Ukraine-Russia: Media marginalize peace
Several days ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said what Prof. Johan Galtung, the father of peace studies and peace journalism, has been saying for weeks. “Regardless of our righteous indignation with Russia aggression,” Galtung wrote on Twitter, “they (Ukraine and Russia) will have to talk or agree on some type of armistice sooner or later.”

Given this immutable fact, have the media responded appropriately by giving the inevitable negotiations their rightful place in the public discourse? Has the coverage of peace been proportionate to the blow by blow accounts of the war?

A small survey of news articles searched through Google (24 May, 2022) provides an unsurprising answer. A search for “Ukraine Russia war” produced 324 million hits. Related terms also had tens of millions of hits, including “Ukraine Russia  attack” (208 million); “Ukraine Russia war crimes” (51.3 million); “Ukraine Russia battle” (40.8 million); “Ukraine Russia victory” (48.1 million); and “Ukraine Russia weapons” (24.3 million).

The number of articles in our Google news search discussing the inevitable armistice and peace talks pales in comparison. This includes “Ukraine Russia negotiations” (20.2 million); “Ukraine Russia peace talks” (8.6 million); “Ukraine Russia peace proposals” (2.59 million); “Ukraine Russia peaceful solution” (3.4 million); and “Ukraine Russia peace treaty” (2.87 million). Only a paltry 125,000 stories mentioned a cease fire, while just 20,800 mentioned an armistice.

These findings echo what anyone who’s been consuming news about the war already knows: that the daily coverage of territorial gains, casualties, weaponry, and attacks is crowding out news about peace efforts, negotiations, and cease fires.

This is the antithesis of peace journalism, which seeks to make peace initiatives and proposals more visible and viable, regardless of their source. More responsible, more forward looking reporting would more frequently offer detailed, nuanced examinations of the obstacles to a negotiated settlement, and daily analysis of efforts to overcome these obstacles. 

Media consumers should seek out views about peace from a variety of sources, including those critical of both Russia (“Putin’s fate istied to war in Ukraine”) and the U.S. and NATO  (“Washington’s anti-Russia rhetoric is an obstacle to peace”). 

Media must offer as much analysis of the tactics of peace as we do the tactics of warfare. We need much more reporting like “A realistic plan for Ukraine and Russia" (Time magazine). As Dr. Galtung suggests on Twitter, let’s explore the question, “What stands in the way of #peacepolitics?”  

Peace journalism by itself can’t create peace, but it can help keep peace on the political agenda while spotlighting an “off ramp” for leaders on all sides.

Marking 25 fascinating years at Park University
When you’re young, a year seems like an eternity. And 25 years? As a kid, in my insufficiently developed brain, a quarter century was the same as a millennium.

Even though my brain is still insufficiently developed, I have come to realize that 25 years, while not an eternity, is an impressive interval because it represents a big chunk of our life span, and an even longer percentage of our working lives.

It is thus with a bit of awe and a dash of disbelief that I commemorate the end of my 25th year at Park University.

Want ad, KC Star, 1997

My Park odyssey began with answering a job advertisement in the Kansas City Star in 1997 (See picture. Yes, I realize how saving this for 25 years might make me look neurotic.). I thought I was a long shot for the position, but applied anyway. I was shocked and delighted to be hired. Snagging the job at Park College (it became Park University in 2000) was made possible in part through a mistake. My chief competitor for the post flew into KC for the job interview, but someone at Park  forgot to pick him up at the airport. He fumed at KCI for a few hours then turned around and went home.

I gleefully accepted the job, since it was a big step up from teaching high school. I had no idea what I was getting into. My tenure at Park has been challenging, occasionally infuriating, edifying, fascinating, and, on the whole, professionally satisfying in 100 ways that are hard to articulate.

The most positive element during my tenure here has been my colleagues, 97% of whom have made my Park experience terrific. Early on, they nurtured and sometimes even coddled me as I learned how a university faculty member should function. Later, they trusted me with the keys, electing me to leadership positions in the union and faculty senate. Always, my faculty colleagues helped me become a better teacher and a better person.

I’ve also loved the vast majority of my students, who have kept me engaged, energized, and young (or at least, more youthful. The “young” train left the station years ago!) Their curiosity continues to be infectious, and has pushed me to continuously strive to broaden and deepen my own knowledge while improving my teaching.

Another positive element about my time at Park—the thing I always tell younger faculty members—is that the university will give you the space to find your professional love. For me, this was, first, international education, and later, allowing me to launch a Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park. In both cases, I had the right administrators and colleagues at the right time—those that saw the value in these endeavors for both the institution and our students. Allowing me to launch this center, and run it as I see fit, was and is the ultimate vote of confidence. I believe I have justified Park’s trust in me as I have provided, in business terms, a very sound return on the modest resources expended on me and my center.

I am not burned out yet, a fact I attribute to being almost constantly on the move. I have had three semester-long teaching stints (two Fulbrights and one State Dept. Senior Subject Specialist), a one year long USAID project in Uganda, and trips to 27 countries to teach peace journalism. Park deserves a great deal of credit for giving me the flexibility to explore my passions and feed my curiosity.

My Center for Global Peace Journalism has caught fire (figuratively) during its 10 year life span, and is keeping me increasingly busy lecturing and training around the world. I have gone from soliciting peace journalism projects to fielding unsolicited offers to conduct trainings and workshops and give lectures.

Moving forward, I hope to continue my teaching and work at the Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park University. I won’t make it 50 years at Park, since 25 years from now I’ll be 86. (At 86, my only wishes will be to remain vertical and to possess some marginally functional organs). However long Park will indulge me, I have no doubt that the years ahead will be as engaging and fascinating as the first quarter century.