Journalism , Media and the Challenge of Human Rights
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JOURNALISM, MEDIA AND THE CHALLENGE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTING The International Council on Human Rights Policy The International Council on Human Rights Policy was established in Geneva in 1998 to conduct applied research into current human rights issues. Its research is designed to be of practical relevance to policy- makers in international and regional organisations, in governments and intergovernmental agencies, and in voluntary organisations of all kinds. The Council is independent, international in its membership, and participatory in its approach. It is registered as a non-profit foundation under Swiss law. Additional information about the Council, and other research projects it is undertaking, can be found at the end of this document. Journalism, media and the challenge of human rights reporting The International Council on Human Rights Policy wishes to thank the Ford Foundation (New York), the Swedish International Development Co- operation Agency (SIDA), the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA), the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Human Rights (New York), OXFAM (United Kingdom) and Christian Aid (United Kingdom) for their financial support of the Council and of this research. Journalism, media and the challenge of human rights reporting © 2002, International Council on Human Rights Policy © Copyright 2002 International Council on Human Rights Policy 48, chemin du Grand-Montfleury, POB 147, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland Journalism, Media and the Challenge of Human Rights Reporting, 2002, International Council on Human Rights Policy, Versoix, Switzerland. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic mail, mechanical, photocopying, recording and/or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. The designation of geographical entities in this report, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion by the International Council on Human Rights Policy concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The International Council on Human Rights Policy is a non-profit foundation registered in Switzerland. ISBN 2-940259-23-2 Design and layout by Aplin Clark, London, United Kingdom. Cover illustration: © The British Museum. Gold Morning Ring with a painted eye, England, after AD 1794. Printed by: ATAR Roto Press SA, 1214, Vernier, Switzerland All rights reserved. A Summary of Findings of this report is available at a cost of ten Swiss francs plus postage. Copies can be ordered directly from our Internet site at the following address: www.international-council.org or www.ichrp.org INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY 48, chemin du Grand-Montfleury POB 147, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland Tel: (4122) 775-3300 Fax: (4122) 775-3303 Email: [email protected] Contents Background and Acknowledgements Foreword Preface I. Introduction Human rights as a news topic Covering human rights Definitions II. Human Rights and the Media in History The International Bill of Rights From codification to institutionalisation The media and human rights III. The Professional Environment: Context, Trends and Constraints The communication revolution International media Concentration The impact of technology Downsizing, dumbing down and ‘infotaining’ Technological changes and constraints Physical access Economic situation of journalists Trends in consumer attitudes Local and national media Human rights organisations and media régimes Campaign strategies of large Northern NGOs IV. The Editorial Process Newsworthiness The example of Burundi The example of Iraq The culture of breaking news Context, staffing and institutional memory Relations between correspondents and editors Relations between national media and international media Freedom of the press Selecting the story V. Bias, Advocacy and Precision Institutional and political bias Propaganda and distortion Naming: language and stance Polarisation and conflict ‘Human rights is abroad’ The impact of NGOs and public relations groups Editorial freedom Advocacy: fact and comment VI. Conclusions Ignorance of what human rights are Confusion about where human rights are Unawareness of the scope of human rights Fear of partisanship The battle for space The view of human rights organisations VII. Recommendations To journalists, editors and media organisations To governments and international organisations To human rights organisations Appendix I: International Human Rights Standards Appendix II: List of Journalists and Experts Consulted Cited Works and Select Bibliography Useful Internet sites Background and Acknowledgements Research and original writing of this report were undertaken by Roger Kaplan between July 2000 and June 2001. Mr. Kaplan is a freelance journalist based in New York. Additional writing and editing was done by Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, Research Director at the International Council on Human Rights Policy and co-ordinator of the project, and Richard Carver, consultant based in Oxford. The research and preparation of this report was guided by an Advisory Group composed of: Margaret Cook Director of Public Affairs and Adviser on International Issues and Co-operation at the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission; Senior Political Consultant to the National Nine Television Network in Australia. Roy Gutman Pulitzer Prize winner for international journalism; Director of the Crimes of War Project at the American University in Washington D.C. Kwame Karikari Director of the School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana where he also teaches; Founder and Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa in Accra. Jean-Paul Marthoz European Communications Director for Human Rights Watch; Former Deputy- Editor of Le Soir (Brussels); author of Et Maintenant, le Monde en Bref - Politique Etrangère, Journalisme Global et Libertés (1999). Aidan White General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists; previously journalist in the United Kingdom for The Guardian, The Sunday Times and The Financial Times and Desk Editor at The Birmingham Evening Mail. Several papers were prepared as contributions to this report. The authors described how human rights aspects of the issues they researched were covered locally and internationally by the media, examined how various actors influenced the local coverage, analysed the process and drew conclusions. The reports, which were researched and written between July and November 2000, covered the impact of the economic sanctions in Iraq since 1990, the issue of international criminal justice in the aftermath of the 1998 Augusto Pinochet indictment precedent, the 1999 international intervention in Kosovo and the 1995 crisis in Burundi. The papers were prepared by: Nabil Khatib Bureau Chief of the Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC), Jerusalem office; Director of the Media Institute at Birzeit University, West Bank. Mirko Macari Journalist at El Sabado in Santiago de Chile. 1 Yamila Milovic Production Manager at Radio Mir in Sarajevo. Adrien Sindayigaya Producer at Studio Ijambo in Bujumbura. On November 27-28, 2000, the International Council held an international meeting in Geneva to discuss the preliminary findings of the research, and to debate the research questions. This meeting brought together the research team, the members of the project's Advisory Group and a group of media experts — most of whom are working or former journalists. Loubna Freih, consultant with Human Rights Watch, prepared a report of the meeting. That document was used in the preparation of the present study, as was a feasibility study prepared by Susan D. Moeller, Fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Centre on Press, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard University. In addition to the individuals above, the following people took part in the review seminar: Miguel Bayón Contributing Editor at El Pais in Madrid. Frank Ching Then Contributing Editor at the Far Eastern Economic Review in Hong Kong. Stanley Cohen Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science; Board member of the International Council on Human Rights Policy. Anna Husarska Senior Political Analyst at the International Crisis Group in Brussels; Previously Fellow at the Media Studies Centre in New York. Kakuna Kerina Then Director of the Africa Programme at the International League for Human Rights in New York. Claude Moisy Former President of Agence France Presse; Vice-President of Reporters Sans Frontières in Paris; President of the Pact of Stability for South-eastern Europe Media Task Force. Charles Editor-in-Chief of The Monitor in Kampala; Columnist for The East African in Onyongo-Obbo Nairobi. Deborah Potter Executive Director of NewsLab in Washington D.C.; former network Correspondent at CBS and CNN. Ibn Abdur Rehman Director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in Karachi; former editor and journalist. 2 Naomi Sakr Media consultant and Research Associate at the University of Westminster in London. Andrew Thompson Commissioning Director at the BBC World Service in London. Two other consultations contributed to the preparation of this report. On March 13, 2001, in co- operation with the Institute for the Studies on Free Flow of Information, the International Council held a day-long discussion with journalists in Jakarta, Indonesia, to examine the issues. On September 5, 2001, in the context of