Reporting Conflict in a Digital Age

A report of the conference I attended recently:

Conference with Vin Ray, Director of the BBC College of Journalism, Alan Little, BBC Correspondent, Stuart Allan, Bournemouth University Professor of Journalism, Mark Brayne, formerly of the Dart Centre and expert on trauma and Gavin Rees from the Dart Centre.

The main points raised and discussed:

This year has been the bloodiest year since the Falklands in 1982.

Media now allows new perspectives on conflict/war. Think of 9/11 when we saw the second plane hit LIVE. Also think of Colombine, Beslan and Gulf II. We have real time coverage of conflict and less time to make editorial decisions.

The age old dilemmas:
- Manipulation of news - can media coverage lose a war?
- Objectivity - should we say 'our' troops or simply 'British' troops? Max Hastings said objectivity is a peacetime luxury.
- Taste and Self Censorhip

War is business. The book 'Scoop' by Evelyn Waugh says, "the public has no interest in a war that drags on indecisively."

Gulf I:
CNN war, grainy live video images, Western viewpoint, sanitised 'video game' images, pooled coverage, highly controlled.

Gulf II:
First internet war, blogs/Salman Pax, integrated web offering, live video phone coverage, graphic footage of casualties, Western and Arab viewpoint.

What are the consequences of witnessing conflict live?

Why report conflict when it is dangerous and traumatic, expensive to cover and when audiences are less interested in overseas affairs than in their home country? Perhaps beacuse it is IN the public interest.

A common criticism of TV journalism is that it descends on a story and the pulls out. We need to ensure that we go back to stories.

Impartiality is a key BBC value. Can you be impartial when your own country is involved in a war? Need a diversity of views - not just the officials.

How much footage of a conflict does an audience need to see reality? Consider how many complaints are received about distressing imagery. We need to consider sensitivity and what about before the watershed when children are watching?

Verification of conflict stories:
It is a journalist's job as an eye witness reporter to make judgements on evidence.


Extremely interesting food for thought ...