Conflict Sensitive Journalism Techniques

and their Use to Reinforce Traditional Journalism Values

by Antonia Koop, (latest revision August 28,2010)
Journalism is a process that requires reporters and editors to make decisions. In daily
work every journalist is confronted with two major questions: What do I report? and
How do I report it? The questions seem simple. However, the answers to these
seemingly simple questions are not always easy to find. Journalists cannot only decide
based on what information seems to matter most. Our reporting is influenced by a
number of other factors; the location and target group of the media outlet, house styles,
assumptions of what sells and what doesnt and a number of rules and habits which have
evolved and are seldom questioned in daily practice.
Journalists can find guidance for making those journalistic decisions in the definition of
journalism as such. What and how we report depends on how we as reporters and editors
perceive the task and role of journalism in society, how we look at our readers and
audiences and how we as media practitioners relate our stories to current affairs,
situations and conditions in society.
The following table summarizes common habits which can be observed in media practice
and which tend to erode the quality of reporting. They have evolved in response to
increasing competition among reporters, market pressure and a growing business
orientation of media outlets. Furthermore, this table provides key concepts of Conflict
Sensitive Journalism identified to be essential for high quality reporting of Conflict,
Crisis and War. These concepts provide guidance for practicing journalists and are
developed as strategies to overcome the described habits. They are based on widely
agreed journalistic values such as truth, accuracy, balance, impartiality and independence.
Conflict Sensitive Journalism is herein not to be misunderstood as a new breed of
journalism which aims at creating specific conditions in society (such as peace) but as
an attempt to produce quality on basis of agreed journalism values.
Core Elements
of Conflict
Journalism

Journalism habits which have

evolved in the past in response to
market pressure and media
internal competition.

Role of
Journalism

Journalism / News
AS BUSINESS
(media produces readers for
advertisers, Propaganda Model by
N.Chomsky)

High quality journalism based on

traditional journalism values and
ethics and a refined set of strategies
for their implementation
Called
Conflict Sensitive Journalism
Journalism/News
AS COMMUNICATION CHANNEL
IN SOCIETY
(media provides orientation on
ongoing discussions in society and
allows participation Discursive
Journalism by C.Brosda)

Remarks and
Explanatory
Notes

Business oriented
media has given up
much of its
relevance as
democratic function
in society in
exchange for
influence, cost
efficiency and
entertainment.
Depriving the
people of access to

Framing and
Context

EVENT ORIENTATION

PROCESS ORIENTATION

EVENT

PROCESS

E
E

9am 10am 11am 12nn

+ CONTEXT
(Conditions, Situation)

independent,
reliable information
weakens
democracy and the
capacity of society
to deal with
conflicts
nonviolently and
constructively
Event oriented
reporting only
allows events to be
explained by the
immediate
happenings. This
oversimplifies and
leads to wrong
conclusions and
blaming.
Process oriented
reporting includes:

Stories are reported inside the arena

with
closed time and space only
focusing on the immediate actors
and happenings

Stories embed events in their context

including conditions, circumstances and
the larger picture, reporting with
open time and space.
This includes the history and previous
events which have led to the current
situation.

- History of events
- Context
- Circumstances
and Conditions
(e.g. the living
conditions of the
key actors)
and thereby
presents the larger
picture which
allows the reader to
understand why the
event happens.
Events involving
direct violence are
explained by the
circumstances
created by
structural and
cultural violence
such as poverty or
discrimination

Shape
Of the Conflict

2-PARTY GEOMETRY

ROUND TABLE GEOMETRY

B
E

Conflict is seen as dual, with two

parties fighting over one goal.
Every gain of one party is a loss for the
other party. The only possible
outcomes are victory or defeat.
Journalists count the wins and losses,
focusing on the death toll, territory
won or lost and the equipments used by
the opponent.
Key questions is:
Who will win?

Reporters identify many stakeholders,

explore their interests behind their positions
and see each of their contributions and
needs as equally important. By presenting
multiple stakeholders views and needs
media reports become channel for
communication among the various actors in
a conflict situation.

Describing a
conflict as 2 parties
fighting over one
goal creates a tugof-war logic.
It leads to
escalation by
creating
competition and
blocks
collaboration. It is a
failure of accuracy
since conflicts are
never that simple.
Reporting conflict
requires to identify
all stakeholders and
give all of them
equal opportunity
to express their
perspectives and
needs.

Key questions:
Who is involved?
What do all these stakeholders really want?

Strategy of
dealing with
complexity

Goal of
Reporting
(Service for
the reader)

SIMPLIFY

EXPLORE COMPLEXITY/
EXPLAIN

e.g.:
2 Party geometry
Dualism (Black and White)
Manichaeism (Good and Evil)
Standard explanations
Direct violence is the result of
madness, fanatics or tribal anarchy
Etc.

e.g.
who are the stakeholders
what are the interests behind their positions
what are their motivations
Analyze the conditions and context to identify
true explanations
Direct violence is explained through structural
and cultural violence
etc.

ENTERTAINMENT

UNDERSTANDING

Journalism serves as entertainment. It

utilizes the strategies of marketing and
storytelling to make catchy reports.
Journalism is a business, which means
its product has to be produced with the
smallest possible investment and the
biggest possible profit. Information
gathering is in fact more expensive
than selling less informative reports via
means of entertainment.
(see also reporting violence)

The purpose of journalism is to inform and

educate the reader to create understanding
of relevant issues and current events among
the readers and audience. This empowers
the readers for participation in public
dicourse by increasing knowledge and
providing a platform for discussion
Understanding a situation is the most
fundamental precondition for human beings
to deal with this situation successfully and
achieve whatever is the desired outcome.
Furthermore, understanding another human

To create
understanding
reporters have to
explore and explain
complexity instead
of simplifying
complex situations
(e.g. 2-partygeometry is a
simplification and
is inaccurate)
Entertainment is a
product produced
by various
industries including
the movie industry,
amusement centers
etc. Journalists
however are the
only ones whose
mandate is to
provide
independent and
impartial
information.
Focusing mainly on
entertainment

Reporting
Violence

DIRECT VIOLENCE ONLY

being, group or perspective allows

individuals to relate to each other and
overcome prejudices and irrational fears.

means depriving
the public of their
main source of
information and
makes journalism
as such irrelevant.

DIRECT + CULTURAL +
STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE

Framing a conflict
as exchange of
direct violence
provides no
explanation why
violence happens. It
allows the reader to
assume or guess
explanations that
are shaped by
prejudices and
propaganda,
e.g. orientalism,
tribal anarchy,
ancient hatred,
fanatics and evil
leaders etc

Reports focus nearly exclusively on

direct violence, identify the
perpetrators, stress gory details and
provide graphic descriptions.
Violence is seen and used as
entertainment or emotional shock
treatment
Readers react emotionally and with
anger against the perpetrators which
demonizes the perpetrators and thereby
justifies a tough response (e.g.
military crackdown)

Direct
violence

Cultural
violence

Structural
violence

Reports identify the structural and cultural

violence that underly and cause direct
violence.
Structural and cultural violence are
explored as possible root causes which
nurture and trigger direct violence.
Readers gain deeper understanding of the
root causes of violence, e.g. poverty,
discrimination etc. Understanding these
conditions does not serve as justification for
violence but allows the reader to recognize
the real problems. In conclusion a tough
response often does not make sense because
it increases the violence (poverty cannot be
reduced by a military crackdown).

Analyzing
goals and
motivations of
conflict parties

POSITIONS

INTEREST BEHIND POSITIONS

Reports focus on what the parties

say what they want.

Positions

These are the positions of the

conflict parties.

Interests

Positions are often mutually

exclusive (only one party can have
the land, the money etc). Positions
become demands. The only way for
the parties to get what they want is
to win (victory or defeat as only
options). Since defeat is
unacceptable this leads to
competition and escalation. The

Needs

The desires of stakeholders in a conflict

situation are multilayered like an onion.
The outer layer are the positions, the
demands parties openly express
packaged to strengthen and justify their
claim (e.g. the land is mine, it has to be
given back to me because I have the

Cultural and
structural violence
explain direct
violence and allow
the readers to
identify the root
problems and
address those
instead of blaming
a conflict party for
the situation.
It is part of the
process of
truthseeking and
fundamentally
important for
accuracy that
journalists try to
identify the
interests behind the
parties positions.
Only by exploring
underlying
interests, needs and
motivations
journalists enable
the readers to fully
comprehend each
stakeholders

written land title). Behind those

positions, however, are interests.
Interests describe what the parties
really want (e.g. a safe, cheap and
beautiful place to bring up children and
enjoy retirement). Interests are built on
the parties needs (e.g. safety, income,
comfort etc). Needs are fundamental
and drive the parties actions. Interests
and needs are not necessarily mutually
exclusive. Therefore all parties can
achieve their interests without the other
parties having to pay, which is
described with the term positive sum
game.

perspective and
allow those
involved to address
the real issues
instead of
discussing about a
surface claim.
Journalists have the
capacity to provide
the necessary
information for
well informed
decision making.

BLAME

CONFLICT AS SHARED
CHALLENGE

Lead Question:
Whose fault is it?

Lead Questions:
What is really happening and WHY?
How does the conflict affect all groups
and individuals involved?
What do the stakeholders really want?
How can all actors interests be
addressed?

Event focused
reports, which
emphasize direct
violence do not
provide
explanations for
why violence
happens. Especially
when the conflict is
framed as 2-party
geometry the reader
is urged to blame
one side. Exploring
the root causes of
conflict by
analyzing its
context allows the
reader to
understand that
conflict is a shared
problem of all
stakeholders.

best outcome is a settlement based

on a compromise which is,
however, still a win-lose outcome.
The concept of mutually exclusive
wants is stressed by two party
geometry and builds up the logic of
a zero-sum game, in which each
gain for one side is automatically
considered a loss for the other side.

Reporters and
Readers Lens

The question of blame is

emphasized through 2-party
geometry and event based
reporting, with focus on direct
violence. As a result one party is
usually demonized. Which party
depends on hidden biases of the
reporter.

Dealing with
Propaganda

RECEPTIVE TO PROPAGANDA
In a 2 party geometry there is no
neutral position, also not for the
journalist. Being forced to take
sides, journalists tend to uncover
propaganda of the other side but
overlook propaganda on their
side. Focusing on direct violence,
blame and the simplification of
complex conflicts make journalists
prone to swallowing the bait
provided by propagandists.

Reports explore the underlying

problems, stakeholders interests and the
effect the conflict has on all parties
involved. Identifying the structural and
cultural violence as trigger for direct
violence allows to distinguish between
the problem and the parties involved
and prevents demonizing of individuals
and conflict party.
RESILIENT AGAINST
PROPAGANDA
Framing a conflict as a round table
allows also the journalist to have an
independent unique position. From this
point of view the journalist can identify
all actors concerns and all actors
propaganda. Exploring a conflicts
complexity, underlying issues and
structural and cultural violence build
deeper understanding and help reporters
to identify propaganda and avoid the

The aim of
propaganda is to
influence peoples
decision making by
creating or
suppression a
specific opinion.
Therefore
propaganda directly
contradicts good
journalism which
aims to allow
people to make
their own choices
based on factual

Dealing with
War

bait provided by propagandists.

information.
Journalists have to
avoid being used
for propaganda
regardless if
propaganda serves
a good purpose
(e.g. peace
advocacy) or a
negative one (e.g.
war propaganda).

JUSTIFIES WAR

SHOWS THE COST OF WAR

Conflict is seen as an exchange of

direct violence of two parties of
which one is good and one is
demonized as evil and therefore
to be blamed. This becomes the
justification for conflict
management through force (in
extreme: war) used against the evil
party.
Propaganda utilizes and feeds
media reports to create a
justification for war based on the
Just war principles (Thomas
Aquinas)

Journalists explore the true face of war by

showing its impact on all stakeholders.

Good reporting
aims to allow the
reader to
understand conflict.
If conflict has
escalated into war,
it is the task of
journalists to make
the reader aware of
the Who, What,
Where, When, How
and Why of this
war, providing a
truthful and
unbeautified
picture.
While
propagandists
attempt to show
only those aspects
of war which serve
their parties
interests, journalists
have to show the
cost of war so that
people can decide if
thy choose to
support or reject
war as a means to
handle conflict.

This includes the perspectives of

combatants as well as non-combatants.
Elite perspectives and sources such as
generals and politicians are considered as
valuable as the perspectives of other sectors
such as business, health, education and the
voices of the people.
Journalists try to account the cost of war in
terms of:
Monetary expenses
Human lives
The destruction to physical and social
structure
and the long term effects of war on the
population.
Attention: Showing the cost of war does not
mean presenting a sterile set of numbers as
body count.

Identifying
sources and
relevant actors
for the story

ELITE ORIENTED
News values are interpreted
through the lens of entertainment.
Elite news makers receive primary
attention based on their news value
of prominence.
Elite sources (in many cases male
leaders) are seen as representatives
of the peoples opinion (their
mouth piece).

PEOPLE ORIENTED (FULL

SPECTRUM)
News values are interpreted through the
lens of relevance. Elite news makers
receive attention if their statements
have impact on and are therefore
relevant to the story and so do non-elite
sources and news makers.
Reporting does not focus on
distinguishing between victims and

Relevant and
balanced
journalism defines
the value of a
source or statement
solely by the
relevance of that
respective group,
person or opinion
for the story.
Reporting is geared
towards integrating
a variety of

People receive attention if they

become victims or perpetrators or
subjects of a human interest story
(news values: blood and crime and
emotions, tragedy) This suggests
that the people are passive and have
to wait and hope that their leaders
will make a good decision and
rescue them.

perpetrators, elites and people,

combatants and non-combatants but
looks at each stakeholder and person
individually, humanizing all involved,
aiming at understanding their respective
point of view, identifying their interests
and needs.
Each group is given the chance to speak
for themselves, e.g. a group of farmers
is represented by a farmer and not by
the local major or an ngo worker). This
includes men, women, aged, children
etc.
The decision who is right and who is
wrong has to be made by the reader, not
by the journalist.

perspectives. The
reporter does not
decide to either
report elite
perspectives or
people perspectives
but aims to include
both presented by
various
stakeholders.
This requirers to
find sources who
truly represent each
of the actors, and
involves also
minority or
underprivilegdged
groups and
individuals.
It might be the most
underestimated
source which
provides the most
interesting insight..

Identifying
Stories and
angles through
News Values

Reporting
Victims of
direct violence

ENTERTAINMENT

RELEVANCE

News Values are seen as guide for

entertainment

News Values are seen as guide for

identifying relevant stories

(Gory stories, celebrities, emotional stories,

Shocking or amusing stories catch the
readers attention and therefore sell)

(stories which impact peoples lives, involve

leaders and people, human interest stories are a
way of identifying problems and negative
conditions)

News selection has

to be based on
relevance. Without
being relevant to
the reader
journalism looses
its meaning and
function as
information
provider and
becomes pure
entertainment.

VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE

VICTIMS OF CONFLICT

Reporters focus on direct violence.

Victims are passive recipients of
direct violence. They become
interesting because of the cruelty
they experience, which is described
in the report (Sensationalism)

Victims of direct violence. Victims of

structural, cultural violence, of
misguided ideologies or their own blind
folds.
It is recommended to generally avoid
the term victim, since it disempowers
those affected by violence and creates
another 2-part-geometry between
victims and perpetrators. In conflict it is
important to acknowledge that a
perpetrator is also a victim and not
seldom victims have been perpetrator
before or can be associated with a

Provocation
through
Journalism

Use of
language

Creating
balance

PROVOCATION THROUGH
BLAME

group that acted as perpetrator.

PROVOCATION BY QUESTIONING
SYSTEMS

Provokes by blaming, critical

towards specific people

Provokes by crticicising system not

blaming individuals, points out
problems, explores structural violence,
underlying conditions etc.

STEREOTYPING,
GENERALIZING, LABELING

SPECIFIC, NEUTRAL USE OF

LANGUAGE

Journalists tend to label groups

according to the us and themscheme. E.g. terrorist vs.
freedom-fighter. Words such as
our guys used in commentary by
American journalists for the US
troops in Iraq, express this us and
them thinking.
Furthermore, language is often
generalizing and unspecific.

Journalists try to find neutral terms,

however, if this is difficult, a strategy is
to use the terms groups use to describe
themselves with the specific
explanation (e.g. a group which calls
itself Gods Armee)

QUANTITATIVE BALANCE

QUALITATIVE BALANCE

Balance is created by
Providing equal time to both sides
choosing equal sources (e.g. the
spokespersons of two governments
in conflict both are given 5 minutes
interview time and 15 seconds
airtime in the final report.) Sources
are chosen based on the hierarchy
of sources in which high ranking
officials and so called authorities
are preferred.

Relevant stakeholders have equal

chance to explain their perspectives and
needs. Balance is not created by same
time, same position but based on the
quality of the comments made. (e.g. one
source is a government spokespers but
another group is represented by a
doctor. Politicians are not automatically
considered to be representatives of the
people, unusual sources complete the
story with unusual perspectives)

Journalism can be
very provocative.
Provocation can
lead to onesidedness and
biases when simply
directed against
individuals. It can
also be educational
and constructive
when raising
questions and
questioning
established systems
that are
disfunctional.

Language poses a
major challenge,
since it
dynamically
evolves with the
conflict (e.g.
Black was once
acceptable to be
used for an
African American
but is today also
seen as
problematic.
Journalists avoid
all words and
labels which take
position and aim
to find neutral
terms.
Quantitative
balance does not
guarantee
qualitative balance.
For an adequate
representation of all
actors journalists
have to balance
their perspectives
based on relevance
for the content of
the story and the
actors involvement
and not based on
quantitative
measurements.

Emotional
Response of
the reader

EMOTIONS:

EMOTIONS:

Reports who follow this scheme

and habits of reporting trigger
specific emotions in the reader:

Conflict reports that implement the

traditional values of journalism aim to
create true understanding of the
situation, its background and all actors
without limiting the readers choices.

-anger
-shock and resentment
- pity for the victims
By limiting and compressing the
conflict parties into two and then
demonizing one party these
negative emotions turn against the
demonized party. This becomes the
basis for propaganda which utilizes
the readers negative feelings for
one party to justify the use of force
against this group to the extreme of
engaging into war.
Impact of the
reporting style
on the reader

The reader develops empathy and gains

deeper understanding which creates
compassion and often leads to a desire
for changing unpleasant conditions.

DISEMPOWERMENT

EMPOWERMENT

Media reports present conflict stories

without contextualizing events and
information and the reader is left with a
puzzle with missing pieces.
Consequently s/he is not able to fully
comprehend the situation.

High quality journalism allows the reader to

gain deeper understanding of conflict
situations, their root causes and the roles,
needs and motivations of all actors involved
in the situation.

Since the focus of reporting lies on

elite sources and news makers this
combined with the lack of context
suggests to the reader that s/he is not
able to comprehend what is happening
and therefore has to leave it to the
leaders to handle the problem.
Reports do not provide explanations
for direct violence but leave the reader
with the perception that dangerous and
insane individuals are trying to destroy
peace and security for insane reasons.
Violence is seen as mad and therefore
manageable only by the use of counter
violence.
All of this leaves the readers with a
feeling of helplessness and the
impression that they have no role in the
situation except from being spectators
waiting in fear, hoping to be rescued
by the leaders.

Understanding conflict and its root causes

and being able to identify structural and
cultural violence as fundament for direct
violence allows the reader to assess a
variety of possible solutions and responses
to conflict.
Reports integrate not only elite perspectives
but also peoples perspectives which signals
the reader that not only political and
military leaders have the capacities to
engage and influence the situation.
Understanding of the situation and the
awareness of the involvement of non elite
actors empowers the people and builds
awareness and the confidence to keep
elite actors accountable for their actions. It
further encourages the reader to take an
active position into shaping reality
according to their own needs and desires.

Since often
journalism is the
only provider of
information about
conflicts and
especially crisis and
war situations
media reports
greatly impact the
way how the
situation is
perceived by the
reader. The readers
reaction results out
of the readers
understanding of
the situation. It is
the responsibility of
journalists to
provide a picture
that is as accurate
as possible.
Journalism is
defined as a
function in
democratic society
which aims to
inform and educate
the people about
relevant issues in
society so they can
participate in
political processes.
Informing and
educating can only
be successfully
done if journalists
are independent and
reports allow the
readers to fully
understand the
issues of concern.
Only full
comprehension of
problems and their
causes and effects
allows the reader to
develop an opinion
and make well
informed choices.
The Human Rights
catalog integrates
the right to

information as well
as the right to free
expression into the
list of Human
Rights.

This kind of reporting is

Disempowering and makes the people
receptive to propaganda messages and
manipulation.

How
journalists
perceive their
readers and
audiences

PASSIVE STUPID READER

ACTIVE SMART READER

Journalists and especially media

management tend to see their
readers and audience as passive
recipients at the end of the
production chain.

Journalists see their readers as active

members of society who use the
information provided by the media to
make relevant decisions for their own
lives.

This perspective justifies an

entertainment focused reporting
style, which is cheaper, faster
produced and requires smaller
investment in financial and human
resources. Tthe higher investment
for producing high quality
information seems not justifiable
since the information is not used by
the passive reader but just
consumed.

The readers dont only have the right to

information they also have a significant
information need and journalists are the
once responding to this need by
providing the necessary access to high
quality, impartial and truth oriented
information.

How we see our

readers and
audience defines
how we see our
role as journalists
and guides our
choice of
reporting
strategies

The concepts provided were developed based on research and techniques by Nadine Bilke, Johan Galtung,
Jake Lynch, Annabel McGoldrick, Antonia Koop and others, are drawn from the research Work
Environment of Philippine Journalists (Koop 2006), Work Environment of East Timorese
Journalists(Manriquez 2009) and more than 50 Trainings conducted in the Philippines, Indonesia, East
Timor, Cambodia and Germany gathering inputs, comments and suggestions from journalists, editors,
producers and publishers.
This table is a work-in-progress and is regularly updated and further revised.