CONFLICT AND PEACE FORUMS A practical checklist for the ethical reporting of conflicts in the 21st Century, produced by journalists, for journalists BY JAKE LYNCH REPORTING THE “A thoughtful blend of “First class” “A convincing argument” “Serious and wise” academic rigour and Fergal Keane, Susie Orbach, author Professor Ian Hargreaves, journalistic experience… Special Correspondent, BBC and psychotherapist Cardiff University To read it is to learn a little more about the true nature of events” Peter Preston, columnist and former editor, The Guardian www.ReportingtheWorld.org REPORTING THE Reporting the World – A practical checklist for the ethical reporting with journalists in many countries, and teaches an annual MA of conflicts in the 21st Century produced by journalists for course in conflict analysis and media at the University of Sydney. journalists. Production team – Annabel McGoldrick, Jake Lynch, Indra Adnan, Published by Conflict & Peace Forums Design – sugarfreedesign.co.uk Taplow Court, Taplow, Berkshire SL6 OER Photographs – Matthew Isepp Sponsored by Department for International Development About the author Seminars hosted by the Freedom Forum European Centre Jake Lynch ([email protected] ) is a freelance And SGI-UK, Buddhist Society for the Creation of Value reporter in television and print media. He was the Independent’s Sydney correspondent in 1998-9 and © copyright Conflict & Peace Forums, 2002 works in London for the BBC and Sky News, for whom he covered the Nato briefings in Brussels ISBN Number: 0-9542064-0-1 throughout the Kosovo crisis. He has conducted training dialogues presented by sponsored by hosted by www.ReportingtheWorld.org CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 3 4.1.2. ‘Peace – now more than ever’ say Arabs & Jews as death toll inches up ........................................................ 67 A FOUR-POINT ETHICAL CHECKLIST FOR INTERNATIONAL NEWS 4 4.2. Two versions of Macedonia, April 2001 ........................................ 70 4.2.1. Massacre ruins hopes for peace in Macedonia ............................ 70 1. INTERNATIONAL NEWS AFTER ‘9-11’ ........................................ 6 4.2.2. Macedonian parties condemn violence after gunmen kill police & soldiers ....................................................... 72 2. ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE JOURNALIST IN CONFLICT 4.3. Two versions of Africa – the assassination of 2.1. Influences on the journalist – a three-way balance ....................... 18 President Kabila, Jan 2001 .......................................................... 76 2.2. A media-savvy world ................................................................... 21 4.3.1. Death of reviled leader brings new chaos to 2.3. Covering violence ........................................................................ 21 Africa’s heart of darkness ........................................................... 76 2.4. The Feedback Loop ..................................................................... 24 4.3.2. Congolese dreams of peace and democracy 2.5. Objectivity ...................................................................................27 still on hold as leader is assassinated. .......................................... 78 2.6. Conflict Analysis .......................................................................... 29 4.4. Two versions of Iraq, February 2001 ............................................ 83 2.7. New balance ............................................................................... 36 4.4.1. Allies strike to snuff out Iraqi threat ............................................ 83 4.4.2. Gulf states condemn American-British bombing 3. PRACTICAL & ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF CHECKLIST POINTS as threat to regional security ........................................................ 85 3.1.1. Explanations for violence ............................................................. 38 4.5. Two versions of Indonesia, August 2001 ...................................... 89 3.1.2. Explaining violence in Africa ........................................................ 39 4.5.1. The Black Bats strike back – fear and loathing in Poso ............... 89 3.2.1. The shape of the conflict ............................................................. 40 4.5.2. Communities join to contain conflict in troubled tropical paradise ... 91 3.2.2. From tug-of-war to cat’s-cradle .................................................... 43 3.3.1. Peace initiatives and ‘solutions’ .................................................... 46 5. REPORTING THE WORLD AND THE REFORM AGENDA IN NEWS 3.3.2. Camp David ................................................................................ 51 5.1. A sense of purpose .....................................................................96 3.4.1. Intervention or complicity? ........................................................... 52 5.2. The public interest .......................................................................98 3.4.2. Non-military interventions ............................................................ 56 5.3. Open and closed texts ................................................................. 99 3.4.3. An interdependent world ............................................................. 59 5.4. Reform priorities ........................................................................ 102 4. BEFORE AND AFTER Acknowledgements ............................................................................... 103 4.1. Two versions of Israel and the Palestinians, October 2000 ........... 65 4.1.1. World leaders plead for sanity in Mid-East meltdown ....................65 INTRODUCTION Reporting the World is a service for journalists striving to uphold Section One, International News after ‘9-11’, is an introduction to values of balance, fairness and responsibility in their coverage of the main concepts of Reporting the World, interpreted in and for the international affairs. More than two hundred editors, writers, changed situation after the attack on America. producers and reporters have joined interested professionals from other related fields, to discuss how news can best inform and Section Two, The role and responsibilities of the journalist covering orientate readers and audiences in today’s increasingly conflict, is based on discussions at the seminars and Round Table. interdependent world. It also gives a concise guide to the principles of Conflict Analysis, in In a series of evening seminars at the Freedom Forum European a form useful for journalists. Centre in London, participants have examined the reporting of conflicts involving Israel and the Palestinians (‘Seminar Section Three, Practical and ethical implications of the One’); Macedonia (‘Seminar Two’); Africa (‘Seminar ...a broad-based checklist points, examines the four key questions - Three’), with particular reference to the war in the agenda for reform proposed here as a basis for the ethical reporting of Democratic Republic of the Congo; Iraq (‘Seminar in news, aimed at conflicts - in the context of important stories on the Four’) and Indonesia (‘Seminar Five’). helping international news agenda. Senior journalists, analysts and news decision-makers journalists to gathered at Taplow Court, Bucks, for a three-day Round apply the best of Section Four, Before and After, is a set of reports, Table, to formulate a broad-based agenda for reform in prepared as for a London-based broadsheet newspaper news, aimed at helping journalists to apply the best of traditional ethics on major developments in one or other of these stories. traditional ethics and values to their work in a modern and values to In each case the same episode is reported in two setting. their work in a different ways, to show how applying the checklist modern setting. points can affect the finished piece. This document This publication represents a distillation of the main Section Five, Reporting the World and the reform themes in the discussions. Quotes from journalists are drawn from agenda in news, links this exercise with a broad reform agenda, transcripts of proceedings at the seminars and Round Table. Full integrating journalistic ethics and the public interest. I versions can be found on the website, along with perspectives from individual participants; the names of speakers; summaries of the issues raised; video clips from some of the seminars, an on-line discussion and links to related articles and sites. Introduction 3 A FOUR-POINT ETHICAL CHECKLIST FOR INTERNATIONAL NEWS Reporting the World has highlighted several important practical questions – questions about what to cover, and how to cover it, which recur in any discussion of the ethics of international news in general, and the reporting of conflicts in particular. The purpose here is to propose a ‘checklist’ What is the shape of the conflict? of points under four main headings, arising • Is the conflict framed as a ‘tug-of-war’ – a from the series of seminars and the Round zero-sum game of two parties contesting a Table and drawing on the insights of Conflict single goal, so whatever one side wins, the Analysis. other side loses? These are for journalists to consider • Or as a ‘cat’s-cradle’ – a pattern of many whenever they commission, edit, produce or interdependent parties, with needs and write a story about conflict, in order to help interests which may overlap, or provide them think through and engage with the scope for integrated solutions? ethical