journalism whose features have been detailed in this section is

critiqued by various stakeholders, prominently among them being Edward, Said and Gadi Wolfsfeld.

Edward Said critiques peace journalism and argues that it can only help in peace building when the

biases of writers are taken into consideration, the forms used in reporting are properly shaped and

he also labels criticism based on orientalism, mainly depicting how Western media have been

reporting particularly regarding Islam (Perez, 2006).

The criticisms that are raised concerning peace journalism are relevant and when not considered

they limit the possibility and scope of peace journalism serving as constructive tools for peace

building. The question of writers’ bias for instance is very eminent and at times journalist fail to

balance between personal values and the reality they are supposed to report on. Even when

reporters are willing and ready to do their work ‘objectively’, sometimes their efforts are constrained

by the interests of their employers or other important stakeholders and hence all these limit the

ability of peace journalism to work as pathways for peace building. A case in point can be seen on

Western media reports on the Arab uprising in 2011 specifically on the Libyan crisis. During the

Libyan crisis, Western media reported that Gaddafi had given Viagra to his troops so as they could

conduct mass rape and also broadcasted widely the assertion that the Libyan leader had intended to

kill all opponents as rats (Arbuge, 2011). While it is true that Gaddafi had threatened to deal with

opponents as rats, he had not taken any action to implement his words but the media broadcasted it

and made it an agenda that helped justify invasion. Furthermore, neither the claims that Viagra was

given to soldiers nor evidences of mass rape could be evidenced on ground (Aburge, 2011).

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Wolfsfeld (2004 as cited by Perez, 2006) critiques peace journalism and advances that it is likely to

enhance peace building when there is a consensus with the political leadership that is in place. While

acknowledging the fact that there needs to be a consensus and partnership between peace journalism

and political elites if peace building is to succeed, it is also crucial to note that this cannot be the only

answer to a complex process of peace building. As an expression of the limitations of the

weaknesses of the views put forward by those who critique peace journalism, Perez (2006) contends

that although those who label criticism raise valid concerns in some ways, they do not provide an

alternative model for peace journalism and that Wolfsfeld’s call for consensus with the political

leadership fails to capture the complexity of peace building in the sense that it does not mention

other social, economic, environmental and other dimensions of conflicts that only when addressed

can sustainable peace be forged.

Peace building is in itself a multi-faceted process whose accomplishment cannot be reduced to a

mere work of peace journalism. A successful peace building requires long term dedicated efforts,

demands resources, addressing the root causes of conflicts, trauma, reconciliation and

reconstruction as well as other concerns. All these can never be expected to be settled simply by

peace journalism.

Conclusion

Throughout this session, it has been established categorically that journalism has a place in peace

building in all parts of the world. It has also been made clear that although journalism plays a

significant role in the process of peace building, it is definitely not the only one solution and that it

can only work as part of a larger strategy employed comprehensively to deal with stabilization of

post-conflict communities. To reveal how journalism can facilitate peace building, peace journalism

has been identified as embodying the necessary features fit for the role and most importantly, the

various roles that can be accomplished by media in both conflict prevention and peace building have

been thoroughly covered.

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4.3. Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to know whether peace journalism is a solution or not.

They will integrate this knowledge on peace journalism into their local journalism

environments.

Students will not only possess the knowledge but will also use it during their final projects in

the writing of peace journalism materials.

4.4: Session Methodology:

Methodology/strategy Activities Resources

Debriefing (10 minutes) from

previous class or insights since

the last class.

At least each student will

contribute something from

the previous class.

Manila papers, Markers

Non-conventional Lecturing (1

hr) more discursive and

interactional on the possibilities

of peace journalism

Lecturer will do this by

throwing questions to

students as he/she lecturers.

This is a kind of probing to

see if students understand the

whole topic

Power point presentation

(slides) for the lecturer, laptop

and projector, text books

Questions and Answers Students will pose questions

and exchange them with

answers within the class. The

lecturer still remains a part of

the process

Manilas, flip charts. Etcetera

Small Group Discussions(20

minutes)

Students will go into groups

to discuss whether peace

journalism is possible for

peace building. This will be

Books, pens, manila papers,

clip boards, flip charts,

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55

critical analysis.

Use of case studies where peace

journalism has worked and where

it has not worked

Students will share some

experiences that they know or

the teacher will frequently give

the lead in this.

Manila, flip charts,

markers

4.5. Session Evaluation:

Group presentations where by each student will have to contribute to the presentation process; will

be a form of evaluation because it will help in knowing whether each student understands or not or

whether they are progressing in the topic or not. Questions and answers will be part of evaluation;

take away is a manifestation that students are moving with the lecturer

4.6. Readings:

(i). Required:

Lynch, J. (2007). Peace Journalism and its Discontents, 6(2), 1-13. Retrieved on July 1, 2012 from

http://www.cco.regener-online.de/2007_2/pdf/lynch.pdf

Odero, M. (2010). What is Peace Journalism; World Association of Christian Communicators

Seminar, Dar-es-Salam. Retrieved on July 2, 2012 from

http://africa.waccglobal.org/what%20is%20peace%20journalism_.pdf

(ii). Recommended

Sagaral, L (2007) Engendering Peace Journalism (1).A Presentation at the 3rd “Women Making

Air Waves of Peace”. NDFCAI-WED Training Center. Cotabato City

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Session 5: PRESENTATIONS ON THE INITIATIVES WITHIN PEACE JOURNALISM

5.1. Learning Objectives:

Students will be required to work on their group presentation. This will enable them to learn how to

work in the group and learn the skills of being critical in analyzing issues. For group presentations,

this session will then focus on:

Enabling the students gain confidence in explaining the different ways of practicing peace

journalism through the initiatives and understand how they work in peace building.

Allowing students to discover the problems and challenges within these initiatives and to be

able to pave way for good journalism

To engage students in the creativity within peace journalism. This will allow them to apply

the knowledge within these initiatives to local journalism where the students come from.

5.2. Content:

There will be group presentations done by students on the initiatives within peace journalism. These

will contribute to the final grading that the students will acquire. Each group will contain 10 students

with a gender balance and this will enable exchange of ideas. Clarity of their ideas (projects) and

being precise and concise on aspects of the following initiatives will reward students high marks.

Institute for War and Peace Reporting www.iwpr.net

International Media Support Conflict Sensitive Journalism http://www.i-m-s.dk/

Peace Journalism Face book group

pagehttp://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=170638403613

Youngblood’s Uganda Peace Journalism Project blog

http://stevenyoungblood.blogspot.com

Students will show in their presentation how these initiatives function, their agendas and roles in

peace journalism. This will lead them to check whether truly these initiatives are the best for peace

journalism or there ought to be addressing of the missing gap within the initiatives. What makes

these initiatives perform the way they are? What are the advantages and disadvantages? How far can

these initiatives address peace journalism? How different are they from the initiatives that existed

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before? The most important part is students learning how to think new and form new ideas and not

rely on the ones that exist. This will in the end, create new scholars in the field of journalism ethics

and peace building. This is all done with the aim of thinking critical and developing future journalists

who are ethical and contribute to building peace.

5.3. Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the course, students will be equipped with confidence in explaining the initiatives

within peace journalism and understanding how they work in peace building. They will also discover

the problems and challenges within these initiatives and to be able to discover ways for better

journalism within peace journalism and then apply the knowledge within these initiatives to local

journalism where they come from.

5.4. Session Methodology:

Methodology/Strategy Activities Resources

Students present on what they

will have chosen from the

initiatives

The whole day will be

dedicated to presentation.

Manila papers, Markers,

laptops

Active listening and attentiveness Students who are not

participating in the

presentation will have to

respect this.

Power point presentation

(slides), laptop and projector

Engaging the whole class in the

presentation

Presenters. Each individual

will have to present in that

group not leaving work for

some members. Marks will be

added for each one’s

participation

Creativity

Question and answer (10

minutes) posing questions,

Students and facilitator engage

in asking and answering

Manila, projector, etcetera

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feedback from non-presenters questions.

5.5. Session Evaluation:

Group presentation that are lively and involve everyone will contribute highly to the grading.

Participation of the class in answering questions and contributing to the presentations even if one is

not in that group will be mean that the students are following. Take-away will be part of the

evaluation. This is expected to be a high academic exercise. Questions and answers will also act as

evaluation in this session.

5.6. Readings:

As for the presentations, students will find their own readings to help them in the presentations but

the following readings can also help them.

(i). Required.

Nathalie, H. (2011). Political Posturing and the Need for Peace Journalism in South Africa: The case

of Julius Malema. 41-55. Retrieved July 2, 2012 from

http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/5/0/0/5/5/p500553_i

ndex.html?phpsessid=c03670d95504b581b726a7e112fdb1a1

Arsenault, A., Powers, S., Putzel, J., Zwan, J. V. D., & States, C. (2011). IMS | Conflict

Sensitive Journalism: Moving Towards a Holistic Framework 1. Communications, (January), 1-9.

(ii). Recommended:

Youngblood, S. (2010). Peace/Conflict Sensitive Journalism Insights. Retrieved July 3,

2012 from http://stevenyoungblood.blogspot.com/2012/06/military-journalists-set-

aside.html

Lee, S. (2010). Peace Journalism: Principles and Structural Limitations in the News Coverage of

Three Conflicts. Journal of Mass Communication and Society, Issue (13) 4. Pp.361-384.

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Session 6: MEASURES FOR JOURNALISTS’ PROFESSIONAL GROWTH

6.1. Learning Objectives

The learners should be able to identify the different measures to promote journalists’

professionalism

Appreciate the importance of media training of Journalists

Identify the measures for local journalists training

Analyze the relevance of western and local training of journalists in developing world.

6.2. Content

Media training of journalists can as well be termed as media development. Media development is

the “strengthening local journalism and management skills, reforming the legal and regulatory

regimes, helping and nourishing civil society organizations that promote a free press, and building an

institutional environment that is conducive to the free flow of information and ideas” (Kumar,

2006, p.3). It is an essential component of journalism that promotes professional growth in this

field. Media training is fundamental both in conflict and post conflict situations. There is need to

focus on international and local efforts to promote independent media in transition and post conflict

societies. To equip the journalists with skills, knowledge and information on various aspects of

reporting is ideal in peace building. According to Kumar (2006) the impetus for media

development came as a result of the down fall of the Soviet Union and its hegemony in Eastern

Europe and Asia. In most of these nations the media played a crucial role in exposing and

undermining authoritarian regimes. Thus, the need for journalists training gained momentum in the

world so that such dictatorial regimes and their activities could be addressed to the whole world

In addition, the horrible events in Rwanda 1994, plus the former Yugoslavia also contributed to the

impetus for media training and international involvement in media assistance (Kumar, 2006).

Kumar (2006), further contend that these events demonstrated to the whole world that the media

controlled by the state or ethnic factions can be a powerful force behind instigating and directing

violence. Therefore, media is used as a tool by the state and other actors in the conflict to gain

public attention, as put forward by Kumar:

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“As the media helps to define the nature and implications of latent or manifest conflict for

decision-makers and shapes public opinion, biased, intolerant, and inaccurate reporting of

events can inflame public passions and fears. On the other hand, balanced reporting can

reduce political tensions and contribute to the resolution of conflict” Kumar, 2006, p3).

This is clear indication the professionalism in journalism is instrumental in peace building, thus

media training of journalists is fundamental so as to achieve peace in a given society.

It is worth noting that, programmes geared towards training of journalists aim at upgrading

journalistic skills and expertise (Kumar, 2006). Media development helps to improve the

professional skills and growth of print and broadcasting journalists. Kumar (2006) argues some of

the journalists in transitional and post-conflict societies like South Sudan lack adequate training and

facilities for journalists. Therefore, training of such journalists is important so as to promote peace

building. The training can be short-term, medium term and long-term training, and help to equip the

journalists with skills which can be readily applied. In addition, training provides a systematic and

comprehensive exposure for the trainees both in theory and practice of journalism (Kumar, 2004).

More still, there are multiplier effects of this journalism training. The journalists who acquire the

skills and expertise in one way or the other help other journalists to acquire those skills either

directly or indirectly, thus ‘Multiplier Effect’ (Kumar, 2006). The journalists who receive such

training share their newly acquired expertise with their colleagues in the field of journalism. The

juniors can learn from the trained journalists either through watching them or assisting them during

broadcasting media. Additionally, the trained professional journalists may encourage the other

journalists to improve on their skills and may even avail them with educational and training facilities

(Kumar, 2006).

The underlying ideological assumptions about journalists’ training

Most of the media training of the journalists is based on the western models. Some of the

organizations and other agencies which offer training to journalists use the western curricula to train

the journalists. There is need to de-colonize journalism curricula and western practices of journalism

so as to put journalism in a wider context of African and non-western models of training

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(Papoutsaki, 2007). Journalism training should be looked from the society’s specific knowledge and

information needs. Thus, journalism training in the western and non-western countries requires

different approaches (Papoutsaki, 2007). If we are to achieve peace building in our communities, we

need training based on the given context and available situation. Papoutsaki (2007) further argues

that the content and delivery of the training materials require pedagogical and epistemological tool

which are different from the western pedagogy.

The journalism training categories can be conceptualized as ten fundamental questions, these include

the following (Deuze, 2006, p.24):

1. The motivation: why the training?

2. Paradigm: what (set of) ideologies that guide this training

3. Mission: what is the position of journalism training versus the media profession and its

publics?

4. Orientation: on what aspects of the journalism are the training based (e.g. the media, genres,

context and functions of journalism in a society?

5. Direction: what are the characteristics and behaviors of those who graduate from the

training?

6. Contextualization: in what social context is journalism training grounded?

7. Training: is Journalism training a socializing or an individual agent?

8. Curriculum: how is the balance between practical and contextual knowledge resolved most

especially in peace building?

9. Method: what is the structural or preferred pedagogy and what is the rationale behind this

pedagogy?

10. Management and Organization: How is journalism training organized?

Deuze (2006) asserts that, all these categories should be considered in the training because every

category has a “Domino-Effect”, thus one leads to the other.

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Most developing countries have experience colonization and the imposition of western training

systems, and the local ways have been continuously undermined (Kawagley & Barhardt, 2006;

Thaman, 2003). With the globalization and continued western hegemonic practices in the field of

journalism affect the kind of training the journalists receive (Papoutsaki, 2007). Thus the journalism

training works under the western curricula; therefore, there is need for a de-westernized, de-

hegemonized local knowledge based training so as to enhance peace building.

Journalist Training as Western Oriented. What is the future for Journalism especially for

local Journalism?

It is imperative to note that the western model of training journalists still dominant in African, Asian

and Middle East regions. The curriculum, pedagogy is still western oriented, therefore, how local

journalism can achieve its purpose still remains a question to answer. According to Banda (2008),

the continuing dependence of developing world education systems on the western is uncontested,

largely due to the imposition of the colonialism and its postcolonial legacy. Banda further laments

that:

“One of the “instrumentalities” used by the imperial nations to “civilize” the natives was

education. Its cultural foundations were those of the imperial nations, uprooting the natives

from their own histories, epistemologies and ontologies. African journalism education

reflects, in almost every conceivable way, Western forms of journalism training and

education” (Banda, 2008, p.50)

This assertion clearly demonstrates how the journalists training in Africa and other parts of the

world continue to be western oriented. Thus, one may wonder whether, the media is directed

towards to meeting the western interests or conflicting societies’ interests. It is ideal that the

journalists be trained in line a given context so as to promote peace building in a given society rather

that achieving the western interests.

African journalism training continues to seek legitimization from the western media (Banda, Beukes-

Amiss, Bosch, Mano, Mclean &Steenveld 2007 as cited in Banda, 2008). The African media trainers

do not have enough resources to conduct indigenized training and generate local knowledge that can

be used to promote professionalism in the journalists. Steenveld et al (2007 as cited in Banda, 2008),

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assert that even if this indigenous knowledge is generated, it has to be legitimized by the western

institutions due to the funding, peer review and other related processes in journalism. Thus, the lack

of self-reliance economically, continues to hinder Africa’s epistemic and ontological independence

and identity (Steenveld et al 2007). The training in Africa needs to address the local needs, and the

local journalists need to be trained so as to embrace the indigenous information in their work. The

practice of journalism needs to rediscover itself into journalistic agency (Steenveld et al 2007). In

the words of Banda (2008), the journalism agency can be creatively tapped into journalists training in

Africa. Banda (2008) further puts it forward that after all:

“It is no use encouraging journalism students to collect interesting theories as if they were

geological or biological specimens, by way of a hobby. The responsibility is to give them

tools to apply a critical self-awareness to their own journalism setting(Lynch & McGoldrick,

2005, p.228 as cited in Banda 2008, p.50).

Banda (2008) provides how the local journalists in Africa can dissociate from the western

journalism. The African journalists training need to move at the same pace with journalistic practice

so as to yield results. Banda 2008 argues that African journalism has the raw materials to engage in

the deconstruction of western journalism and construct a training that resembles more than realities

in Africa. The future of local journalism depends on the construction of the pedagogy that is built

on the indigenous knowledge and underpinnings. Afro centric forms of journalism can effectively

support the peace building initiatives; therefore, effective training of journalists based on the

indigenous knowledge and information is essential for peace building in conflict societies.

6.3. Expected Outcomes

The students should demonstrate their ability in defining the media development or media training

of journalists, and identify the measures to facilitate the training of journalism. In addition the

participants should be able to challenge ideological assumptions underlying media training. The

students should also be in position to outline the basic assumptions for promoting indigenous

training of journalists rather that westernized training.

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6.4. Session Methodology

Methodology/strategy Activities Resources

Debriefing (10 minutes)

From the previous class

Students will share what they

learnt the previous day

Manila papers, Markers

Non-conventional Lecturing (1

hr) more discursive and

interactional

Lecturer will lecturer on the

topic of media training of

journalists starting from what

is journalists training?

Power point presentation

(slides) for the lecturer, laptop

and projector, text books

Questions and Answers Students will pose questions

The lecturer still remains a

part of the process as he

throws questions to the class.

Manilas, flip charts. Etcetera

Reflections and sharing Students will reflect on the

role of journalism training

especially in developing

countries. Has it had an

impact? Positive or negative?

Then students will share what

they have reflected

Books, pens, manila papers,

clip boards, flip charts,

6.5. Session Evaluation

A small test will be given on the thought about journalism training and what the future is for

journalism training. Each will be required to participate in the discussion and suggest the key

takeaways from the session.

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6.6. Readings

(i). Required:

Murphy, S. &Scotton, J. (1987). Dependency and Journalism Education in Africa Are There

Alternative Models. Africa Media Review, 1(3), African Council on Communication Education.

pp.11-35. Retrieved July 3, 2012 from

http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/African%20Journals/pdfs/africa%20media%20review/vo

l1no3/jamr001003003.pdf

Banda, F. (2008). The Interpretation of Conflict: Can Journalists Go Further? The case of Linking The

teaching and Training of Journalists to Constructing a Peace-building Role in the World. Retrieved on

July 4, 2012 from

http://www.rjr.ru.ac.za/rjrpdf/rjr_no28/interpretation_of_conflict.pdf

Becker, L. & Lowrey, W. (2000). Independent Journalism Training Initiatives : Their Impact on

Journalists and Journalism Education, James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass

Communication Training and Research College of Journalism and Mass Communication

University of Georgia. Pp.2-28. Retrieve on July 3, 2012, from

http://www.grady.uga.edu/coxcenter/Activities/Act_2000_to_2001/Materials00-

01/iamcr2001.pdf

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Session 7: NEW MEDIA AND PEACE BUILDING

7.1. Learning Objectives

To understand the impact of new media on journalism and peace building

To know that new media has challenged the definition of a journalist now than before

To get acquainted with the non-traditional methods of journalism like citizen journalism and

their role towards peace building

7.2. Content

Impact of New Media on Peace Building

What makes media new? What is fundamentally new? Grant (2008) sees a difference between new

media and traditional media. For the former, communication is no longer one way. Secondly, the

time compression is surprising. For example, when magazines were being edited in the traditional

media, months would be spent doing the work ready for publication and then printing would also

take some time and also the time spent waiting for comments from the audience is another aspect to

be looked at. This is exactly the opposite of new media. It takes an editor some few minutes and

other few minutes to publish and some more few minutes to get the comments back. There is a

universal access to simple publishing tools. As for new media, the magic lies in the internet and the

desire for people to access that new entertainment. Do not forget the advantages that new media

brings which are digitization, convergence, interactivity, networking sites like My-space, Face-book,

Twitter, Blogs, satellite channels etcetera and video exchange. These especially attract a biggest

number of the youth and elites (Grant, 2008).

To some people “new” media or “new” technology may mean small steps forward that are an

addition to what has been there. For example, the internet has been there for quite some time but

has brought Face book, Twitter, Blogs and now doing well in the Arab world and others. These are

step by step developments that have happened and the media has changed certainly. I prefer the idea

of thinking about this question historically and how media started and where it begun from. Like

Crain, (2008), he thinks that the term “new media” possesses its challenges ranging from the fact

that every new development is new at that time it is invented and the other fact is that all the new

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media borrow from the old media. Zoe believes that new is about how long the new can travel how

far the content can travel. Satellite TV is now being able to reach a bigger audience and connecting

people and giving platform for new issues of the time (Grant, 2008).

With the advent of the new media, there came with it what we call world news media giants like the

CNN, Al-Jazeera, internet satellite and others that are not compared to the giants but still form part

of the main stream media like T.V channels and radios. There is another stream of new media like

Twitter, Face book, blogosphere and others that can attract a majority people into the cafes and

internet. This new media advancement has been in existence over the last 20 years and this period

has seen a number of developments in the way people learn from the news and a kind of interaction

that has caused more internet involvement of the youths, elites, the Muslim world and citizens

becoming journalists. For example, bloggers in the Arab world have taken on the role of writing and

speaking about the political and social platforms within the Arab world where even many bloggers

have risked their lives to die and others have been tortured. All these are brought to people’s latest

mobile device through clicking on a topic that a person wants and leaving out what he does not

want to watch (Megumi, 2008). The internet also becomes a kind of a place where issues on politics

and the social dimension are discussed. Since then, the new media has come along with good and

bad things especially on the side of peace building. They include the following:

New media is blamed for fanning flames of conflict such as transmitters, social media and some

traditional form of media like television through their broadcasts and untruthful. The best example

of interest is the Rwanda “Hate Radio” in 1994 where radio RTLM played a significant role in

igniting the genocide in Rwanda which caused loss of lives and psychological traumas. In 2007 in

Kenya, radios were instruments of hate and violence and mobile phones acted as instruments for

communication of violence. However, media has been used to bring people together instead of

dividing them through social network aspect of the web 2.0 which allows people to interact and

make dialogue for peace and social change. For the sake of peace building, the new media has

helped in focusing on humanity and human rights and the world issues such as conflicts, starvation,

development issues and democracy which allows for empowerment of the people through the

improved communication. This should not rule out the fact that not all new media is pro-peace.

Some new media have contributed greatly to the global digital divide like use of mobile phones to

divide among tribes and cultures; a case of Kenya among the kikuyu and the Luo, Kikuyu and

Kalenjins.

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New Media Impact on Journalists’ Effort towards Peace Building

New media does not exclude journalists, in fact it does impact more on journalists because

journalists are more involved in the digital age than anybody else and within this age, the journalist

of today has become different from the journalist of before. The reason for this is that the

journalists of before had the role of making sure that the content of the news was handed over to

the audience without any other person. The journalist was the ultimate giver of the content without

contamination of this information. On the other hand, the journalist of today has been

overshadowed by the citizens who are now able to also make news and provide their own content of

the news. The impact is the loss of meaning in the role of the traditional journalist and getting

swallowed up in the trend of citizen journalists. To this end it is also important to know that new

journalism ought to work hand in hand with traditional journalism to bring out effective journalism

as both have effects on peace building. The journalist today stands high chances for this effect both

positive and negative.

Porter, (2009) shares his thought on some of the challenges of new media to journalists. He

advances that as new media comes into play today, there are challenges that threaten the journalists’

working role and their role in news making. For example the advent of social media like twitter, face

book and others, pose challenges for journalism today because these social media platforms are

more educative to the public than journalism and people get more involved in these social networks

than waiting for traditional journalism to make news for them. The reason why people have lost

interest in traditional journalism is because citizen journalism for example what Eli, (2007) believes

that citizen journalism is more participatory and makes people creative thinkers who contribute yet

traditional journalism does not give room for that as it only gives a daily routine of provision of

news. Again journalism today has little pay and yet journalists work so hard while gathering news

and this makes for tired and bored journalists who cannot provide efficient and effective work. The

other is a challenge of competition with other media outlets as each media outlet struggles to have

the best-selling stories that attract the audience (Porter, 2009). Sambrook (2009) adds that all these

challenges impact on the journalist and makes a declining impact on the journalist’s role as a gate

keeper of information. They are swept by what is new now. Journalists have moved from being the

gatekeeper of information to sharing it in a public space (Bunz, 2009). So if journalists who have this

access are manipulated by the new platforms for new media, then this impacts on both the

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journalists’ traditional role of providing information. All this is manifested in the way journalists act

while on duty for instance during coverage of a conflict.

Social media has caught the attention of journalists as journalists have also become citizen

journalists. For example, some journalists have become both citizen journalists and professional

journalists. For example, Paweł Rogaliński, a prized Polish blogger and journalist (The Hunter

Citizen, 2012).This is because journalists also come from and live in a social surrounding of which

they are not excluded from that social setting. What is offered on social media becomes attractive

for journalists and at the same time, social media stories attract audiences which in the end influence

the professional journalist to get involved in citizen journalism. For example phones have also

contributed to journalists’ social media interaction as they use them to trace information from

citizens especially in conflict /disaster. For instance, Ushahidi in Kenya where mobile phones were

used to trace people alive or dead after the 2007 post violence elections

How New Media Challenges the Definition of a Journalist

According to Balci (2011), new media today gives a journalist a greater role to play because of the

challenges that have come along with new media. He says that “journalists are expected to master far

more tools and platforms than before” (Balci, 2011, n.p.). This is because of the change in

technology and new social media challenge on the side of the citizen journalists. To this end the role

of journalist has been redefined. Hermida (2010) on this point also says that the role of a journalist

today is determined by three forces of media technologies, professionalism and the society whereby

all these three affect a journalist positively or negatively.

Journalism today portrays new ways of reporting which encourage more participation, interaction

with the audience and exchanging ideas and thoughts. Today’s journalism challenges conventional

journalism and its ethics which seems outdated. The journalist today has become part of the active

citizen that participates in social media; making the professional journalist questions his past ethics

in a global changing world. For example, the journalist’s gate keeping role has been erased by new

media whereby gate keeping taught a journalist how to defend his profession even with dilemmas

about the profession which is the opposite today (Mugira, 2009). For example, BBC News executive

Horrocks describes “this mindset as fortress journalism” where journalists see their work as to be

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defended. This has resulted in the static nature of journalism from of old to today and this has

impacted on their roles of peace building even amidst technology advancement.

From my own analysis, the question is that if everybody else can make news and publish and write,

then what role are journalists playing? This question leaves no role for journalists to play today since

everyone is in search for news and updates. What is expected of a journalist today? Can he/she write

meaningful news to the audience? Can she/he make an impact felt now?

When it comes to traditional media, like newspapers, Hermida in his quote explores this. He says

that:

New media technologies do not just offer journalists new ways of doing their old job. A

newspaper online is not the same as a newspaper in print. On paper, the newspaper delivers

a bundle of stories, ads and amusements, such as the crossword puzzle. On the web, the

newspaper package is unbundled into individual fragments. The stable, hierarchy of

information in the printed newspaper falls apart online (Hermida, A, 2010.n.p.).

The above quote means that the new media is more meaningful to the people than what exists from

of old. People actually fall for what is new than what is old, as Hermida puts it that information on

the web is unbundled into fragments because everybody reads it and is more interested in the news

online because of technology influence and its new technology.

How do Non-Traditional Journalistic Activities like Citizen Journalism contribute to Peace

Building?

The advent of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) came with it another

regime of possibilities of citizen journalism. The role of the citizen journalists is a sensitive topic

while discussing new media because it contributes a part of the development today as it promotes

citizen participation. The other way to approach the topic is citizen journalism is the definition of

technology. This means that citizen journalism can also happen outside new media technologies

(Banda, 2010). The following implications for citizen journalism are explained by Banda, and they

provide a basis for the role of citizens and democracy (2012, p.8.).

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•There is a plurality of media platforms, theoretically providing more opportunities for citizens to

experiment with citizen-journalistic communication.

• There is so much competition for sources of information that the base of possible sources is likely

to be diversified, suggesting that conventional journalism will rely on citizen journalists for some of

its production. Arguably, this is likely to result in greater use of people hitherto marginalized from

mainstream media.

• There is a greater opportunity for citizens to own their own media and counter the effects of years

of reportorial neglect occasioned by an unhealthy concentration of media ownership.

• With new media outlets set up in far flung areas, such as community radio stations, the likelihood

of achieving universal access to media by citizens is such that it could fuel interest in localized forms

of journalism, including citizen journalism.

The above implications are essential because they manifest the role of that citizens have in

promoting democracy and the rights to freedom. Their emergency on the new media platform is an

initiative that has empowered them in reporting on societal issues and their participation in making

news. Thus making a difference in the conventional type of journalism which only looks at a

journalist as a professional and the need to protect their profession without doing exactly what the

profession requires of them.

Glaser, (2006) defines citizen journalism as an unprofessional training that employs methods of

modern technology with the use of the internet to make, or bring about a change in the media or to

enhance a change in the way the media functions. Citizen journalism can work on its own or with

others through the use of blogs in an online forum as the common instrument for achieving their

goals of journalism traditional media change. This has much to do with enhancing a change in the

mainstream media and its traditional ways of journalism and ways of finding correct mistakes in the

blogs. It is about correcting the wrong in the mainstream media and finding new ways of how to

address the problem through modern ways of the media. Citizen journalism aims at making a

difference in developing a balanced story that awakens readers’ thinking so that they are able to act

according to a certain situation.

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How does Citizen Journalism contribute to Peace Building?

New journalistic activities that have come with the advent of new media have been significant

towards the process of peace building as they portray a difference in the lives of the people. Eli,

(2007) asserts that for example citizen journalism:

Citizen Journalism epitomizes the belief that the experiences of people personally involved

with an issue, present a different and often more complete picture of events than can be

derived from the perspective of an outsider. Due to limitations of access and time and in

some cases ulterior motives to present just one side of a story, traditional reporting risks at

least the perception of being skewed. By granting access to anyone to cover the news, citizen

journalism presents a more personal, nuanced view of events and has the potential to

cultivate communities of people with a common interest. Through blogs, citizen journalists

have broken stories about political corruption, police brutality, and other issues of concern

to local and national communities (Eli, 2007, p.4)

Eli, (2007) highlights the importance of objective thinking within citizen journalism as it brings

citizen involvement in the ideas and events presented. As citizens participate in giving answers to the

events at hand, they in one way contribute to new ideas in the social, political and economic world,

hence making a free flow of information from the citizen journalists to the citizens’ participation in

the world. This implies that the citizen journalists facilitate the participation of the other citizens’

thinking and connectivity in the world of ideas. When this kind of flow of information takes place,

there exists a friendly relationship and a transparent exchange of ideas that create a harmonious

society and a mature way of solving problems and issues.

What could be the Future for New Media on Peace Building?

First and foremost, it’s quite important to remember that media today, may not be the same media

tomorrow as we live in a world of rapid technological advancement which brings with it new ideas

and creative minds as people participate. As technology advances, even journalists in future will

change their ways of reporting. This enables prediction of new ways of reporting for journalists in

future which will involve a more advanced means which allows even citizen being able to report

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news since everybody will be involved in the new media arena. Social networks too are creating a

platform for democratic societies to actively participate in the new media and a further need for

more involvement in bigger networks that can go beyond media and connect to other networks

outside media to cause development. When these networks are created, people’s attitudes, behavior

and feeling will grow bigger and greater that even developing countries will have to move with this

pace because they have access to these big data. It’s possible that more social networks will create

more ground for peace building initiatives that may be done on the internet and people will have to

manage them online and solve problems on the internet. On the contrary, future media may still

contribute to further conflicts as it creates a society of individuals who mind about their own lives

and not the lives of others. I think each will be alone and none will mind about the other. The new

media that time may be, 20 years from now, may look totally different from what it is today.

There is a possibility in future that new media in 20 years to come will bring about more increased

freedom of expression for the people as each will have the opportunity to express important issues

of peace building. I also suspect that most societies in future with the newest media will live in

democratic societies where each one’s rights will be respected and people will be able to live in

harmony since this is the whole debate about peace building. With the newest media that time, I

project that new media and peace building will speak the same language, will have symbiotic

relationship as each will feed from the other.

7.3. Learning Outcomes

Students will have knowledge on how new media impacts on journalism Students will

embrace the fact that new media has changed the whole description of who a journalist is.

This means that it has affected a journalist of today both positively and negatively.

Students will be able to apply the knowledge on non-traditional methods into their own local

journalism settings.

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7.4. Session Methodology:

Methodology/strategy Activities Resources

Debriefing (10 minutes)

May be from previous class or

insights since the last class.

At least each student will

contribute something from

the previous class.

Manila papers, Markers

Non-conventional Lecturing Lecturer will lecture through

using a participatory kind of

approach that engages critical

thinking of students on the

subject

Power point presentation

(slides) for the lecturer, laptop

and projector, text books

Questions and Answers Students will be expected to

ask as many questions as

possible because this

contributes to their final

grading

Manilas, flip charts. Etcetera

Small Group Discussions(20

minutes)

Students will go into groups

and discuss the different new

media tools and discuss how

each has contributed to

further conflict (for example

hate speech) or peace. They

can as well give examples

here. They will then present

this in their small groups

Books, pens, manila papers,

clip boards, flip charts,

Students will be asked to think of

anything especially from their

Here students will take this as

a take home and they will be

Manila, flip charts, YouTube,

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local settings of something that

can best lead to peace. It can be a

concept in local languages, it can

be a word, it can be anything and

see how students can incorporate

it in the peace building arena. For

example, the concept of

“Ubuntu”. This can range from

cultures

expected to work in groups

and present this in class. It

will begin the classes the

following day.

markers

7.5. Readings:

(i). Required:

Nishikura, M. (2008).Thesis Summary: How New Media Contributes to Peacebuilding. New Media

Technology: The Next Platform in Peace building. Retrieved July 5, 2012 from

http://luvmegumi.blogspot.com/2008/05/thesis-summary-how-new-media.html

Hermida, A. (2010). Rethinking the Role of the Journalist in the Participatory Age. University of

British Columbia. Retrieved July 6, 2012 from

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/07/rethinking-the-role-of-the-journalist-in-the-

participatory-age190.html

(ii). Recommended:

Eli, (2007). Things You Should Know About Citizen Journalism. Scenario. Educause Learning

initiative. Retrieved July 2 2012 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7031.pdf

Glaser, M. (2006). Your Guide to Citizen Journalism. Media Shift. Retrieved July 2 2012 from

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2006/09/your-guide-to-citizen-journalism270.html

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Session 8: GUEST SPEAKER FOR ONE DAY ON THE ROLE OF JOURNALISM ETHICS AND PEACE

BUILDING.

8.1. Learning Objectives

To have and understand more from lived experiences on journalism ethics and Peace

building

To get a different picture of what is being explained about journalism ethics and peace

building

To obtain real examples from the guest speaker and his experience on this topic.

8.2. Content:

Having a change in the class dynamics by inviting a guest speaker makes the whole teaching process

more meaningful; through a new knowledge and an experienced person who has either gone

through the same experience or one who has taught it to others. This gives an informed knowledge

on the topic. So a guest speaker is there to address what may seem of doubt. The topic of journalism

ethics and peace building; really calls upon having a guest speaker because the university of Uganda

martyrs does not have any department or faculty on mass communication or media studies.

Secondly, the class is a mixture of students from all backgrounds and professions. So this means that

if the class receives a guest speaker on this topic, there is a possibility that he/she will highlight more

on what mass communication does in particular. This is pedagogical teaching method and more

creative to break the monotony of the daily teaching of the teacher. This enriches the student in one

way or the other and a wider focus of ideas.

A guest speaker never at one time becomes a substitute but instead he/she is just a guest of which

the teacher should not absent herself/himself while the guest speaker gives his ideas. Inviting guest

speakers means putting across issues and putting across real life journeys (Mullins, 2001).While

inviting a guest speaker, there a few things that the teacher ought to put into consideration especially

before the guest speaker comes to give his talk. These normally help both the guest speaker and the

teacher and the students to have a focus of what they need during the guest speaker’s stay. They also

help to make things flow in the right direction as the class wishes it. Preparation before will highlight

what will be talked about during the guest speaker’s stay (Purcell, 2011, n.p.). They include:

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1. Know with the class what structure will be followed when the guest speaker come. The

structure can include guest speaker’s presentation followed by questions and answers; or

inquire from the class what topics they would like to put forward when the guest comes; or

sort of an interview questionnaire to be given to the guest speaker. This will act as a basis for

what the speaker will talk about and in this case, the students will follow what the guest

speaker will be talking about. Hence the good role of a guest speaker (Purcell, 2011).

2. At this point, the students ought to know what you will talk about and they are not biased

toward what they ought to get from the teacher and guest speaker.

3. Let students know what is going on beforehand. Don’t take them unawares. This helps them

not to have too much expectations or too low expectations. Their clarity on things makes

the whole preparation for the guest speaker clearer. It is also useless inviting a guest speaker

yet this will not be applicable either in the exams or in their lives. Is there a possibility of

making a report out of the guest’s visit?

4. Everything ought to be in the right order even when the guest speaker comes. They need to

know the place and time when to be there when the guest comes.

Preparation for everything is really important as it makes success inevitable. If there is need for

preparing the projector, manilas, markers, and the internet test and all that the guest will need, this

can be important. This will make every time spent successful at the end of the day to the teacher,

students and guest speaker (Purcell, 2011, n.p.)

8.3. Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the session, learners will have acquired basic knowledge features on the topic of

journalism ethics and peace building. Acquisition of critical listening and assessment skills will be an

achievement.

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8.4. Session Methodology

Methodology/Strategy Activities Resources

Debriefing (10 minutes)

May be from previous class or

insights since the last class.

By students(participatory in

nature)

Manila papers, Markers

Teaching, methodology and

activities to be done will be

decided by the guest speaker

Guest speaker in the areas of

journalism ethics and peace

building. Can be a journalist

Power point presentation

(slides) for the lecturer, laptop

and projector, questions and

answers etc.

A talk from the guest ( a whole

day)

.Guest speaker in the areas of

journalism ethics and peace

building. Can be a journalist

Presentation, manilas, markers

and whatever he wishes to

help him/her in the sharing

Questions and answers or

insights by the students

Students, teacher and guest

speaker all get involved in

this.

-do-

8.5. Session Evaluation:

This session will be evaluated by the debriefing activity at the beginning of the class before the guest

speaker. A take away activity will help to evaluate the learners’ understanding of experiences shared

by guest speakers. Students will also be evaluated by the questions and the answers in class and yet

will also in a sentence say what inspired them in class and what they learnt.

8.6. Readings

The readings here will be provided by the guest speaker some days before he/she comes to give his

talk. This is because the preparation process will have given them a hint of what they will be doing

with the guest speaker.

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Session 9: VISIT TO UMCAT-SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM FOR 2 DAYS

The purpose of the students visiting the school of journalism is first and foremost that; Uganda

Martyrs University does not have an established department of faculty on mass communication

studies of journalism. Secondly because the students that will be taught will be a mixture of different

professions; of which some students do not have the experience. And so Uganda Martyrs University

would like to visit the School of Journalism for 2 days. The objectives for this are;

9.1. Learning Objectives:

To provide students with an opportunity to study with people actively engaged in daily

journalism;

To provide the recipient with an opportunity to think, write and teach about journalistic

issues especially that lead to peace building.

Students will be able to interact with the students from the school of journalism and share

with our students what exactly happens in journalism

This visit will act as an eye opener to the management of Uganda Martyrs University to

begin a school of journalism in Uganda Martyrs University. Because students will present

reports about the visit to the conference within the university

9.2. Content.

UMCAT means United Media Consultants and Trainers. It is a leading privately run media training

institution in Uganda which provides progressive and highly relevant training and education in

journalism and mass communication. The school is under the Directorate of training of UMCAT, a

company registered and incorporated under section 16(1) of the companies Act of the Republic of

Uganda. It begun in 1996 and attracts students from the whole of East Africa, West Africa and far

East. It is therefore important that students that will take this course will have a very and special

time to visit this school of journalism for purposes that are mentioned above in the objectives.

Students will then write a small report of one page on what transpired during the 2 days. In this they

will write about in summary what the professors in the school taught and what they learnt. This will

act as a basis for finding whether the visit was a waste of time or not. This will contribute to the

grading too at the end of the course.

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These reports written by students will be used for presentations in Uganda Martyrs University as a

trigger for a future thought of building a school of journalism or mass media. This school is really

advocated for in Uganda martyrs University to help students know the role that media plays in

society since all students come from the society. Development too should be defined in terms of

media communication and its functions. This will help remind the students that media has always

acted as a tool for violence like the case of Rwanda. Students in this course come from different

countries from East Africa where the media has been instrumental in causing violence but at the

same time peace.

9.3. Learning Outcomes:

Students will have the new added knowledge form the school of journalism which they will

use in their final report.

They will be equipped with the ability to think, write and teach about journalistic issues

especially those that relate to peace building.

The interaction from other students from the school of journalism will act as an intriguing factor to

have a school in Uganda Martyrs University.

9.4. Session Methodology

Methodology/Strategy Activities Resources

Students will be given some prior

knowledge on where they are

going. Scho0l of journalism. That

will be a day before.

Students will be required to

prepare in advance

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Visit the school-UMCAT

Teachers in the school of

journalism will give a 2 day

lecturer on the general role of

journalism ethics and peace

building. Students will be

expected to be active and be

attentive

Books, pens for students.

Projector, laptop and all the

other teaching aids for the

teachers, will be needed.

Observation and active

participation on the visit and

interaction

Students will interact with the

other students on basis of

learning. Friendship can also

be a tool for learning

Field necessities

Findings from the visit to the

school of journalism

Students will write a one page

report in summary of what

they learnt and what is

instrumental in journalism for

peace building.

books, pens,

This visit will enable students’

more concentration on to their

final project

Students will take like a whole

semester thinking of what to

write for their project. This

will be the final grading level

and the highest because it will

be more practical and

crowning what has been

studied and learnt.

Papers, pens, sharing, and all

that students feel will help

them during this project.

9.5. Session Evaluation:

Students will be evaluated on how they have been active during this school visit, their contributions

to the visit, the kinds of reports they will write and their outcomes from these reports.

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9.6. Readings

Readings will be provided while at the visit to the school of journalism. Students are also expected to

find their own personal readings to help them in getting more knowledge on the whole course.

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Session 10: WRITING A PROJECT ON DEVELOPMENT JOURNALISM

The reason for choosing development journalism is because Uganda is a developing country in all

spheres of development yet development journalism entails journalism that addresses the

development of a country with the help of the government. It is about addressing all problems from

the grassroots level in order to help reach development and journalists being the voice of the people.

This is seen in session one where we saw the theory of development journalism. This theory can

work very well in such countries as Uganda. This is the reason why students will be able;

10.1. Learning Objectives

This project is to raise plenty of questions about development journalism and the media’s

accountability in Uganda and other countries.

To know how to address some development problems like elections and which role

journalists can play in this.

The project will be able to help in addressing problems of local journalism settings and

rectify the problem within journalism which prevents peace building process to flourish.

10.2. Content:

Anywhere in any school or university, the purpose for projects is a learning tool that helps students

to widen their levels of technical writing skills and apply the knowledge in their own local settings in

this context local journalism. This then becomes important as Becky, (2010) believes that projects

help in tracing how far students can go in applying the practical knowledge and helping students to

grow in that area. Sometimes students find themselves there and their potential other than tests

which only limit them from being more practical. She still believes that projects enhance a different

kind of learning different from home; that’s kind of creativity.

1. For this project, students will choose a project on the areas that involve addressing

grassroots problems. Students will do these projects using a development journalism language

2. This project will be done using development journalism techniques and students should

imagine themselves as journalists reporting about this problem. They ought to write articles

from this and will find which language to use; they will know which ethics can apply and

how a journalist would report on that certain issue.

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3. Students will choose topics of interest for their project. Students may choose to write audio

documentaries or visual documentaries.

4. Students can inquire more about this project through the lecturer throughout the entire

semester.

10.3. Learning Outcomes

Students will be able at the end of this course to;

Understand development journalism and the media’s accountability in Uganda and other

countries.

Discover whether media organizations can work in the long term with NGOs and charities

and which ethics can apply to this

To know how to address certain problems that happen at the lowest levels of the society and

which role journalists can play in this.

Help in addressing problems of local journalism settings and rectify the problem within

journalism through conflict sensitive journalism which leads to peace building.

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10.4. Session Methodology

Methodology/Strategy Activities Resources

Choose a project. Choose any

topic of interest for their project

Students Consultations, they can watch

videos or listen to audios to

find how best to do it. You

Tube can be a resource.

Students imagine themselves as

journalists

Students do this through

intensive going through which

project will require all this

Use of Radio campaigns, audio

documentaries and visual

documentaries or a seminar

campaign

Students will show the

essentials of peace journalism,

on covering elections for

example; so as to discourage

violence.

Aspects on journalism that

promotes societal

development and encourages

reconciliation rather than

violence; will be applied.

All the necessary requirements

for students

Consultations from lecturer Students will consult as much

as possible when possible.

Handing in of the final projects At the end of the semester,

students will hand in their

projects.

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10.5. Session Evaluation

Students will be evaluated on how best they can do the project. Consultations from the

lecturer will mean a lot here to the lecturer and will help serious students to know how

they are progressing. Sometimes, students will have small meetings to evaluate their

progress on these projects and the lecturer will have to be present to direct them.

10.6. Readings

Students will find the readings themselves to help them in the projects they are writing.

This will be upon consultation still from the lecturer.

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Annex 1

(International Principles of Professional Ethics in Journalism)

Principle IV: The journalist's professional integrity

The social role of the journalist demands that the profession maintain high standards of integrity,

including the journalist's right to refrain from working against his or her conviction or from

disclosing sources of information as well as the right to participate in the decision-making of the

medium in which he or she is employed. The integrity of the profession does not permit the

journalist to accept any form of bribe or the promotion of any private interest contrary to the

general welfare. Likewise, it belongs to professional ethics to respect intellectual property and, in

particular, to refrain from plagiarism.

Principle V: Public access and participation

The nature of the profession demands that the journalist promote access by the public to

information and participation of the public in the media, including the right of correction or

rectification and the right of reply.

Principle VI: Respect for privacy and human dignity

An integral part of the professional standards of the journalists is respect for the right of the

individual to privacy and human dignity, in conformity with provisions of international and national

law concerning protection of the rights and the reputation of others, prohibiting libel, calumny,

slander and defamation.

Principle VII: Respect for public interest

The professional standards of the journalist prescribe due respect for the national community, its

democratic institutions and public morals.

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Principle VIII: Respect for universal values and diversity of cultures

A true journalist stands for the universal values of humanism, above all peace, democracy, human

rights, social progress and national liberation, while respecting the distinctive character, value and

dignity of each culture, as well as the right of each people freely to choose and develop its political,

social, economic and cultural systems. Thus the journalist participates actively in social

transformation towards democratic betterment of society and contributes through dialogue to a

climate of confidence in international relations conducive to peace and justice everywhere, to

détente, disarmament and national development. It belongs to the ethics of the profession that the

journalist be aware of relevant provisions contained in international conventions, declarations and

resolutions.

Principle IX: Elimination of war and other great evils confronting humanity

The ethical commitment to the universal values of humanism calls for the journalist to abstain from

any justification for, or incitement to, wars of aggression and the arms race, especially in nuclear

weapons, and all other forms of violence, hatred or discrimination, especially racialism and

apartheid, oppression by tyrannical regimes, colonialism and neocolonialism, as well as other great

evils which afflict humanity, such as poverty, malnutrition and diseases. By so doing, the journalist

can help eliminate ignorance and misunderstanding among peoples, make nationals of a country

sensitive to the needs and desires of others, ensure respect for the rights and dignity of all nations,

all peoples and all individuals without distinction of race, sex, language, nationality, religion or

philosophical conviction.

Principle X: Promotion of a new world information and communication order

The journalist operates in the contemporary world within the framework of a movement towards

new international relations in general and a new information order in particular. The new order,

understood as an integral part of the New International Economic Order, is aimed at the

decolonization and democratization of information and communication, both nationally and

internationally, on the basis of peaceful coexistence among peoples and with full respect for their

cultural identity. The journalist has a special obligation to promote the process of democratization of

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international relations in the field of information, in particular by safeguarding and fostering peaceful

and friendly relations among states and peoples.

Source: Consultative Club of International and Regional Organizations of Journalists, 1983. Paris.

(http://ethicnet.uta.fi/international/international_principles_of professional_ethics_in_journalism.)