Charlie Hebdo coverage: A second analysis

Editor's note: I first wrote about Charlie Hebdo coverage two days after the attacks this January. I have taken that material and updated it for the Peace Journalist magazine, which is coming out in April. Here is that piece:

In the months that have followed the Charlie Hebdo murders, media worldwide have offered up a mixed bag of sensationalism and occasionally insightful coverage.

In examining newspaper coverage from the days following the attacks, the language of sensationalism predominated in headlines that screamed “Bloody Climax” (Times of London), “Massacred in Minutes” (Daily Express), “Barbaric” (Daily Mirror), “War in Paris” (NY Post), “La liberte assassinee” (Paris Normandie), “Morder” (Bild-Germany), “Liberte 0, Barbarie 12” (L’Equipe-France), “They wanted to die martyrs…instead they died as vile, pathetic, murderous scum” (Daily Mirror). Several newspapers covers showed a graphic that extends the middle finger in defiance of the attackers.

What’s wrong with these headlines? They certainly capture the anger associated with the attack. However, they do not reflect the array of other emotions ranging from grief to regret to empathy present in the days after the attacks. These sensational headlines (often accompanied by bloody images or inflammatory artwork) do nothing but fuel the fires of anger, and practically beg for an emotional, violent outburst in response to the attacks.

A peace journalism approach, in contrast, would not sugarcoat what happened, but would also not seek to exacerbate an already anger-filled, tense situation.
More responsible headlines after the attacks included “Assault on Democracy” (Guardian), “The world stands with France” (International New York Times), “Manhunt follows terror attack” (Washington Post), “Paris Magazine Attack” (NBC News website).
As for the front page images, an unscientific survey of front page images in the days following the attacks shows the dominance of three photos or illustrations. One is the aforementioned cartoon middle finger extended, the second is a photo of a police officer on the ground moments before he was shot, and the third is a surveillance picture of the gunmen leaving their car on the way into the Hebdo building.

These images, while not ideal from a peace journalism standpoint, could be much worse. The middle finger is inflammatory, to be sure. However, the front page pictures could have been so much worse. Imagine the bloody possibilities, including detailed images of the dead and injured. One responsible front page, The Daily Telegraph, showed the picture of the gunmen with their car, but also had five large photos of some of the victims.

A peace journalist, when considering which images to use, might consider several guidelines that I wrote about several years ago in response to images published in the New York Times of a shooting at the Empire State Building (Peace Journalism Insights, Aug. 24, 2012):

1. Are these images sensational, or are they necessary for a complete understanding of the story?
2. Will these images needlessly inflame passions against a suspect, scuttling his right to a fair trial?
3. What about the families of the victims? Should we consider their feelings before we publish?
4. Do the pictures in any way glorify the crime, making it (in a sick way) attractive to copycats?

In terms of the content of the coverage, one key tenet of peace journalism is rejecting the traditional media narrative of “us vs. them,” which is an oversimplified, inaccurate reporting construct. In the aftermath of the attack, reporters, commentators, and bloggers all too often seized the opportunity to promulgate their stale, East vs. West or Muslim vs. Christian narratives. These traditional narratives are deliberately polarizing, and do nothing but fuel more animosity.

Peace journalists would explore the legitimate grievances behind those who opposed Charlie Hebdo, without giving justification to the violence perpetrated against the newspaper. Responsible journalists should explain the violence and its context without excusing it.  There was one encouraging sign in the coverage: The most important underlying issue explaining the attacks, the nature of blasphemy, was explored in depth by a number of responsible media outlets like New York magazine (Jan. 7), the Huffington Post (Jan. 26), and the Washington Post (Jan. 19).

Traditional media have, unfortunately, successfully created an inaccurate, one-dimensional narrative that depicts Muslims as a single minded, monolithic entity. Peace journalism should present Islam in a more accurate, multi-faceted  manner that reflects its diversity.

The Charlie Hebdo incident, tragic though it may be, continues to offer Western media an opportunity to broaden and enhance the media portrayal of Islam while leading a discussion about the chilling effect the murders have had on legitimate public discourse about religion.

Peacebuilders provide inspiration at Gather
(Dead Sea, Jordan)--When Parnian Nazary was 10 years old, the Taliban raided her forbidden girl’s school in Afghanistan, sending 30 students into the streets and several teachers to jail.

Today, she is advocacy manager for an NGO called Women for Afghan Women.

Wonderfully, here at the Seeds of Peace’s Gather peacebuilding event, she is one of many inspirational role models who

Inspirational Afghani women. (Photo from Seeds of Peace/Gather)

have overcome adversity or negativity to pursue a dream of peace.

For example, Ron Gerlitz, an Israeli of Jewish descent, is paddling upstream against what is often an anti-Arab current of public opinion in Israel. His NGO, Sikkuy, seeks to integrate economically integrate Arabs, who make up 21% of Israel’s population. Sikkuy also seeks to end discrimination against Israel’s Arabs. This effort has begun with their campaign to get busses to post signs in Arabic.

Megan Hallihan is another Gather peacebuilder. She’s the director of YaLa Palestine, and organization that encourages youth to become peace leaders through networking using information technology training. Her students produce blogs, social media, and civic journalism discussing difficult, vital regional issues. Soon, if her plans come to fruition, YaLa will also offer peace journalism training through the Center for Global Peace Journalism.

YaLa Palestine is part of the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP), a consortium of organizations dedicated to "conflict transformation, development, coexistence, and cooperation activities on the ground in the Middle East among Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs, and Jews." ALLMEP sponsored several meetings here designed to help the peacebuilders attending to coordinate their activities and join forces to maximize their impact.

Another inspirational ALLMEP member is Combatants for Peace, headed by Sulaiman Khatib. His story, which includes traumatic teenage years spent “throwing stones at Israelis,” is most noteworthy for how, as an adult, he redirected his energy to peacefully ending what he calls “the occupation.” Khatib launched Combatants for Peace, which uses theater, puppeteers, storytelling, and other methods to help young Palestinians stay engaged politically while not submitting to a cycle of victimhood.

One of the most influential Gather peacemakers was a second Afghani woman, Fawzia Koofi. She has taken her campaigning to a new level. She’s a member of Afghanistan’s parliament, and a strong advocate for women’s rights. While Koofi acknowledges the tremendous progress of women and girls (45% of all school enrollees are females, for example), she notes that as the West withdraws from Afghanistan, the gains of the last dozen years are becoming increasingly fragile. “There is a fear we’ll go back to scratch and lost the achievements for women’s rights,” Koofi observed.

The inspiration provided by Koofi, Khatib, and many others at Gather is hard to quantify, but easy to understand if you heard the incredible stories here. It seems certain that these peacemakers’ stories will encourage the budding peace entrepreneurs at Gather to plant their own seeds of peace here in the Middle East and worldwide.

--Follow me on Twitter @PeaceJourn--