Coming soon: Peace Journalism in Cyprus
The Center for Global Peace Journalism will be in Cyprus next week. I will be lecturing at Eastern Mediterranean University, and conducting a seminar at the Cyprus Community Media Center. I will be accompanied by a peace journalism student from Park University. Regular updates will be posted on this space and on Twitter @PeaceJourn.

Rhetoric on Ukraine escalates alongside crisis

As my previous article (below) points out, the cold war propaganda machines have kicked into gear as the Ukrainian crisis escalates.

In my peace journalism class at Park University today, we’re going to take a look at coverage of the crisis from Pravda, a Russian government-controlled media outlet. Their coverage of Russia’s absorption of Crimea reveals a different reality than the one being portrayed in Western media (AP, BBC, CNN, AFP, etc.).  One needn’t even look past the headlines to divine the slant of Pravda’s coverage: “Can Russia save Ukraine?”; “Will Russia go to War to win Ukraine”; “Ukraine: Another Yugoslavia”; “Maidan Destroys Ukraine’s Cultural Heritage”; “Russia and Ukraine will never to go to war against each other”; “Russia to recall ambassador from USA after Obama’s insulting statement.”

BCC and CNN headlines reveal a different reality. These include “Russia demands Crimea’s surrender”; “How close to war”; “Russian TV rhetoric”; “Putin testing Obama”; “Why Ukraine matters to the global economy”; “Russia demanding Ukrainian military leave Crimea”; “Ukrainian interim Prime Minister says "Nobody will give Crimea away”’ “Armed men have blocked 10 Ukrainian military and naval bases in Crimea, official says.”

As I mentioned previously, peace journalists seek balance and perspective in their coverage about Ukraine. This is, of course, a tall order in Russia, where media freedom exists only on paper. In the West, however, we have no excuses. Ideally, coverage in our media should reflect multiple perspectives, including what the Russia government is saying through its media. As media, we owe our readers and listeners more than merely parroting government propaganda and perpetuating stale cold war narratives.