How can Peace Journalism be practiced? Why is it important?

Photo: Anadolu Agency

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The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan stated yesterday (September 19) that Azerbaijani positions in Aghdam direction in Karabakh were fired upon by "illegal" Armenian forces with mortars and weapons of different calibers.

Anadolu Agency reported that the statement noted that two soldiers were wounded as a result of the gunfire, and in response, units of the Azerbaijani army retaliated.

It was claimed that civilians were not harmed in the operation while it was announced that humanitarian corridors and reception points were established in the Lachin corridor and other directions to evacuate the Armenian population from the danger zone.

While many news reports about the tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia have appeared in the media, it is observed that in most of these reports, journalists move away from their "reporter" identity and adopt a "combatant" identity.

We wanted to remind Prof. Dr. Sevda Alankuş's handbook "Peace Journalism" among the bianet books.

Peace journalism is the normative form of responsibly and consciously covering conflicts. It aims to facilitate reconciliation, establish peace, contribute to maintaining peace, and change the attitudes of media owners, advertisers, professionals, and viewers toward war and peace.

Journalism should be based on a political and ethical preference for peace.

Peace should be approached with a positive definition. In other words, journalism should focus on injustices based on class, gender, religion, sect, language, ethnicity, etc., that need to be fought against continuously and that need to be carried forward for sustainable and progressive peace.

While the subject matter of general journalism should also be included, issues that are excluded within the hegemonic understanding of news — violations of rights arising from poverty, discrimination, inequality, or issues that are covered in such a way as to cause new rights violations — should also fall within the scope of peace journalism.

While conflicts caused by injustices and inequalities, power struggles, and conflicts of interest are covered, journalism should prefer solutions that do not resort to violence and prioritize solutions that take into account the interests of all parties whose rights have been violated; in situations where violence already exists, journalism should prioritize creating a conceptual ground for solutions that prioritize the interests of all parties whose rights have been violated.

It should not be forgotten that such journalism can only be built on a feminist epistemology and ethics, centering on the Other. (EMK/PE)