Symposium on War Reporting

REPORTING WAR: EXPLORING THE WAY FORWARD
Media in conflict situations, with special focus on Iraq and Afghanistan

A Centre for Journalism and Communication Research Symposium Bournemouth University
Friday 2 July, 2010

The Executive Business Centre
Bournemouth University
89 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth, BH8 8EB

Reporting War: Exploring the Way Forward will bring together academics, researchers, journalists and bloggers to facilitate a debate on improving conflict reportage, relating it to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Please submit an expression of interest to contribute as a speaker (5 to 10-minute presentation), or to attend the symposium, by June 11 to Dr Chindu Sreedharan at csreedharan AT bournemouth.ac.uk, or register online at http://bit.ly/9jAb9p

Below is an indicative list of questions that may be discussed at the symposium. You are welcome to suggest/contribute on other related topics as well:
• How can war and conflict reporting be improved?
• What can the analysis of the reporting of past conflicts tell us about future ones?
• What role should ‘peace journalism’ have in the future media landscape?
• In what ways does the training of journalists need to change?
• How are citizen journalists challenging traditional practices of war reporting?
• What are the ethical issues posed by social media, such as Twitter?
• How might media professionals and academics help government, military and NGO institutions redefine the priorities of war reporting?

Schedule:

The symposium will take place on Friday, 2 July, 2010 in Bournemouth, at the The Executive Business Centre, Bournemouth University, 89 Holdenhurst Road, BH8 8EB. The venue is easily accessible from the train and bus stations (and close to the town centre and beach).

The event is free, open to anyone interested in exploring the topic. Please register your name by emailing Chindu Sreedharan (csreedharan AT bournemouth.ac.uk), or at http://bit.ly/bnxJiK by June 11.
Lunch and beverages will be provided free of charge.

Background:

The last decade has seen a considerable commitment of scholarly and journalistic resources to consider the media-conflict relation, which has produced a substantial body of academic research and reflections on professional practice in times of conflict.

The resultant debates have been incisive: reportorial significance in a ‘mediatized’ world, journalistic restrictions in the ‘fog of war’, media influences over audiences, the pressure of public opinion, the dangers of ‘militaintment’ – all have been deconstructed and critiqued to provide insights into what is ‘wrong’ with the way the media have presented conflicts.

In comparison to this focus on the limitations of journalism during war, little energy has been expended on exploring ways to overcome the ‘negatives’. There appears to be a consensus that a different mode of journalism is needed, but opinion is divided on how best to go about achieving it. Reporting War: Exploring the Way Forward aims to facilitate a debate into this question: how can conflict reportage be improved?

Travel funding for postgraduate students:

The Centre for Journalism and Communication Research offers a limited number of travel bursaries to Master’s and PhD students who wish to attend the symposium. To apply, please email Chindu Sreedharan (csreedharan AT bournemouth.ac.uk) with a letter of interest by June 11.

The Centre for Journalism and Communication Research:

The symposium is organised by the CJCR (www.bournemouth.ac.uk/imcr/cjcr/), which brings together the Journalism Research Group and the Narrative Research Group from within the Media School, Bournemouth University. Launched in 2009, and directed by Professor Stuart Allan, the CJCR represents an array of interests and expertise, and is committed to engage in real-world issues of pressing significance.

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