Bucharest students welcome prof with attention, sharp questions
Too often, discussions in university classrooms are flat and colorless, and as a professor, it seems like you have to beg to get students to express anything more than a few tepid words. This was certainly not the case during my visit last week to the University of Bucharest (Romania). I loved it.

I was respectfully challenged by a number of students in the two classes I visited, one undergraduate and the other master’s. The most pointed questioning was from a young woman extolling the virtues of ‘citizen journalism,’ and its promise (never fulfilled, in my opinion) to decentralize the distribution of information, and provide unfettered access to information that corporate media perhaps doesn’t want us to see. She said there is little need in the 21st century for traditional media when we can get all we need from social media.

Introducing PJ to undergrads at U. of Bucharest

My retort was that ‘citizen journalism’ is akin to ‘citizen surgery’ or ‘citizen accounting.’ I asked, would you go to your police officer neighbor to get your appendix removed, or ask a construction worker to do the accounting for your business? Surgeons, accountants, and yes, journalists, are trained professionals who understand not only the mechanics but the ethics of their profession. Journalism practiced by journalists, not amateurs, follows ethical and professional codes and is edited, reviewed by other professionals for accuracy, bias, and so on. Content produced by amateurs is not vetted, not reliable, and, as study after study shows, oftentimes laced with mis and disinformation.

I was also asked if anyone will pay attention to peace journalism, given the omnipresent cacophony from online sources and a public insatiably hungry for sensationalism. I replied that studies from Dr. Jake Lynch and others prove that audiences prefer peace journalism storytelling that leaves them empowered rather than depressed.

We spent time in both classes scrolling through some disturbing news photos and discussed the use of such images and whether it is consistent with peace journalism. One student insisted that it is proper to use horrifying images of the Gaza war to awaken world opinion, while others thought these sorts of images crossed the line.

I gave the students some ideas about how a peace journalist might think about the use of images:

1. Always consider the impact of your reporting. Don’t gratuitously make things worse for the people whose stories you report, or for the general public, just for clicks.
2. Represent the event accurately. Are the images an exception, or do they genuinely represent the event?
3. Do not re-traumatize with horrifying images. Ask, what if this was your loved one?
4. Don’t intrude. The National Union of Journalists (UK) code of conduct says, a journalist “does nothing to intrude into anybody’s private life, grief or distress unless justified by overriding consideration of the public interest.”
5. Be careful, sensitive with children. Ask parents’ permission.
6. Reject formulaic, stereotypical images that feed into stereotypes, xenophobia, and exclusively negative narratives.

Overall, I was very impressed by the amount and quality of our discourse and the engagement of the students.

It was an honor to be invited to visit the journalism and communications department at the University of Bucharest. I hope to return to continue our vibrant discussions.

Classic-style law faculty building, Univ. of Bucharest