Bucharest students welcome prof with attention, sharp questions
Too often, discussions in university classrooms are flat and colorless, and as a professor, it seems like you have to beg to get students to express anything more than a few tepid words. This was certainly not the case during my visit last week to the University of Bucharest (Romania). I loved it.

I was respectfully challenged by a number of students in the two classes I visited, one undergraduate and the other master’s. The most pointed questioning was from a young woman extolling the virtues of ‘citizen journalism,’ and its promise (never fulfilled, in my opinion) to decentralize the distribution of information, and provide unfettered access to information that corporate media perhaps doesn’t want us to see. She said there is little need in the 21st century for traditional media when we can get all we need from social media.

Introducing PJ to undergrads at U. of Bucharest

My retort was that ‘citizen journalism’ is akin to ‘citizen surgery’ or ‘citizen accounting.’ I asked, would you go to your police officer neighbor to get your appendix removed, or ask a construction worker to do the accounting for your business? Surgeons, accountants, and yes, journalists, are trained professionals who understand not only the mechanics but the ethics of their profession. Journalism practiced by journalists, not amateurs, follows ethical and professional codes and is edited, reviewed by other professionals for accuracy, bias, and so on. Content produced by amateurs is not vetted, not reliable, and, as study after study shows, oftentimes laced with mis and disinformation.

I was also asked if anyone will pay attention to peace journalism, given the omnipresent cacophony from online sources and a public insatiably hungry for sensationalism. I replied that studies from Dr. Jake Lynch and others prove that audiences prefer peace journalism storytelling that leaves them empowered rather than depressed.

We spent time in both classes scrolling through some disturbing news photos and discussed the use of such images and whether it is consistent with peace journalism. One student insisted that it is proper to use horrifying images of the Gaza war to awaken world opinion, while others thought these sorts of images crossed the line.

I gave the students some ideas about how a peace journalist might think about the use of images:

1. Always consider the impact of your reporting. Don’t gratuitously make things worse for the people whose stories you report, or for the general public, just for clicks.
2. Represent the event accurately. Are the images an exception, or do they genuinely represent the event?
3. Do not re-traumatize with horrifying images. Ask, what if this was your loved one?
4. Don’t intrude. The National Union of Journalists (UK) code of conduct says, a journalist “does nothing to intrude into anybody’s private life, grief or distress unless justified by overriding consideration of the public interest.”
5. Be careful, sensitive with children. Ask parents’ permission.
6. Reject formulaic, stereotypical images that feed into stereotypes, xenophobia, and exclusively negative narratives.

Overall, I was very impressed by the amount and quality of our discourse and the engagement of the students.

It was an honor to be invited to visit the journalism and communications department at the University of Bucharest. I hope to return to continue our vibrant discussions.

Classic-style law faculty building, Univ. of Bucharest

Fulbright Update
I’m in Bucharest, Romania this week teaching at the University of Bucharest. I’ll have a full report in this space next week, so stay tuned.

Webinars explore ‘How to Grow Peace Journalism’
I’ve been privileged to participate in and observe several excellent peace journalism webinars launched by the Media and Peacebuilding Project at the George Washington University.

Their a webinar series, titled “How to Grow Peace Journalism,” was held over 6 weeks from Feb. 28 to April 3.

I was honored to moderate the first webinar, “How to Grow Peace Journalism: Lessons from Peace Journalism Research. Jake Lynch, Professor at the University of Sydney, began with a tribute to the late Dr. Johan Galtung. Lynch posed several research questions for the audience, including does PJ exist; does it have an impact; do audiences know the differences, and is it beneficial. He pointed to research in the peace journalist magazine the shows how those who have been trained in PJ adapt a people-orientation in their reporting.

Then  Meagan Doll, Research Fellow at the University of Washington, further discuss research needed in peace journalism, include audience perceptions, journalistic practice, and PJ’s impact on conflicts themselves. Ayesha Jehangir, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney, rounded out the presentations by talking about “PJ’s blind spots.” These include reporting about but not challenging selfish interests of aggressors; avoiding a crisis of pity for survivors that diverts attention away from the source of the conflict, and avoiding what she called the “savior and victim” mindset. She also spoke about how peace journalism reflects an open, democratic, deliberative process that can challenge “hegemonic” media practices.

The second webinar, “How to Grow Peace Journalism: Lessons from Peace Journalism Practice,” featured  Vanessa Bassil, founded the Media Association for Peace (MAP), the first NGO to focus on peace journalism in Lebanon and the Middle East. She gave the history of MAP, and talked the many challenges it faces, including funding, institutional identity, sustainability, and impact.

The next speakers were from War Stories Peace Stories, which has since been renamed Making Peace Visible (MPV). MPV is a peace media NGO based in Boston. Founder and Director Jamil Simon discussed  about how peacebuilding and the media are currently stuck in a negative cycle that ignores or marginalizes peacebuilding. To that end, he founded the organization to connect media and peacebuilders in an effort to, well, make peace visible. This is done through MPV’s podcast, magazine, website, and events, like a 2018 symposium at the New York Times Center. MPV’s podcast producer Andrea Muraskin then presented information about their podcast Making Peace Visible, as well as strategies they’re using to expand the podcast’s reach.

Finally, I spoke about reporting that rejects polarizing, conflict-sustaining “us vs. them” models. Instead, I suggested that journalists should instead embrace bridge-building across boundaries. I gave several examples, including a cross border reporting project I’ve been involved with the last four years involving journalists from India and Pakistan.

The third webinar, “Lessons from Constructive Journalism,” began with a definition of constructive journalism given by Cathryn Gyldensted, an investigative journalist and author. (See graphic). She said there are several pillars of CJ that could include media that depolarize, examine context, solutions, and nuances/complexity, and promotes democratic conversations. Tanja Aitamurto from the University of Illinois-Chicago discussed the theoretical underpinnings of CJ, as well as the effects of CJ on audiences—positive effects on feelings, and negative effects on comprehension. Fascinating. Bette Dam, lecturer at Sciences Po University in Paris, also presented about western media narratives about the Taliban and its former leader Mullah Omar. 

I moderated session #5 on peace journalism in the global South. Outstanding speakers and peace journalism advocates Rose Obah (Cameroon); Gloria Laker (Uganda); Priya Sen (India); and Dr. Shabir Hussain (Pakistan) described the obstacles facing peace journalists, and how they are working to overcome these. Obah talked about the need for local voices in media and for participatory journalism, while Laker emphasized the importance of involving women and youth. Sen shared her experiences reporting across borders with Pakistani colleagues, while Dr. Hussain laid out several theoretical models, emphasizing that his research shows that PJ is not monolithic.

As a peace journalism proponent, it’s always great to see anything that brings together the PJ community. These sessions were informative and interesting, and I hope, valuable in spreading the word about peace journalism and its cousins.

For more information on the webinar series, see: https://mediapeaceproject.smpa.gwu.edu/events/ .

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.

The new Peace Journalist magazine is here!
The April 2024 edition features stories from Moldova, Zimbabwe, Greece, Nepal, and elsewhere. We also offer a tribute to the PJ pioneer Dr. Johan Galtung, who recently passed away.

You can read or download the magazine at:
https://www.scribd.com/document/718881055/Peace-Journalist-Mag-April-2024

The next Peace Journalist will be published in October, with a copy deadline of early September. For submissions and other inquiries, please email me at steven.youngblood@fulbrightmail.org.

For back issues of the magazine, as well as more information about the Center for Global Peace Journalism, see https://peacejourncenter.blogspot.com/ .

Enjoy the magazine!

Fulbright Update:
Event features lively discussions, cross-boundary cooperation
Since one key peace journalism tenet is building bridges between parties in conflict, I’ve often found myself teaching seminars in rooms full of journalists from India and Pakistan, or Abkhazia and Georgia, for example. Last week, in a peace journalism seminar at Vadul Lui Voda, Moldova, I found myself in a similar situation.

The discussions between journalists from these conflicted regions got a bit heated at times, among the most contentious I’ve seen, although the animated discussions never descended into yelling or storming out of the room. Despite this, I left the seminar feeling good about the work we did.

The 3.5 day seminar was titled “Peace Journalism Principles and Applications,” and was sponsored by UN Human Rights’ office in Moldova. I was the project designer and lead instructor. The participants were 20 journalists from three areas: Moldova, which is in the process of joining the EU; Transnistria, a Russian-leaning breakaway region; and an autonomous, Russian-speaking region of Moldova, Gagauzia.

Liuba Starii, Ludmila Hitsuc

Our contentious discussions largely centered on the Ukraine-Russia war. I knew we were going to generate some heat when one of the Transnistrian journalists called the war a “special operation”—Putin’s sanitized euphemism for the war. The Transnistrian journalists discussed how they cover the war, and used the descriptive term “neutral,” which, to other participants from Moldova, means ignoring the death and destruction that the Russian invasion has wrought in Ukraine. I intimated that ignoring Russia’s actions in an attempt to appear neutral is, in fact, a pro-Kremlin stance. To reinforce this, I quoted anti-apartheid South African bishop Desmond Tutu, who said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

We also discussed the language used to describe the stalemate between Transnistria, a region that claims independence but is not recognized by any other country, and Moldova, which considers Transnistria Moldovan territory. One participant, Evgheni Sholari,  presented an excellent guide, produced by journalists on both sides, that recommends what language journalists should use to turn down the rhetorical heat—peace journalism, to be sure. The neutral language recommended by the guide includes saying “Transnistria” instead of “unrecognized Transnistria” or “Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic,” calling the 1992 war that started the conflict “armed conflict on the Dniester (River) in 1992” instead of “armed aggression” or “Russian aggression.” I told the participants I disagreed with the guide’s recommendation to call the 1500 Russian troops stationed in Transnistria “peacekeepers.” My point was that peacekeepers are inherently neutral, which these Russian troops (which is what I would call them) are not.

Andrei Trubceac, UN Human Rights office

The sponsor, the UN Human Rights office in Moldova, lined up some excellent speakers for the seminar, including Eugenia Crețu, editor in chief of Europa Liberă Moldova; Nikola Petrovski and Andrei Trubceac from the UN Human Rights office in Moldova;  Olga Borisova from the Memory Walk project;  Irina Kartashova from Dnestr TV/Novaya Volna; and Viorica Zaharia, the president of the Press Council of Moldova. Also, history professor history professor Sergiu Musteață discussed contested historical narratives in Moldova, including contentious issues surrounding language and identity. War reporters Viorica Tătaru and Andrei Captarenco from TV8/Dincolo de Nistru also presented alongside photojournalist Larisa Kalik, who is originally from Transnistria. She joined us online from Ukraine, telling the participants that ”I wish you to never experience” seeing the death and destruction she has witnessed.

The participants were put into teams from conflicted regions (one Moldovan and one Transnistrian or Gagauzian), and tasked with producing cross-boundary stories about contested narratives. These will be finished in May. One group, for example, is doing a report on the future of Moldova from two perspectives—one a pro-Russia, eastern orientation, the other a pro-EU orientation.

At the end of the seminar, one of the Transnistrian journalists shared her frustrations when reflecting on the heated discussions, and observed that it is impossible to change people’s minds. I told her and the other participants that our goal was never to change anyone’s minds, but rather to generate dialogue and cooperation, and to plant some seeds for what will undoubtedly be a long, painful road to reconciliation and peace. In this, I believe we succeeded, despite the fireworks.

Palii Timur, Alla Tofan, Natalia Munteanu, Evgheny Cheban.