FIFTEEN selected print and broadcast journalists from the three Northern Regions have undergone training in conflict-sensitive reporting to enable them play a positive role in peace-building in the north.
The training enhanced the capacity of the participants to report on conflicts in a manner that would promote harmony among disputing groups, instead of creating further division.
It was organised by the Rural Media Network (RUMNET), a grassroots media and rights-based advocacy organisation, with funding from the Sustainable Peace Initiative (SPL).
Peace-building practitioners and veteran journalists, who took the trainees though various topics, noted that the north had become notorious for violent conflicts partly because of the negative reportage carried by the media.
According to them, both the reportage in newspapers and those aired on radio, including discussions, had sometimes tended to incite groups against one other and deepen the hatred among various ethnic groups.
“Such reportage creates panic and paints a picture of a people incessantly killing each other,” stated Mr Abdullah Kassim, an executive of RUMNET.
They also explained that in some situations the reports of journalists have tended to exaggerate events, show prejudice and bias against sides and over generalise actions.
These types of reports, Mr Kassim explained, only lead to the aggravation of the conflict as it tends to create more anger and hatred.
Conflict-sensitive journalism, according to him, “injects context, an appreciation for root causes and a new capacity to seek and analyze possible solutions,” which, he noted, was preferable to the otherwise daily repetition of violent incidents as news.
Mr Alhassan Imoro, a veteran journalist and partner executive of RUMNET, said in reporting, journalists must aim to bring about healing and restoration of relationships that have been destroyed by protracted conflicts.
“Some journalists say it is not their business to take responsibility for what happens when they report the news, but this is directly opposite to conflict-sensitive reporting,” he stated.
Mr Imoro said in cases where reporting the facts could be harmful, the journalists should use his gumption to judge which option to take and if necessary avoid the reportage.
“If the journalist insists on reporting the news, he or she must remain fair, balanced and accurate and also avoid stating facts that may incite more violence, such as disclosing the identities of victims,” he further explained.
The National Network Co-ordinator of the Ghana Network for Peace-building (GHANEP), Mr Justin Bayor noted that the basic idea in conflict-sensitive reporting was that “the report must not cause any harm.”
Instead, the report, he said “should stress on ways of resolution, the common agreeing points between the factions and also hit on the plight of the ordinary people, since they are mostly the victims.”
Mr Bayor again remarked that the media does positive peace-building only when it tackles the attitudinal and behavioural aspects of conflicts, prior to their escalation.
“If conflict reports can seek to build cultural bridges and break down structural barriers that seem to foster conflict, then journalists can be seen to be promoting peace,” he added.
At the end of the workshop, the journalists were of the opinion that they could do much to minimise the confrontations in Bawku, Buipe, Yendi, Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo, Bimbilla and other areas in the north if they adhered to this form of journalism.
“I have realised that even a word used in a report can inflame passions and further wreck the damage that we were already trying to repair,” Mr Mohammed Lukman of Radio Justice said in an interview.
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