What are some sources of peace journalism?

August 18, 2008 11:46 AM

Are there any sources out there for Peace Journalism?

I was at a talk discussion the concept, and they showed a sampling of two broadcasts for the same conflict (a war in Africa): one standard, one using concepts from peace journalism. The second report showed a deeper understanding of the situation and was able to really avoid an "us-them" stance. So peace journalism must be out there; the question is, where? Does anyone know reporters who are known for writing in this style?

posted by Deathalicious to media & arts (7 comments total)

erm, he's dead, but much of peter jennings' "special reports" and hour long specials and such presented news in a style like this. at least in my opinion.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 12:14 PM on August 18, 2008

Peace Journalism is just a lesser-known term for activist journalism or opinion writing where the writer is recording an event but imploring action at the same time. George Will applies this concept a lot in his writing (look at his Jena 6 columns from 2007 for an understanding). Jim Hightower does this also.
posted by parmanparman at 12:15 PM on August 18, 2008

Colman McCarthy, former writer for the Washington Post fits this category perfectly.
posted by grateful at 2:11 PM on August 18, 2008

I suppose that some forms of Peace Journalism could come across as activist journalism, but I'm not sure that all of it is, and the example I saw specifically didn't take sides or try to argue a point. Rather, it said, "Look, here is the position and feeling on this side of the dispute. Here are the positions and feelings on the other side of the dispute. Here is some of the background of why they are fighting, the larger context of it. Here's how people from both sides, participants and non-participants, are being affected." The message of the non-PJ piece was basically "once this side wins, everything will return to normal"; the message of the PJ piece was "this conflict cannot be 'won', and regardless of who comes out victorious, the people of this area will still have a lot of problems".

What I liked about the piece, and hopefully peace journalism in general, is that it questions the commonly-held beliefs about the "sides" of the dispute.
posted by Deathalicious at 3:15 PM on August 18, 2008

To write for peace is
Seeing with the eyes of a child
Writing with the hand of a leper
On paper that is stained with tears
For a population awakened from their slumber
and who can see the reflection of their souls
in the eyes of a stranger.
posted by watercarrier at 5:14 PM on August 18, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'm really not sure if this is what you are looking for, but my suggestion is: The Real News Network
posted by jay dee bee at 6:48 PM on August 18, 2008

and don't forget Democracy Now!
posted by wheelieman at 8:35 PM on August 18, 2008