by Barbara Sofer In the first article in CGNews' special series on responsible journalism in the Arab-Israeli conflict, Barbara Sofer discusses the difficulties journalists encounter while navigating the story-rich Middle East. It is vital to exercise common sense and a fair measure of scepticism so as to avoid buying a slanted story. This is “far worse than buying a street corner wristwatch that fails immediately after purchase. A damaging story can tick on forever.”
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 2 April 2009)
by Ghassan Rubeiz In this second article in CGNews’ series on responsible journalism in the Arab-Israeli conflict, Ghassan Rubeiz argues that while "responsible writers are always tempted to emotionally advocate the case for their own communities…a higher calling orients committed communicators to speak their mind and reach people on both sides of the divide".
(Source: Common Ground News Service, 2 April 2009)
by Khaled Diab Continuing CGNews' series on responsible journalism, Khaled Diab argues that the media "has the potential either to fuel the conflict by entrenching and confirming negative stereotypes, perpetuating hostility and beating the drums of war—or to advance the quest for peace by challenging and changing people's perceptions, building understanding and mending fences". He wants to see it become a channel for new approaches to the conflict and a forum for more balanced and informed debate.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 9 April 2009)
by Yizhar Be'er In the first article in CGNews' series on responsible journalism to specifically address television as a journalistic medium, Yizhar Be'er discusses the ways television personalises and humanises the other during times of conflict.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 9 April 2009)
by Akiva Eldar Continuing CGNews' responsible journalism series, Akiva Eldar elaborates on the dilemmas facing responsible journalists when they are used as conduits for leaking sensitive information to the public.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 16 April 2009)
by Mohammed Cherkaoui In the final article in CGNews’ series on responsible journalism, Mohammad Cherkaoui, referring to the Middle Eastern context, writes, "Too often, journalism produced in these societies is guided by an embedded political perspective rather than a pragmatic, fact-checking or impartial humanistic approach."
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 16 April 2009)
