Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas

Short Courses of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas

Colombian Journalists Complete Course on Covering ConflictsColombian Journalists Complete Course on Covering Conflicts

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, the United Nations University for Peace, and Media for Peace (Medios para la Paz, in Spanish) have completed the online course "The Media and Armed Conflicts".

The course for Colombian journalists, which was conducted entirely online, lasted six weeks, ending Dec. 12, 2004. The instructor was professor Álvaro Sierra, adjunct editor of El Tiempo newspaper, and president of the board of directors of Media for Peace. He has extensive experience covering armed conflicts as a local reporter and a foreign correspondent.

Participants explored the role that the media play, and are capable of playing, in their coverage of armed conflicts. Topics included:

*Should journalists attempt to save lives and contribute to the peace? Or is their mission simply to inform?
*What techniques are used to report on armed conflict?
*What ethical dilemmas do reporters face when covering these conditions?
*What is the relationship between journalists and the military?
*What is the history of coverage of armed conflicts in other parts of the world?

The course examined the international context but focused intensive discussion on the Colombian case. Students will have access for the first time to digital versions of reports dealing with journalistic coverage of the Colombian conflict.

The class included online video and text lectures. Participants took part in online discussions and performed all assignments online, according to their own schedules.

The course was free of charge. It was designed for Colombian journalists who have a minimum of three years experience covering conflict and public safety.

The course was originally designed by Media for Peace, for the University for Peace's Institute of Media, Peace, and Security. It was offered in partnership with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at the University of Texas at Austin. The Knight Center is developing distance learning programs in Spanish, Portuguese, and English for journalists from throughout the Americas.

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas was created by Professor Rosental Calmon Alves at the University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism in August 2002 thanks to a generous donation from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Its main objective is to help journalists in the hemisphere to develop self-sustaining training programs that will raise the ethical and professional levels of journalism in the Americas.

Media for Peace (MPP, in Spanish), based in Bogotá, Colombia, consists of 80 journalists who are working to develop more responsible coverage of Colombia's war, and efforts to negotiate peace. Through its series of activities throughout the country, and through the Internet, MPP conducts ongoing analysis and reflection on the Colombian reality and maintains a constant exchange of information about journalism, calling special attention to the use of neutral language in the coverage of conflict.

For more information:
http://www.mediosparalapaz.org/index.php?idcategoria=1285
info@mediosparalapaz.org

For more information about the Knight Center, contact Dean Graber, program manager, deangraber@mail.utexas.edu.

Added Sep 16, 19:41, 2005