Connecting with PJ fellow travelers in Montreal
I recently finished a four-session peace journalism short course for what is one of the most unique and laudable media institutions in the world.

La Converse, based in Montreal, Canada, is an online newspaper with a unique mission to provide “transparent and fair news coverage (which) means first and foremost that everyone’s stories are heard. Serving the community, our reporting is focused on providing information, but also proposing solutions and ideas that bridge the gaps in the issues we deal with,” according to their website. Founder and editor-in-chief Lela Savic said, “Converse is what journalism should be: human.”

Towards this end, La Converse articulates 10 values for what they call dialogue journalism. The include understanding that their choices impact people's lives; engaging in reporting that responds to the needs, questions, and concerns of communities; a commitment to having consensual conversations, building human relationships, and sharing nuanced and untold stories; using a bottom-up approach that talks with people about what’s important to them; focusing on systems and not symptoms; building a team of journalists representative of society; and emphasizing impact over clicks by finding non-viral stories.

A perusal of their website demonstrates that they stick to these values. Featured stories include ones about the “burden of black excellence,” a Rafah (Gaza strip) journalist waiting for a Canadian visa, and a library that meets the needs of refugees. As to the promise about creating a diverse team, the staff is almost all women, and almost all women of color. Many are themselves migrants.

If it sounds like they’re already practicing peace journalism, you’re right. Nonetheless, I hope that I was able to provide some grist for ongoing staff discussions about the righteous and difficult journalism practiced at La Converse.

In my first session, I gave an introduction to peace journalism. Then in subsequent sessions, we delved into PJ applications—migration, trauma reporting, and war. During our many discussions, we agreed that, as stated, La Converse is already practicing peace journalism by giving a voice to the marginalized in their community (they have a series called “hood heroes,” for example); avoiding sensationalism in their word and image choice; and being careful to avoid perpetuating stereotypes.

We had a difficult discussion about the advisability of La Converse running a story about an abused refugee woman. On one hand, this woman has an important story to tell, one that could inspire others to seek help. On the other hand, publishing such a story could fuel the “abused refugee woman” stereotype. For now, La Converse has decided to hold the story.

In the final session, we discussed coverage of the Israel-Palestine war. La Converse exemplifies peace journalism in this area as well. For instance, they’ve written stories that give underrepresented Palestinians a voice in their community. Another La Converse tory brought together supporters from both sides to respectfully hash out their concerns. In our zoom session, we also discussed when images cross the line. When, and if, should a media outlet use pictures of bloody children, or of bodies in body bags lined up after an attack? There are no easy, or clear, answers.

I realize that “I learned as much as they did” is a cliché, but this time it’s really true. I deeply admire the work that La Converse does under the guidance of Editor Lela Savic, and will be using La Converse as an example during future peace journalism workshops and lectures.