Journalism in Times of War 1 Edited by Awad Joumaa & Khaled Ramadan Coordinator Diana Larrea JOURNALISM IN TIMES OF WAR First published in 2018 by the Al Jazeera Media Institute Legal Deposit No.: 623/2017 ISBN: 978-9927-4011-9-0 Printed in Qatar Editors: Awad Joumaa & Khaled Ramadan Coordinator: Diana Larrea English Copy Editors: Adrian Finighan, Dorian Batycka, Stine Høxbroe Arabic Copy Editor: Mohammed Zeidan Translators: Lamia Sahili and Tala Noujeim Researcher: Stine Hoxbroe Cover Image: Al Jazeera Media Network. Still photograph taken from documentary film “Zero Distance”, episode “Among Syrian Fighters”. The image shows Al Jazeera correspondent Salam Hindawi in a tunnel in northern Syria, used by Syrian rebels to move underground and fight the Syrian regime. Book Design: Ahmad Fattah Copyright 2018 Al Jazeera Media Institute ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Table of Contents Contributors 6 Message from the Al Jazeera Media Institute 11 Editors’ Note By Awad Joumaa and Khaled Ramadan 12 Introduction Close Up and Personal By Hamid Dabashi 16 PART 1 War Journalism – Lessons Learned and Practical Advice Chapter 1 A Struggle Within a Struggle: Media Coverage and Censorship in Yemen Interview with Bashraheel Hisham Bashraheel 21 Chapter 2 Despite Barriers and Hazards: A Woman’s Experience Working in Gaza By Ameera Ahmad Harouda 40 Chapter 3 Lessons from a War Correspondent Interview with Zeina Khodr 47 Chapter 4 War on Your Doorsteps: Journalism and Activism By Zaina Erhaim 65 Chapter 5 Reporting Under Occupation in Palestine Interview with Tamer Al-Meshal 74 Chapter 6 Tales of a Local: Freelance Journalist in Yemen By Muatasm Alhitari 85 PART 2 From the Digital Trenches: Transforming War Coverage Chapter 7 Digital Sherlocks: Open Source Investigation and News Verification During Wartime By Christiaan Triebert and Hadi Al-Khatib 95 Chapter 8 War Stories Through Social Media: Audience Engagement and Ethical Hiring Practices By Sakhr Al-Makhadhi 114 Chapter 9 Beyond Bystanders: Citizen Journalism During the Egyptian Revolution By Khaled Faheem 120 PART 3 Making Journalism Better and Safer Chapter 10 Protection of Journalists under Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law By Abou Abass 132 Chapter 11 Closing the Door on Inciting Violence: How to Avoid Hate Speech By Ibrahim Saber 144 Chapter 12 Professional Integrity: The Cornerstone of Protection By Peter Greste 158 Chapter 13 Good Governance in Media Organisations By Aidan White 165 Contributors Abou Abass Hadi Al-Khatib is a Judicial Affairs Officer in the MINUSMA collects, verifies, investigates and preserves (United Nations Multidimensional Integrated citizen-generated data as evidence of Mission in Mali) since March 2017. Before, he human rights violations. He is part of the worked as Human Rights Officer, in the Office Syrian Archive project, an initiative aiming of the United Nations High Commissioner for at exposing and drawing attention to these Human Rights (OHCHR), Tunisia country violations committed by all sides in the Syrian office (2012-2017), Associate Judicial Affairs conflict. He also works with Bellingcat as a Officer in the United Nations-African Union Project Lead for open source investigations hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), and in the Middle East and North Africa region. Associate Legal Officer in the Chambers of @hadi_alkhatib the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Prior to joining UN in January 2009, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Irish Centre for Human Rights of the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) and Law Clerk at the International Criminal Court (ICC). @UNHumanRights Sakhr Al-Makhadhi is the Middle East Editor and Acting Executive Producer at AJ+. He is an award- winning broadcast journalist, specialising in Syria. He won the Anna Lindh Mediterranean Journalist Award 2012-2013 in Berlin, for “Understanding Syria”, on the BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine Show. He has been a contributor Muatasm Alhitari on BBC TV and radio, Sky News and Channel is a 26-year-old Yemeni journalist and TV 4 News; and written for The National and The cameraman. He started working for Al Jazeera Guardian. Arabic News Channel as a freelancer seven @syrianews years ago. Later on, he joined a rights group that advocates for the protection of journalists in Yemen. Muatasm has also worked as a freelancer for international media outlets such as BBC World. He is currently working as a freelance news fixer for Al Jazeera English. @muatasmmansor Tamer Al-Meshal Hamid Dabashi is a Palestinian filmmaker and television is an internationally renowned cultural critic journalist with years of experience in covering and award-winning author, his books and war zones. He has extensively covered the articles have been translated into numerous Palestine-Israel conflict for Al Jazeera. He has languages, including Japanese, German, also worked for the BBC. For most of his life, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, he has been based in Gaza covering Israel’s Danish, Arabic, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, numerous wars and incursions, as well as Polish, Turkish, Urdu and Catalan. He is the the subsequent sieges. He has covered the Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies wars in Libya and Syria. He is now based in and Comparative Literature at Columbia Doha where he has dedicated his time to University in New York, the oldest and most investigative documentaries. prestigious Chair in his field. @TamerMisshal @HamidDabashi Bashraheel Bashraheel is the Deputy Editor in Chief of Al-Ayyam, one of Yemen’s largest daily newspapers, based in Aden. One of his first assignments, as an intern journalist, was reporting on the Yugoslavian war. He has suffered from the on-going war in Yemen not only through the several attacks and crackdowns by the authorities against al-Ayyam, but also on a Zaina Erhaim personal level, surviving threats and living in is a Syrian journalist named among the fear of his life and that of his family. 100 Most Powerful Arab Women in 2016 by Arabian Business, and Unsung Heroes by Reuters Thomson. She has been awarded with the Index on Censorship, Freedom of Expression Award in 2016, amongst other awards. As the Syria project coordinator for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, she has trained 100 citizen journalists, a third of whom are women. She directed the documentary series, “Syria’s Rebellious Women”. @ZainaErhaim Khalid Faheem Ameera Ahmad Harouda is an Egyptian journalist and co-founder of is the first woman fixer in Gaza, Palestine. She Rassd News Network, where he currently has been leading journalists to hidden stories works as its Content Manager. He studied of her country and people for over a decade. Business Administration and started his Through her work, she intends to show journalism education in Deutsche Welle the world what happens in her community Akademie and Al Jazeera. He has trained and challenge the image of Palestine often citizen journalists in Egypt from 2012-2013. depicted in mainstream Western media. She Khalid now lives in exile. believes in struggling every day for providing @KhaledFahem women and girls in Gaza with equal access to education and employment. Peter Greste has worked for BBC, Reuters, CNN, and Stine Hoxbroe WTN. He covered the emergence of the is a researcher, scriptwriter and editor Taliban and post-9/11 war in Afghanistan. focusing on the use of new media in relation From 2005, he was a correspondent for Al to societal developments. She has produced Jazeera English in Africa. In 2011, he won several documentary films for national and the Peabody Award for his documentary, international TV; she regularly contributes “Somalia: Land of Anarchy”. Greste and two to cultural journals and magasines, and is of his Al Jazeera colleagues were arrested the author of the book InDesign published in Egypt in December 2013, on suspicion by Libris 2008. Hoxbroe is co-founder of of illegally broadcasting news and harming Doculogia, Critical Media Production (www. “domestic security”. After spending 400 days doculogia.com) a multimedia institute that in prison, Greste was set free. specialises in producing web content and @PeterGreste documentary films. She is educated at Roskilde University and Danish School of Media & Journalism. Awad Joumaa Diana Larrea Maccise is a documentary filmmaker and TV News is an internationalist, specialized in media, Editor at Al Jazeera English. He has security and human rights. She is content conceived, written, produced and directed editor and project manager at the Al Jazeera eight documentaries on the Middle East and Media Institute, where she develops and Europe on topics, such as the ‘War on Terror’, coordinates initiatives that translate Al Palestine, racism, far right extremism, and Jazeera’s experience into transferable Islamophobia. His experience extends to knowledge. She held several positions at the hostile environments in areas such as Iraq, Mexican Presidency of the Republic, doing Syria, Libya, Lebanon and the Occupied political analysis, content development and Palestinian Territories. He has received communication strategy, and is currently training in ethical journalism and war zones pursuing a Master’s Degree in International by the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights. Relations and Contemporary War at King’s @awadaje College London. @dimaccise Khaled Ramadan is a lecturer, filmmaker and writer. He is the Zeina Khodr director of the Media Art Research Space, is an award-winning correspondent based MARS, Antalya, and co-evaluator of the Alto out of Doha. She has worked at Al Jazeera University professorship program 2017. He English since its launch in 2006 and has is the author of several films and the book covered wars in Syria and Iraq, as well as the Peripheral Insider, Copenhagen University upheavals of the Arab Spring. Her coverage Press 2007. He worked as senior advisor of the uprising in Tripoli was nominated at the for the Danish, Spanish and Maldivian Monte Carlo TV and Film Festival and the ministries of culture.