Reconciliation and media in the U.S.
Today, the day after the election, I thought it would be interesting for my peace journalism class at Park University to do a little brainstorming about reconciliation in the U.S. and how media can bolster reconciliation processes.
Toward that end, I asked student groups to identify reconciliation issues, and then list a few stories the media might tell about these issues that might generate valuable discussions about the issues at hand.
One group chose the victims of hate crimes and their perpetrators, and listed as "healing" reports stories where the perp openly discusses his crime, and stories about how he is reaching out to victims in various ways. A second group chose as their issues reconciliation between African Americans and police, and listed stories including contextual pieces about overall arrests and trends involving African Americans and joint (African Americans and police together) projects to assist those in need in the community. The final group chose reconciliation between Middle Easterners and the larger society. This group would promote stories that told stories about Middle Easterner academic achievers, and about common challenges in employment.
I kicked in my two cents and chose the related topic of reconciliation between Christians and Muslims in the U.S. The stories I would report would include how the two groups have joined forces on political campaigns, and features on how discrimination cuts across religious boundaries.
As always, I learned more from my students than they learned from me.
Today, the day after the election, I thought it would be interesting for my peace journalism class at Park University to do a little brainstorming about reconciliation in the U.S. and how media can bolster reconciliation processes.
Toward that end, I asked student groups to identify reconciliation issues, and then list a few stories the media might tell about these issues that might generate valuable discussions about the issues at hand.
One group chose the victims of hate crimes and their perpetrators, and listed as "healing" reports stories where the perp openly discusses his crime, and stories about how he is reaching out to victims in various ways. A second group chose as their issues reconciliation between African Americans and police, and listed stories including contextual pieces about overall arrests and trends involving African Americans and joint (African Americans and police together) projects to assist those in need in the community. The final group chose reconciliation between Middle Easterners and the larger society. This group would promote stories that told stories about Middle Easterner academic achievers, and about common challenges in employment.
I kicked in my two cents and chose the related topic of reconciliation between Christians and Muslims in the U.S. The stories I would report would include how the two groups have joined forces on political campaigns, and features on how discrimination cuts across religious boundaries.
As always, I learned more from my students than they learned from me.
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