Responsible campus journalism

A Talk for High School Campus Journalists
Sept. 19, 2013; 8:00 – 10:00 AM, MM Audi B
University of St. La Salle
Jean Lee C. Patindol

The Functions of Journalism:
Why People Consume News
 Surveillance – to inform people about what
is going on in the world
 Opinion-making - influence on people’s
views and attitudes, whether aimed for or
not
 Entertainment – entertaining people about
human nature, nature, life
 Education – educating people about
issues, new discoveries, challenges, etc.
 “Watchdog” function - monitoring public
accountability of public officials
 ??? (Shaping/re-shaping culture?)

Others
Gov’t
.
Big
Business
MEDIA
CULTURE: way of
life
Attitudes, ideas,
behavior
The Powerful Role of Media in Our Lives

News and Culture
 Linear model
 The Feedback Loop
Source
Facts
Reporter
Media
Audience
Facts
Reporter
Source
Audience
Media

What is News?
 Any communication or information presented will
do?
 The simple relaying of events?
 “new, interesting and true”
Interesting to whom? Why is it that only a tiny
fraction of the billions of events that happen in
the world each day that might pass the basic
criteria, do not even make it to the local media,
much less the national and international media?
True from whose perspective? The job of the
journalist is to assess those different accounts
and to try to find a coherent, concise and
objective account of what happened (Accuracy,
Reliability, Meaning)

News
 “The sifting and editing of information,
comments and events into a form that is
recognizably different from the pure form in
which they first occurred.
 Journalism is about putting events, ideas,
information and controversies into context.
It is about selection and presentation.
Above all, perhaps, it is about the
assessment of the validity, truthfulness
or representativeness of actions or
comments.” (Rudin and Ibbotson, 2002)

 Journalism is all about producing a
product– sometimes called a
commodification– and is a social
construction, which is formed and
limited by the dominant ideology of a
society: a set of views and ideas that
are presumed to be “normal” and
“common sense”. As in the production
of any item, those manufacturing and
producing it must know who is going to
want that product. (Rudin and Ibbotson,
2002)

News Selection
Deviance
Legitimate Controversy
Consensus
Based on “The Uncensored War” by Daniel Hallin

Do “News Values” Equate to Valuable
News?
 Conflict as violence
 Frequency
 Negativity
 Unexpectedness
 Unambiguity
 Personalization/ human interest
 Meaningfulness/ cultural
proximity
 Reference to the elite
 Consonance/ media readiness
 Continuity
 Composition
 Competition
 Co-optation
 Prefabrication
 Predictability
 Time constraints
 Logistics
 Information that people
need to live better,
happier, healthier, more
harmonious lives?
 Information that promotes
more:
 Truth,
 Respect,
 Freedom,
 Compassion,
 Fairness/ justice?

Journalism’s Core Values
 Truth-telling
 factual accuracy
 contextual accuracy
 corroboration by multiple-sourcing
 but do not break the law
 avoid deceiving sources, misrepresentation
 use special methods only under justifiable circumstances (hidden cameras and
recorders, undercover reporting, false identities)
 Freedom and autonomy
 Avoid conflicts of interest : when your interest is what you pursue ahead of your
duty (involvement in particular activities/affiliations, acceptance of favors and
money, financial investments, outside employment)
 Keep relationships with sources professional
 Justice
 Both or all sides must be given equal space/time
 Honor right of reply
 Correct errors promptly and with the same prominence

Core Values
 Humaneness
 Portray subjects as human beings; avoid stereotyping
 Keep sources confidential if they demand it or when the occasion
demands it
○ On the record – can cite and print
○ Off the record – can’t cite/print, can be used as lead
○ Not for attribution – use info but can’t quote/cite source
○ For background – don’t even mention source; present as multiple
sources or “not her real name”
 Do not endanger sources
 Respect privacy
 Protect vulnerable groups (women, children, cultural/religious
groups, survivors/victims and their families, hospital
patients/relatives, accused/convicted of crimes and their
relatives, individuals at risk)

Core Values
 Stewardship/ Responsibility/Accountability
Abide by the same standards you hold others up
to
Protect freedom of expression; others’ freedom
too
Clarify and explain news coverage and invite
dialogue with the public over journalistic conduct
Expose unethical practices of journalists and the
news media

Concepts of Peace
 Pax (Latin) – a pact, a contract; an absence of war
through the imposition of order by a dominant
power
 Sala’m (Arabic) – peace with
justice/order/following the right path of God
 Shalom (Hebrew) – wholeness, integrity, harmony;
co-existence of opposites through acceptance of
differences; continuous growth of all creative
human powers
 Shanti (Sanskrit) – equanimity, spiritual peace,
oneness with the Divine, non-attachment, self-
realization
 Heping (Chinese) – harmony within and without,
stability and order
 Filipino?

Key Elements of Peace
 Absence of war and physical violence
 Conditions necessary for human
fulfillment and the growth of our creative
powers
 Conditions necessary for human
harmony
 Conditions necessary for oneness with
all creation, inner peace
 Upholding basic human rights: Truth,
respect, freedom, compassion, fairness,
justice

Peace
Total Peace
Integrated Peace:
Absence of Indirect Violence
Direct/Symptomatic Peace:
Absence of Direct Physical Violence

Violence:
Inflicting Harm, Damage
 Direct Violence
-usually physically
manifested (hitting,
beating, shooting,
bombing, raping,
kicking, etc.)
 Indirect Violence – usually
insidiously/subtly manifested
 Cultural Violence: hate speech,
gossip, xenophobia,
discrimination in any form,
gender violence, “chosen-ness”,
etc.
 Structural Violence: poverty,
slavery, apartheid, colonialism,
corruption, excessive material
inequality
 Ecological Violence:
overconsumption, pollution,
environmental harm and damage

What is Conflict?
Conflict is a process through which two or
more actors try to pursue incompatible
goals while trying the undermine the goal-
seeking potential of the others.
It may also arise when two or more actors
pursue compatible goals with
incompatible methods.
Conflict basically arises because of unmet
needs/changes in needs.

Sources of Conflict
 Scarce resources
 Uneven distribution of power
 Poor or no communication between parties
 Parties have incorrect perceptions of each
other
 There is a lack or very low level of trust
 Unresolved grievances exist from the past
 Parties do not value the relationship
between them

News and Conflict Escalation
9. Destruction and self-destruction
8. Destruction of the opponent
7. Limited destructive blows and sanctions
6. Threatening strategies
5. Open attack and loss of face
4. Formation of coalitions
3. Confrontation, with a “fait accompli”
2. Debate
1. Tension and Crystallization
How Conflict is Managed
And Communicated
Quantity
and Quality
of
Information

Conflict is not the same as
Violence!
 Conflict is part of life. Life means growth.
 Conflict is about change. Life is a series
of changes towards growth.
 Change requires adjustments and
readjustments of perceptions, attitudes,
behaviors, structures, ways of life.
 Responses to conflict can be creative and
collaborative, if change is seen as an
opportunity for new and better possibilities
rather than a threat.

The Media
Filter
FACTS
Source
Personal
Knowledge
What source? Hierarchy…
How many? Time…
Interpreters…
What information do
you pick up?
In what condition are you?
How much do you
understand?
Professional
What‘s News?
Journalistic decisions…
Target Group
For whom do you
write and report?
Team
Who is working with you?
Time
…for investigation, for
interviews, for writing
and authorizing?
Money
NO COMMENT…
Editorial
House Style
External Influence
Newsvalue compared to other stories
Space in the paper, program
Taste, personal relationship
Organizational background?
? Report / Article

Peace Journalism
is when editors and reporters make
choices – of which stories to report, and
how to report them – which create
opportunities for society at large to
consider and to value non-violent
responses to conflict.
(Jake Lynch, Annabel McGoldrick,
Reporting the World / BBC)

Characteristics of War/Violence-Focused
Journalism
War Journalism reports on
conflict as a Sports Reporter
does on a tennis match:
• who is fighting (playing)
• what the score is (casualties
taken/territory won or lost by
either side)
• who is winning and who is
losing

Characteristics of Peace/Conflict-Focused
Journalism
Conflict is to a Peace Journalist as disease
is to a Health Correspondent.
e.g. Heart disease reported as:
•Technical aspects,e.g. the latest development in open-
heart surgery (the equivalent of War Journalism
and its talk of ‘surgical strikes’).
•But also: underlying causes (diet and lifestyle, poor
education, housing conditions etc.))
•highlight possible SOLUTIONS - initiatives to counter the
effect of marketing fatty foods to children, or
persuading people to take more exercise.

Peace Journalism vs. War Journalism
 Two party geometry
 Tug of war
 Zero sum gain
 Victory or defeat
 Demonization for
justification
 Good vs. evil
• Round table
• Conflict as common
problem
• Positive sum gain
• Solutions
• Humanizing all parties
• Shades of gray/ colors of
the rainbow! 

War/violence
oriented
Propaganda oriented
Elite oriented
Victory oriented
• Peace/Conflict
oriented
• Truth oriented
• People oriented
• Solution oriented

The Peace Journalism (PJ) Approach
in Analyzing News
 How is a conflict framed?
 Peace/Conflict-focused journalism or war/violence-focused
journalism?
 What is the shape of the conflict?
 Two-party geometry or Round-Table?
 How is violence portrayed?
 Focus on understanding of conflict or highlighting violence?
 Use of language, tone?
 Implications of layout, colors, etc.?
 How is the role of the journalist in presenting the conflict?
 Escalates conflict by highlighting violence and promoting
polarization, or de-escalates conflict by promoting deeper
understanding of conflict issues and helping create spaces for
reflection and dialogue?

Is Peace Journalism “Peace
Propaganda”?
 Peace Journalism
 Independent/Multi-source
 Conflict-focused:
presentation and analysis
of conflict issues
 Helps create spaces for
peaceful dialogue-based
instead of violent
solutions by providing
well-researched factual
and multi-source
INFORMATION for
DECISION-MAKING
 “Peace Propaganda”
 Usually uni-source (from
a peace working group)
 Also conflict-focused:
presentation and
analyses of conflict
issues but usually in not
as much breadth and
depth
 Explicitly encourages
more specific
steps/solutions; is usually
directly involved in the
addressing of conflict
issues through ACTION

Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is
in the minds of men that the defense of
peace must be constructed.
- UNESCO Constitution

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