Workshop puts East African perspective on peace journalism
(Kisumu, Kenya)--“Do you want to make conflict worse or make it better?”

With that question, Dr. Fredrick Ogenga from Rongo University opened today’s  Peace Journalism Training Workshop. Attendees are from five East African countries—Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Tanzania.

I had the privilege of giving the first presentation about the fundamentals of peace journalism, including how peace journalists frame stories as well as the importance of avoiding inflammatory language. Then, the 15 participants and I discussed PJ’s utility in reporting elections (like the upcoming presidential election in Kenya in August) and in leading societal discourse about reconciliation.

Gloria Laker, founding director of the Peace Journalism Foundation of East Africa, followed my presentation with an insightful discussion of PJ and the LRA war (1988-2006) in Northern Uganda. She gave background about the war, and discussed the genesis of peace media in Northern Uganda. It began, ironically, with a military-founded outlet called “Radio Freedom.” Eventually, Radio Freedom morphed into a much larger, and much stronger signaled, station called Mega FM, which is widely lauded with sowing the seeds of peace in Northern Uganda. Laker said media-led peace efforts during and after the LRA war included feature reporting, teaming with NGO’s to offer peace journalism training, offering programs that discussed peace, and fostering cooperation among local, national, and international media.

Dr. Duncan Omanga

The last presenter of the day, Dr. Duncan Omanga from Moi University in Kenya, gave an excellent speech about PJ and terrorism. He analyzed terrorists’ goals vis-à-vis the media, and in the process introduced the audience to the term “violence as a form of communication.” A brisk discussion followed about what constituted terrorism, and about if journalists should use terms like “separatist” or “gunman” instead. Emphasizing the importance of this choice, Dr. Omanga said, “Labels have consequences.”

He concluded with four suggestions for journalists in covering terrorism:

1. Understand the logic of terror
2. Create media policies for covering terrorism
3. Understand the context of terrorism
4. Be sensitive to labels

The workshop is sponsored by Rongo University, The Social Science Research Council, The African Peacebuilder’s Network, and the Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park University. Day two of the event is tomorrow. 

PJ pioneer Dr. Johan Galtung on short list for Nobel Peace Prize

According to Nobel Peace Prize Watch, peace journalism and peace studies pioneer, professor, and founder of Transcend Media Service Dr. Johan Galtung has made the short list of 32 individuals and organizations being considered for the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.

His nomination, from Prof. Richard Falk of Princeton University and the Univ. of California-Santa Barbara, states, “Johan Galtung has been the sort of dedicated warrior for peace that it seems to me the Nobel Prize was created to honor. By so doing, (this will) raise public consciousness of what must happen if we are to overcome the war system and enjoy the material, political, and spiritual benefits of living in a world of peace premised on the nonviolent resolution of disputes among sovereign states and respect for the authority of international law.

"For decades Johan Galtung has been an inspirational presence in the field of peace studies broadly conceived. His exceptional vitality and mobility has brought this message of understanding and insight into peace with justice to the four corners of the planet in a remarkable fashion that is truly unique in its educational and activist impact. It is no exaggeration to write that he invented and established the field of peace studies as a respected subject of study in institutions of higher learning throughout the world. As a consequence of his charismatic speaking ability and seminal writing Johan Galtung has reached the hearts and minds of thousands of people throughout the world, conveying the belief above all that peace is possible through the dedicated efforts of ordinary people..”

I have had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Galtung for my peace journalism book in 2015. We spent an afternoon eating pizza, sipping tea, and talking about peace, peace journalism, and the state of media. It's among the most fascinating three hours I've ever spent in my life. Dr. Galtung was polite, gracious, and humble. Even well into his 80's, Dr. Galtung is an intellectual giant. In fact, there were times during our visit that I noticed Dr. Galtung slowing down to explain things to me, not in a condescending way, but as a colleague and friend. His observations were insightful and profound, and integral to the success of my book. 

Whether he gets the peace prize or not, Dr. Galtung's work will continue to provide a much-need beacon to light our way through these dark times.

Update
Upon posting this blog, I got a nice tweet from Dr. Galtung. Thank you, kind sir.

Peace Journalism approach needed in protest coverage

As the resistance to the Trump administration continues, with major protests seemingly every few days, some media outlets, faced with how to cover the resistance, seem to be lapsing into familiar patterns of coverage.

A recent mini content analysis of news about the anti-Trump protests shows most notably a gap among different media in the way the cover the grievances that underlie the protests.

A Lexis-Nexis search of newspaper articles about the anti-Trump protests from Jan. 20 to Feb. 20 showed that many stories discussed the root causes of the protests. Of the first 1000 articles that came up in a search, 389 discussed racism, 63 sexism, 44 Islamophobia, and 373 xenophobia. Thus, there were 869 total mentions of these grievances. Fox News coverage was different. During the same time period, for the first 1000 hits generated by the search, 157 stories mentioned racism, 16 sexism, 6 Islamophobia, and 125 xenophobia.   The total Fox mentions of these grievances fueling the protests were 304—much less than half the 869 mentions in the same number of newspaper stories.

This result, while not surprising, provides yet another justification for peace journalism, the first tenet of which implores journalists to examine the causes of conflict, and to lead discussions about solutions.

Also, media of all stripes seem intent on labeling the protests and protesters. The newspaper search showed mentions of protesters as angry (125), violent  (137), and bitter (14).  Fox also reinforced the stereotype of protesters as angry (158), violent  (165), and bitter (27).

Peace journalism encourages journalists to reject such superficial labels that reinforce stereotypes, myths, and misperceptions. Are the protesters more than just bitter losers, angry that their candidate lost the election last fall? Are isolated incidences of violence being overplayed and exaggerated, creating negative misperceptions about 99.9% of the protesters?

Indeed, peace journalists must provide depth and context, rather than just superficial and sensational “play by play” of events like protests, which after all are merely the visible surface manifestations of a roiling sea of underlying discontent.

In my book Peace Journalism Principles and Practices, I encourage journalists to report counter-narratives that provide different perspectives on the protesters. One such example can be found in the Kansas City Star.

The Star’s article (Feb. 16) on the “Day without Immigrants” protest, for example, centered on Marisol Cervantes, who crossed a desert to enter the U.S. but now “lives in fear” of the Trump administration. 

In another example, Al.com, which features articles from three Alabama newspapers, profiles undocumented immigrant Cesar Mata and his impressions about Trump’s plan to build a border wall. 

If journalists are really interested in rebuilding their wobbly credibility, a good place to start would be with articles like these that offer stereotype-busting, contextual counternarratives that go beyond superficial labels and breathless “play by play” descriptions of protests and protesters.

Baldwin or Trump? Dominican newspaper can't tell difference

--Source--BBC

Call for proposals-Regional Peace Journalism Workshop

Center for Media, Democracy, Peace and Security, Rongo University in collaboration with the Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network program

The Center for Media, Democracy, Peace and Security (CMDPS), Rongo University in partnership with The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is organizing a two day Regional Peace Journalism Workshop for Eastern Africa to be held at the Center for Media, Democracy, Peace and Security (Rongo University, Kenya). The workshop will provide training for between 12-15 media practitioners, journalists, and editors from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Burundi (radio, TV, print, and digital) in the key concepts and issues in peace journalism, including reflections on the role of the media in conflict mediation and peacebuilding in East African countries.

Content

The workshop will include topics such as essentials of hybrid journalism, conflict, justice, and reconciliation. Part of the training will promote better understanding of three African philosophies of Umoja or unity, Harambee or togetherness, and Utu or humanity. It will also sensitize them to best practices in the adoption of a peace journalism approach as well as the ethics of reporting about sensitive issues, including acts of terrorism. Proposals of about 500 words should be sent to the project coordinator Dr. Fredrick Ogenga:  ogengafredrick@gmail.com before 25 February 2017. The local organizer will meet all the costs related to the workshop for successful applicants, which will include return air tickets, accommodation, and meals for the entire duration of the workshop.

Participants are expected to come to the workshop with samples of their work/reports, which will be discussed in a practical training session.

Dates: 16 -17 March 2017

Expected Output(s)

PThe final output from the workshop will be an edited e-book titled “African Peace Journalism - A Guide for Scholars and Practitioners” consisting of six chapters. Contributions will be expected from each of the instructors which include one practitioner.

Call for Papers—The Peace Journalist magazine;

Call for audio clips—Peace Journalism Perspectives Podcast

The Peace Journalist magazine is seeking submissions for our April, 2017 edition. The Peace Journalist is a semi-annual publication (print and .pdf) of the Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park University in Parkville, Missouri. The Peace Journalist is dedicated to disseminating news and information for and about teachers, students, and practitioners of peace and conflict sensitive journalism.

Submissions are welcome from all. For the next edition of The Peace Journalist, we are seeking short submissions (300-550 words) detailing peace journalism projects, classes, proposals, academic works in the field, etc. We also welcome longer submissions (800-1200 words) about peace or conflict sensitive journalism projects or program.

Please submit your article via email to steve.youngblood@park.edu. Also send a 2-3 sentence biography of the author, as well as a small head and shoulders photo of the author. In addition, please submit photos and graphics that could accompany your article.s, as well as academic works from the field. The Peace Journalist will not run general articles about peace initiatives or projects, but rather seeks only articles with a strong peace media/peace journalism/conflict sensitive journalism angle.

The magazine submission deadline is March 7. However, given the limited space available in this issue, it’s advisable to submit your article early.

To see a .pdf of the October, 2016 edition, go to:

http://www.park.edu/center-for-peace-journalism/Peace%20Journalist%20Oct%202016-web.pdf

Similarly, the Peace Journalism Perspectives Podcast (http://www.park.edu/center-for-peace-journalism/podcast.html) is seeking audio clips related to PJ—short PJ-style radio stories; short interviews with PJ practitioners/teachers; audio clips from PJ events, etc. Please keep your clips to under 3 minutes, and submit to me (mp3) by email. The podcast deadline is February 20.

Thank you in advance for your interest in the Peace Journalist and the PJ podcast.

Steven L. Youngblood, Editor, The Peace Journalist

Director, Center for Global Peace Journalism

Author, “Peace Journalism Principles and Practices”

Park University, Parkville, MO USA