Peace journalism

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The term peace journalism was first verifiably used in German-speaking countries by Alfred Hermann Fried , a representative of pacifism , in 1901 in the publication Unter der Weißen Fahne - From the portfolio of a peace journalist . Today the term internationally stands for the approach of the Norwegian peace researcher Johan Galtung , who also speaks of "war journalism" in contrast. Galtung understands peace journalism to mean critical reporting from war zones that does not take the military's perspective and works for peace. This term does not come from journalism in the narrow sense and is not an analogy to terms such as “medical journalism” or “cultural journalism”.

The approach

The theory of peace journalism comes from peace and conflict research, so it was developed by social scientists. Galtung compares (uncritical) war reporting with sports reporting : There are at least two parties and it is about victory or defeat. The war is portrayed as inevitable and not questioned. The language of the military is adopted. In general, war is discussed much more in the media than peace initiatives.

So-called peace journalism is intended to clarify the background to the conflict and to point out possible peaceful solutions or to work actively towards them. Not only are the troops shown, but above all the victims. The media and journalists are assigned the role of mediator between the conflicting parties. The reporting should have a de-escalating function.

While Johan Galtung and Jake Lynch propagate peace journalism as a form of opinion journalism , other authors such as Wilhelm Kempf and Dov Shinar see it as a research program that examines the social-psychological, media-sociological and institutional conditions, such as counteracting and counteracting the fueling of conflicts by the media a constructive conflict resolution can be given a chance.

Demands on the media and journalists

Johan Galtung's concept of peace journalism is essentially based on four demands on the media and war reporters :

  • Peace journalism examines the origins of the conflict and presents possible solutions.
  • All sides have their say in a balanced way; there is no division into “good” and “bad”. The lies of everyone involved are exposed.
  • Aggressors / attackers are named; the victims are reported equally on all sides.
  • Conflict reporting must start early and try to mediate between the parties.

criticism

The media and journalists are often skeptical or even negative about the approach of peace journalism. The theory was also not widely discussed in the specialist media, although since the Gulf War in 1991 war reporting, at least in Europe, has repeatedly been the subject of media and books. The main argument against so-called peace journalism is Galtung's demand, also controversial within peace journalism, that journalists should take an active role in the event of a conflict, which means giving up the objective point of view. They take over the tasks of politicians and diplomats . Peace journalism is a form of advocacy journalism .

Another argument that is often cited is that independent and critical reporting from crisis areas and in the event of war already fulfills most of the demands of peace journalism without the journalists having to give up the position of observer and pure information broker. So said ZDF editor in chief Nikolaus Brender : "Good journalism always has peace in mind."

Peace media

Express "peace media" that feel committed to the approach of peace journalism and are close to the peace movement are z. B.

  • Many Peaces Magazine for Conflict Transformation Across Cultures
  • Blue Sky Radio, a Hirondelle project in Kosovo ;
  • Fondation Hirondelle, a Swiss foundation with independent radio stations in crisis areas;
  • International Alert, a British NGO with conflict management projects;
  • Internews, an internationally active NGO that uses media to resolve conflicts;
  • Letspeace.it, an online magazine focusing on peace projects in the Middle East;
  • Search for Common Ground, an American NGO with radio editors in crisis areas;
  • Friedensnews.at, an Austrian online magazine for peace journalism.

Quotes

  • "The media are not allowed to wage wars. At most they can report about them. (Siegfried Weischenberg, Chairman of the German Association of Journalists)
  • “The idea of ​​peace journalism is unworldly and undesirable. Even as a reporter, you cannot fight hunger in the world by declaring yourself a food journalist. ” (Peter Limbourg, Editor-in-Chief of N24)
  • “A journalist shouldn't be mean. Not even with something good, ”said Hans-Joachim Friedrichs, an icon in German journalism. I want to contradict him. As a peace journalist, I would very much like to put myself at the service of something good. At the service of the vision of a peaceful planet. (Leila Dregger, "Peace Journalist")

See also

literature

  • Austrian Study Center for Peace, Conflict Resolution (Ed.): Constructive Conflict Coverage. A Social Psychological Approach. regener, Berlin 2003.
  • N. Bilke: Peace journalism: how the media can report in a de-escalating way. agenda, Münster 2002.
  • Many Peaces Magazine (2017): “Home”, in A Magazine for Conflict Transformation Across Cultures. URL: magazine.manypeaces.org.
  • B. Bläsi: No time, no money, no interest? Constructive conflict reporting between claims and media reality. regener, Berlin 2006.
  • S. Jaeger: News media as a resource for peace and reconciliation. regener, Berlin 2009.
  • W. Kempf: Peace Journalism. In: G. Sommer, A. Fuchs (Ed.): War and Peace. Handbook of Conflict and Peace Psychology. Beltz, Weinberg 2004, pp. 439–451.
  • W. Kempf (Ed.): The Peace Journalism Controversy. regener, Berlin 2008.
  • W. Kempf, D. Shinar: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: War Coverage and Peace Journalism. regener, Berlin 2014.
  • AH Landl: Alfred Hermann Fried - pioneer of peace journalism. In: G. Grünewald, Alfred Hermann Fried: Organized the world! Donat Verlag, Bremen 2016, pp. 100–124.
  • J. Lynch, J. Galtung: Reporting Conflict: New Directions in Peace Journalism. University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, AU 2010.
  • D. Lynch, A. McGoldrick: Peace Journalism. Hawthorn Press, Stroud, UK 2005.
  • Projektgruppe Friedensforschung Konstanz (Ed.): News media as mediators of peace building, democratization and reconciliation in post-war societies. regener, Berlin 2005.
  • IS Shaw, J. Lynch, RA Hackett (Ed.): Expanding peace journalism: Comparative and critical approaches. Sydney University Press, Sydney AU 2012.
  • D. Shinar, W. Kempf (Ed.): Peace Journalism: The State of the Art. Regener, Berlin 2007.
  • EF Simo: Importance of the UN and the “Fondation Hirondelle” for promoting peace through the media. European University Press 2007.

Web links