Media in Conflict situations Xavier Giró - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

1. Media in Conflict situationsXavier Giró - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

2. Outline • The communicative strategy of actors in a Conflict • Criticism to the Media coverage • Why media do not perform a better work • The effective logic of Media‘s work • Challenges for a critic journalism

3. Actor‘s (Communicative) Strategy • Two battlefields: • The military field : • The rearguard • The front • The information field: • The front • The rearguard

4. Communikative Strategy • At the Front: • To misinform, mislead the enemy: • “To lie is a necessity; telling the truth, a treason” • i.e. Golf War (1991), before the offensive of the “Allied forces”.

5. Communikative Strategy • At the rearguard: • Legitimation of the choice of War. • International Law / International Public Opinion • Their own public opinion / die voters • Ex. M. Thatcher:

6. Thatcher, Margaret: My years in Downing Street. (about the Malvinas War) • “... We decide to allow war journalists in our Warships . ... The result were very vivid reports about the events. But there was always the risk to broadcast information which could be useful for the opponent. I was shocked by the tendency of some commentaries to appear neutral, and I also found awful when reporters spoke about ‘the British’ and ‘the Argentineans’.”

7. Thatcher, Margaret: My years in Downing Street. (about the Malvinas/ Falklands War) • “... We decide to allow war journalists in our Warships . ... The result were very vivid reports about the events. But there was always the risk to broadcast information which could be useful for the opponent. I was shocked by the tendency of some commentaries to appear neutral, and I also found awful when reporters spoke about ‘the British’ and ‘the Argentineans’.”

8. Ideological box • To maximize your own victories, successes, qualities, virtues, and those of your allies. • To minimize the victories, successes, qualities, and virtues of the enemy and those of his/her allies. • To maximize the defeats, failures, and mistakes of the enemy, and those of his/her allies. • To minimize your defeats, failures, and mistakes, and those of your allies.

9. The ideological square in the case of the media • Broadcasting information from military sources / actors • Accepting the constraints put by the military authorities. • Through the choice of the collected material. • Through the priority given to different parts of the information. • Through the choice of people to be interviewed. • With the decision to broadcast or not what a certain Actor has said. • Beyond the explicit content of information, with the IMPLICIT CONTENT.

10. Criticisms at the media • The broadcasting of lies and exaggerations • Silences • Superficiality • Out of context • Simplification

11. Alger: Islamic Fundamentalism • Israel – Palestine: excessive personalization • Putting all actors in the same category • Demonising one actor, a part or an ethnic group. Simplification

12. “Serbs block all the help for the starving Bosnian cities" (ABC,15.1.93). “Serbs don’t listen to the Nato threat to bomb them" (El País, 11.7.95). “Serbs spread death in Zagreb" (El Periódico, 3.5.94). “Serbs maintain, they will lift the Blockade of humanitarian Convoys to Sarajevo" (Avui, 9.7.75) „Serbs mine the Nato-headquarters in Zepa und threaten to blow it up if Nato attacks them" (El Mundo, 18.7.95) Demonising an ethnic group

13. Criticisms at the media • The broadcasting of lies and exaggerations • Silences • Superficiality • Out of context • Simplification • Repetition of direct violence / not looking for ‘Why’ • Assumption of the language of dominants.

14. USA says to the Spanish Foreign Affairs Ministry they dislike the visit to Cuba of the King in1998

15. USA doesn‘t put any objection to visit of the King to Cuba

16. Criticisms at the media • The broadcasting of lies and exaggerations • Silences • Superficiality • Out of context • Simplification • Repetition of direct violence / not looking for ‘Why’ • Assumption of the language of dominants. • The South, nearly always negative.

17. A plane crashes in Nigeria against 10 buildings and causes more than 125 dead A ship sinks with hundreds of passengers in Bangladesh 396 Maoists Rebels dead in Nepal Pacemakers from dead will be reused in Argentina Imminent freeing of a Cuban dissident Several girls die in an accident in Iran

18. Criticisms at the media • The broadcasting of lies and exaggerations • Silences • Superficiality • Out of context • Simplification • Repetition of direct violence / not looking for ‘Why’ • Assumption of the language of dominants. • The South, nearly always negative. • The naturalization of Catastrophes and the war. • Interpreting foreign conflicts in the key of internal conflicts

19. Not always • Denunciation of military language: • „Collateral Damage”, „preventive Attacks”, „surgery operation“, controlled Pools, etc. • They distinguish aggressors from victims. • They take stand in favour of the weak. • Etc. • i.e.: Against the Bush administration and the war Iraq.

20. Bush‘s inventions In his eagerness to justify the war against Iraq, the president made up reports and data.

21. Why don‘t media work better? The first answers • Time • Room, space • Education • Media pursue: Economic Profit and Influence.

22. Aims: Profit and Influence (or the other way around) • Competition: • The market, die Audience, the share, etc. • Competitiveness • profitable, reduce costs • But they need to work with reality, and be credible.

23. Cracks or chinks and elasticity • Competition • Competitiveness • Credibility regarding Reality

24. Cracks or chinks and elasticity • Competition (Market, Audience) • The fight against the other Media and their political allies. • Scoops • Own Profile • all Segments of the Audience are important

25. Cracks or chinks and elasticity • Competition • Competitiveness(economic) • insufficient payroll, exploitation of journalists • Holes and ads, Refrigerator. • Different margins of manoeuvre.

26. Cracks or chinks and elasticity • Competition • Competitiveness • Speak about the reality: • Credibility • Critic attitude towards those in power. • Social pressure: Activists, professional organizations, council of information, • Code of Ethics (sometimes a double edged sword) • Alternative Media

27. explore conflict formation, x parties, y goals, z issues Focus on conflict arena, PEACE/CONFLICT JOURNALISM WAR/VIOLENCE JOURNALISM • 2 parties, 1 goal (win), war general zero-sum orientation • general “win, win” orientation • giving voice to all parties; empathy, understanding • “us-them” journalism, propaganda, voice, for “us” • see conflict/war as problem, focus on conflict creativity • see “them” as the problem, focus on who prevails in war • dehumanisation of “them”; more so the worse the weapon • humanisation of all sides; more so the worse the weapons

28. proactive: prevention before any violence/war occurs. focus on elite peace-makers • reactive: waiting for violence before reporting • focus on invisible effects of violence (trauma and glory, damage to structure/culture) • focus only on visible effect of violence (killed, wounded and material damage) • expose untruths on all sides / uncover all cover-ups • Expose “their” untruths / help “our” cover-ups/lies • Focus on suffering all over • Focus on “our” suffering • Focus on people peace-makers.

29. Aftermath: resolution, reconstruction, reconciliation Leaving for another war, return if the old flares up again • Peace = non-violence + creativity • Peace = victory + ceasefire. • Conceal peace-initiative, before victory is at hand • Highlight peace initiatives, also to prevent more war • Focus on structure, culture, the peaceful society • Focus on treaty, institution, the controlled society

30. The Challenge • To understand the logic of the media • Take advantage of the Cracks or the Chinks • Build and strengthen alternative media

31. Spasiba / Thanks