C. Henry Smith presentation

Jake Short

April 2010

 

I hate to break it to you, but objectivity is dead. It’s been dead. In fact, objectivity was never born and has been nothing but a myth. Therefore, at some level trying to rid the media of bias is a futile act. And yet, who here would say bias is their number one complaint about the media? It seems I hear about it all the time: journalism is unreliable because of the rise of the “liberal media elite” and petty fighting for ratings between networks like Fox News and MSNBC that apparently represent the conservative and liberal political views, respectively.

 

What then are we to do? Merely accept the fact that such dualistic biases will never be eradicated? No. While bias is an inevitable part of journalism, it doesn’t mean that bias cannot promote a third way (or ways) to look at the news. I blame our current black-and-white biases on the dualistic nature of our political system: only two parties represent nearly everyone in the nation, and yet a majority of people would comfortably say they don’t wholly identify with either party. But because these two dominate, their influence spreads to all parts of our lives, including the media.

 

So many inside and outside the world of journalism are disgusted with what “the fourth estate” has become today. But I believe an answer has finally arrived to turn journalism away from its dualistic framework and move us towards ending the sensationalism that has become rampant in many media outlets. The emerging field of peace journalism gives hope to journalists such as myself who want to see a different world in our career and vocation. While this new form of reporting the news holds its own obvious bias, having come out of the discipline of peace and conflict studies, it offers some radical solutions to some of the problems I’ve addressed, especially if one considers journalism in the church.

 

Before I continue, I must define a few words and phrases. First, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, bias is “an inclination, leaning, tendency, bent; a preponderating disposition or propensity; predisposition towards; predilection; or a prejudice.”1 It also means “designating an attack or (violent) crime motivated by hatred or intolerance of another social group, usually on the basis of race or sexuality.”1 This second definition I believe helps to describe sensationalism, which was defined as an “addiction to what is sensational in literature or art.”2 Third, dualism was defined as “the condition or state of being dual or consisting of two parts; twofold division; duality.”3 Finally, the phrase “the fourth estate” refers to the media, which has traditionally been seen in the U.S. as another part of the government that watches the activities of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

 

Moving on, I will now explain what exactly peace journalism is. The first real evidence of peace journalism appeared in the work of Alfred Fried. Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1864, Fried pursued a journalism career in Germany. He founded the Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft (German Peace Society) and edited it publication, the Monatliche Friedenskorrespondenz (Monthly Peace Correspondence). He also established Die Waffen Nieder (Lay Down Your Arms) peace journal and served as the secretary-general of the Union Internationale de la Presse pour la Paix (International Union of the Press for Peace).4

 

As a discipline, peace journalism emerged in the 1970s when the term was coined by Johan Galtung.  But not until the mid-1990s did it became a more concrete field of interest not only for journalists, but for peace activists, university professors and researchers, and those interested in “the conflict-media nexus.”5 The dawn of the new millennium saw journalists like Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick teaching and advocating for peace journalism.6

 

In a nutshell peace journalism is defined as “when editors and reporters make choices—of what stories to report, and how to report them—which create opportunities for society at large to consider and to value nonviolent responses to conflict.”7 It also applies “an awareness of nonviolence and creativity to the practical job of everyday reporting.”8

 

How then can peace journalism work against the dualism and sensationalism in the mainstream media today?

 

Lynch and McGoldrick state that there are four orientations within peace journalism: peace/conflict, truth, people, and solution. These orientations are opposed to that of traditional “war” journalism: war/violence, propaganda, elite, and victory, respectively. The two claim that peace journalism is more accurate and more responsible in terms of reporting the facts. It delves into the heart of issues concerning conflict, telling the reasons behind why someone wanted to bomb a metro system rather than simply stating a bomb went off and killed so many people in the metro. It forces readers to think and engage more about the issues brought up in traditional journalism.9

           

Some would contend that this is merely advocating for more investigative journalism. At some level yes, but peace journalism offers more: a voice to possible peaceful solutions to conflict and it covers the work of grassroots and community organizations instead of waiting to hear what official sources say.10

           

While not necessarily peace journalists, Arianna Huffington, creator of the Internet newspaper The Huffington Post, and Tucker Carlson, creator of its counterpart The Daily Caller, espouse the ideas of going beyond the superficial facts, dualism, and sensationalism. Both websites are news compilers, collecting stories from dozens of news outlets to give more views on the same story. The Huffington Post has been criticized for its liberal-progressive bias, but The Daily Caller has been termed “the conservative answer to The Huffington Post.” Arianna Huffington congratulated Carlson in her blog with, “I hope they’ll keep in mind that one of the greatest contributions the digital media can make is to counter the traditional media’s obsession with looking at every issue through the cobweb-covered lens of right vs. left.”11

 

What then does this mean for the church? Simply that peace journalism is a way to further its work in the world. And while I believe that any denomination (or even religion) can use peace journalism to their advantage, I will be speaking specifically to the work of the Mennonite church.

           

Jesus’ life has been told via four gospels. The word “gospel” means “good news.” Today I hear so many people complain how the media fails to report any good news. Church publications often tell stories of more good news compared with secular media, but still conflict is what interests people the most, even within the church.

 

But the church is meant to proclaim the gospel, good news, in the world. I don’t know of anyone who would say peace isn’t good. Peace journalism is therefore essential in proclaiming the gospel; even if the news isn’t good, we can still bring the peace of Christ to the news by refusing to report it in traditional ways. Returning to the four opposing orientations of peace and war journalism mentioned above, peace journalism in the church will: create more open space and time in conflict; it will give a voice to all parties; it will focus on suffering all over; it will look at the aftermaths of conflict, including resolution, reconstruction, and reconciliation. In the end, McGoldrick and Lynch state that peace equals nonviolence plus creativity.

 

For example, the inclusion of the LGBTQ community in the Mennonite church has been a major topic for about a year now. The establishment of the Pink Menno and Blue Menno groups, along with others, has paved the way for a lot of tension and conflict in the church. In the years leading up to the biennial convention in Columbus last summer, The Mennonite magazine had a moratorium on this issue. I believe this was a mistake by the publication. While it has rescinded this moratorium, I think The Mennonite hasn’t done enough to examine all sides of this issue. As an official publication of Mennonite Church USA, The Mennonite of course has a duty to denominational doctrine, but at the same time it also has a duty to represent all in the denomination. The Mennonite had articles pertaining to Jim Schrag’s response to the Pink Menno campaign and a letter from ethnic churches in the Pacific Southwest Conference concerning their opposition to the acceptance of the LGBTQ community. Beyond one article and letters to the editor, little on the other side of the issue has been covered. But this just demonstrates the dualistic nature of our society.12

 

What about the common people of the denomination? The Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective’s article on peace states that Jesus “called for right relationships.”13 It continues with “The Old Testament word for peace (shalom) includes healing, reconciliation, and well-being.”14 Are these statements being expressed in official church publications? Perhaps, but we can do better.

 

Another statement, titled “And No One Shall Make Them Afraid,” says, “Christians are called to be channels of God’s peace.”15 Later is states, “We can provide healing and hope by what we practice within the church, our workplaces and neighborhoods.”16 Finally is says, “We commit ourselves to teach nonviolence and peacemaking both within the church and beyond it,” and “We will encourage laws, public institutions, and policies that work to reduce violence.”17 I see here clear statements calling for peace journalism to be instituted in the church’s news outlets.

 

As a field of study that has been in existence for only five years or so, we still have much to learn about peace journalism. People are discovering it and are excited. But the political and economic power of the mainstream media is overwhelming and one can hardly escape hearing about the latest sensationalism from news outlets like MSNBC, Fox News, or even CBS and ABC. Mainstream media can give us facts, but with such little airtime on TV and radio, our attention must be kept by flashy taglines intertwined with the latest celebrity gossip. Where is journalistic integrity? And where is the news, both good and bad? Peace journalism is one way to rectify the problems of sensationalism and dualism in “the fourth estate.” It calls on journalists to go beyond the superficial facts of a story and warns them not to rely only on official sources, especially with war coverage. Not only can “the fourth estate” learn something valuable from peace journalism, but so can the church. Any church, not just the Mennonite or other peace churches, wants to spread the gospel of Jesus. The gospel, the good news, can only be spread in ways that are in line with it; can one tell of the peace of Christ if there is no outlet that gives people the opportunity to consider and value such peace? In the end, I think the words of Menno Simons express what peace journalism in the church must look like: “We who were formerly no people at all, and who knew of no peace, are now called to be ... a church ... of peace. True Christians do not know vengeance. They are the children of peace. Their hearts overflow with peace. Their mouths speak peace, and they walk in the way of peace.”

 

1. http://www.oed.com/

2. Ibid

3. Ibid

4. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1911/fried-bio.html

5. http://www.transcend.org/tms/about_peace_journalism.php

6. Ibid

7. http://www.reportingtheworld.org.uk/peace_journalism.htm

8. Ibid

9. Ross, Susan Dente, and Majid Tehranian. Peace Journalism in Times of War

10. http://www.transcend.org/tms/about_peace_journalism.php

11. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/tucker-carlson-launches-t_b_417459.html

12. http://www.themennonite.org

13. http://www.mcusa-archives.org/library/resolutions/1995/1995-22.html

14. Ibid

15. http://www.mcusa-archives.org/library/resolutions/nooneshallmakethemafraid.html

16. Ibid

17. Ibid