[ecrea] One-day seminar on Conflict Reporting and Peace Journalism

AMRITA SCHOOL OF COMMUNICAITON
 Coimbatore

One-day seminar on Conflict Reporting and Peace Journalism

DATE

Friday, September 16, 2011

VENUE
AMRITA SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION, AMRITA UNIVERSITY, COIMBATORE, TAMILNADU

INTRODUCTION
We would like to start this proposal with a few recent news headlines:
 Kashmir interlocutors create sceptical buzz in the Valley (The Hindu)

"Don't leave Afghanistan, India told U.S." (The Hindu)

"Maoists renew attack, kill 10 cops"  (The Indian Express)

"Kashmir paralysed by rape protest"  (The Times Of India)

"India blamed for rights abuses in Sri Lanka" (Deccan Herald)

“Karzai: Afghanistan, US in peace negotiations with Taliban” (Wire services)

Two distinct themes can be drawn from the above headlines: conflict and 
its resolution. Many Asian countries have been areas of bitter conflict 
in the last few decades. Whether it is the war in Afghanistan, the 
conflict in the Pak-Afghan border, the recently ended Sri Lankan civil 
war, or the pockets of conflict in India that include Jammu and Kashmir 
and the Maoist conflict, they have all led to the loss of life and 
disruption of daily life in the affected areas. Citizens live in fear 
and often without basic necessities like food and shelter. A car bomb in 
the vegetable market or a suicide bomber in a place of worship: families 
are torn apart as innocents are murdered for being in the wrong place at 
the wrong time. These areas are isolated worlds in themselves.

The outside world comes to know about the conflicts and the resultant 
deaths only. Journalists cover the conflict areas in terms of death toll 
and attempts at resolution. Many journalists feel that they should never 
play a part in resolving conflicts and that their role is to report 
events and leave it at that. However, there have been an increasingly 
large number of media practitioners who feel media coverage of the 
background and causes of conflict can lead to quicker resolution and 
normalcy in the affected areas.  The concept of peace journalism emerged 
from this school of thinkers.

Peace Journalism is a relatively new concept that emerged in the 1970s, 
and was first used by Johan Galtung, a Norwegian sociologist and a 
pioneer in peace and conflict studies. Peace Journalism is suggested as 
an alternative to war reporting. This disregards the traditional 
journalistic value of objectivity to some extent, and calls for the 
reporters to be advocates of conflict resolution.


The one-day seminar seeks to expose students to subtle and overt issues 
relating to conflict reporting, interactions between media, government, 
army and the intelligence,  and the relevance of peace journalism. The 
seminar will try hone the students’ critical thinking on the following 
crucial questions:

1)	How should journalists approach conflict reporting?
2)	How should journalists overcome the stress and trauma that is a 
natural, human reaction to conflict reporting?
3)	How do government and military organisations view media coverage of 
conflict?
4)	How practical is peace journalism in a media industry that is 
event-driven?


LIST OF SPEAKERS

1)	Mr. N Sathiyamoorthy, Senior Research Fellow & Director, Chennai 
Chapter, Observer Research Foundation (ORF)
THEME: The Srilankan Conflict: The Covered and the ‘Un’covered
Mr. Sathiyamoorthy will address the various issues of Sri Lankan ethnic 
conflict to outline the difficulties faced by the news media in covering 
war-torn areas of Sri Lanka. He will discuss the influences of 
government restrictions on coverage, self-regulatory mechanisms in place 
for the media, if any, and the sensitivities of covering the human angle 
of conflict.

2)	Mr. P K Hormis Tharakan, former chief of Research and Analysis Wing 
(RAW) and former DGP, Kerala
THEME: Intelligence and Media Interactions for Conflict Resolution
Can the Intelligence wings, the Police and the Media work together to 
provide meaningful, resolution-oriented coverage of conflicts? What is 
the right amount of information that can be revealed to the media in an 
ongoing conflict situation? Mr. Hormis Tharakan will address these 
questions and more in an attempt to expose students to the intricacies 
of breaking and sustaining news coverage of domestic conflict including 
terror-attacks, rioting and communal strife.

3)	Mr. Iftikhar Gilani, Tehelka
THEME: The Kashmir Conflict: The Relevance of Peace Journalism
Mr. Gilani will talk about the possible role of the news media in 
bringing about peace in conflict-stricken areas of Kashmir and the need 
to bring the plight of the common people to the public eye. He will 
expose the participants to the issues of Kashmir Conflict at the 
grassroots level, and the facilitator’s garb that the media can wear to 
bring about resolution

4)	 Lt. Gen (retd.). K. Nagaraj, former chief of the South-Western 
Command, who has also served in Jammu and Kashmir and has first-hand 
knowledge of insurgency in the state and its reporting by the media
THEME: Managing Media in conflict areas
Where does the freedom of media end and national security begin? Army 
officials and journalists are never likely to agree upon an answer to 
this question. Lt. Gen Nagaraj will talk about the need for 
self-regulation in the news media, the difficulties faced in imparting 
all information to the media, the techniques employed and the 
difficulties faced by both parties concerned in conflict areas.


PARTICIPANTS

1)	All students and Faculty of Amrita School of Communication
2)	Interested students and faculty from other schools and departments of 
Ettimadai and other Amrita campuses
3)	Students of Journalism and Communication from Colleges, Universities 
and Journalism schools.

Registration Fees: Rs 500/-
Students: Rs 250/-

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