Global reporters discuss self-censorship, inflammatory content

I had an interesting exchange with journalists at the Global Sisters Report yesterday at their Kansas City headquarters.

After my presentation on peace journalism basics, I opened up the floor for Q&A. One journalist was concerned that peace journalism amounts to no more than self-censorship. This is because it asks journalists to consider the consequences of their reporting and yes, to exclude words and images that are inflammatory without adding any value to the story. This is, incidentally, an oft-repeated criticism of PJ. My response was that I do not consider this to be self-censorship. Instead, this is journalists merely employing a filter—the same filter that journalists use hundreds of times a day to make decisions about newsworthiness, appropriateness for audience, what information to include or exclude, etc. Why not also filter out inflammatory, sensational content?

The journalist then followed up by noting, correctly, that sometimes reporters need to give raw, unpleasant details in a story. He cited a story he did on rape as an example. I agreed that stories like this, and negative, violent news in general, must be covered. The question is how. I hope journalists would ask themselves is this: are these details important for an understanding of the story, or are they merely sensational? Does including gory details re-victimize the victims? Does including these details help open the door for a possible solution, or at least a recognition generally that something must be done?

Interestingly, I've had the same exchange repeatedly with journalists in Cameroon, one of whom asked, "How can we cover a story when police shoot unarmed protesters in a way that reflects peace journalism?" My answer: sometimes the best we can do, the only thing we can do, is to report such stories without making a bad situation worse, without pouring gas on the fire.

This was my second such visit with the Global Sisters Report staff. I continue to be impressed with the quality of their journalism and with their commitment to telling stories from around the world about those who are embracing and facilitating peace, often against long odds. You can see their work at: https://www.globalsistersreport.org/.