The Challenges of Reporting
on Conflict
Anne Cadwallader
“Conflict Resolution Journalism and
Professional Integrity and Ethics”
14th Cleraun Media Conference
Dublin, Saturday October 20 2012
“The Troubles” – 1969-1998 (?)
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Causes still hotly-contested
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Unionists say terrorist conspiracy to destroy the state
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Nationalists (SDLP) say legitimate civil rights
campaign for equality hi-jacked by republicans (IRA)
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Republicans (SF) say state oppression (Bloody Sunday
etc) of civil rights movement made violence inevitable
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British governments have tended to side with
unionists
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Irish governments have tended to side with
nationalists
Proof Just This Week
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SDLP Press Release 16 October
Foyle MLA, Colum Eastwood complained to the
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland re RTE website
contention that the Civil Rights Association in the North
“inadvertently triggered the Troubles”.
Eastwood: “To suggest that the thousands involved in
the Civil Rights Association were somehow integral to
the source of conflict here, inadvertently or not, is an
insult to history”.
“The NICRA were in fact the human wall which stood in
the way of a tide of violence, a human wall of peaceful
protest advocating democratic change.
IMAGES OF A
CONFLICT LESS THAN
100 MILES AWAY
Human Suffering
“Those endless, endless, funerals …”
Richard (11) Mark (9) and Jason (7) Quinn
Thomas McDonald (16)
Bobby Sands (27)
Mark Quinsey (23)
Attitudes in Republic to Northern “Troubles”
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Young woman on RTÉ “Frontline” programme during October
2011 presidential campaign:
“As a young Irish person, I am curious as to why you (Martin
McGuinness) have come down here to this country, with all
your baggage, your history, your controversy?
“And how do you feel you can represent me, as a young Irish
person, who knows nothing of the Troubles and who doesn’t
want to know anything about it?”
Evidence of an abject failure by Irish press and broadcasting
to explain the Northern conflict
Mirrored by a parallel failure of British media to do the same
Attitudes in Britain: “The Troubles”
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Indifference
“Wish Northern Ireland could be towed
out into the Atlantic and sunk”
It was a religious conflict (Catholics versus
Protestants)
That killings were mainly “tit-for-tat”
That British role limited to impartial
arbiter, peace-keeping
That IRA mainly to blame
Exceptions …
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British media campaigned for Birmingham Six,
Guildford Four
Panorama/UTV revealed Pat Finucane collusion
Yorkshire TV on Dublin/Monaghan
Many fine articles, and responsible and
dedicated journalists, did their best over 35
years
But overall, I contend, day-by-day, the
mainstream British and Irish media failed to get
the story across in a compelling way
Cost of the Troubles
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Over 3,700 dead - equivalent in US: 600,000 Britain 150,000
Over 30,000 injured (1 in 50) - equivalent in US:
5,000,000, Britain 1,000,000+
Aged under 5: 23, Aged 6-11: 24, Aged 12-17:
210, Aged 18-23: 898
37% under 24, 53% under 29 and 74% under
the age of 39
Who Killed and Was Killed?
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91% were men
Civilians (no affiliation to the security
forces/paramilitaries) - 53%.
48% of the dead killed in North and West
Belfast, Derry and South Armagh.
Republican groups killed almost 59% of
the total
Loyalist groups killed almost 28%
Police/British Army killed just over 11%
Personal Background - 1981
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Came to work in NI for BBC as a young,
inexperienced journalist
Intended to stay six months-a year
Believed British justice was beyond
reproach
Believed the police could, almost
invariably, be trusted
First experience of (knowingly) being liedto was a year later, in November 1982
11 November 1982
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Gervaise McKerr, Eugene Toman, Sean Burns
RUC said their car had broken through a
roadblock
Officers had opened fire in fear of their lives
Over a hundred shots fired – all three killed
My Small and Ignoble Part in their
Story
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First solo overnight duty on BBC Northern
Ireland news-desk
Phoned by RUC press office
Told car had broken through a roadblock
Wrote story up for morning radio news
bulletins
Later read Irish Times report
Local people said no roadblock
I had reported a lie
Aftermath …
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Three policemen charged with murder
Acquitted by Lord Justice Gibson, who said
he found them "absolutely blameless“
(June 1984)
John Stalker (former Deputy Chief
Constable, Greater Manchester) integrity,
wrongfully, questioned
Stalker/Sampson report never published
Inquest into deaths never opened – 30
years on – London will not disclose
Stalker/Sampson
A Hard Lesson …
“A lie gets halfway around the world before truth gets its
pants on”: Winston Churchill
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Rosemary Nelson Tribunal found:
RUC officers had legitimised her as a
target by abusing and assaulting her in
public
Could not rule out the possibility that
“rogue” members of the security forces
had been involved
BUT – British government had report before others and
put story out first
That tribunal had “cleared members of the
security forces of collusion” in her murder
Civil Conflicts – Telling/Selling
The Story
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Usually more than two sides to every conflict
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Each side sees media as another arena of war
and “hearts and minds” are key
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ALL sides prepared to lie, manipulate facts and
“spin”
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Journalists must be wary
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How do you tell if a politician is lying?
“Hearts and Minds”
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21st century conflict has moved from battlefield/’No
Man’s Land’ into villages, homes, streets
Phrase believed based on John Adams, 2nd president of
the US (in a letter dated 13 February 1818): "The
Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people …”.
US President Lyndon B. Johnson (of the Vietnam War):
“The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and
minds of the people who actually live out there.“
“Hearts and Minds” then became known as “WHAM”
(Win Hearts and Minds): US policy to win over the
Vietnamese people.
Journalism Therefore Even More
Central
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Journalists reporting back to where armies
come from
Can influence whether a war is “popular” or
not
Battle over “WMD” prior to invasion of Iraq
Journalism lost that battle?
Lesson: Governments can still control the
news agenda
Governments tell lies – untruths – spin – just
like political parties, companies etc
Role of Journalism
To give the audience an impartial summary of “both sides of the
story so they can make their own minds up”
Does this make journalists mere paid technicians?
To listen to both sides, analyse, decide who is good/bad or
speaking the truth and convey that to the audience?
A mixture of both?
If you have 5,000 words of facts and can only use 200 how do
you choose?
Does this “choosing” make the theory of “objective journalism” a
myth?
“Alternative” Journalism
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Non-mainstream – have to search
Eg: Robert Fisk/John Pilger (best known)
Nick Davies: “Flat Earth News” ( and phone
hacking/Leveson)
Others: Jonathan Cook on Middle-East:
“Disappearing Palestine”
Mark Curtis: “Unpeople – Britain’s Secret Human
Rights Abuses” and “Web of Deceit – Britain’s
Real Role in the World”
The Internet Effect
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Internet challenging traditional journalism
24 rolling news – no time to analyse or
write considered pieces
Citizen journalism – can be
positive/immediate – prevents journalists
being the only gate-keepers to news
But who moderates?
Who are the alternative gate-keepers?
Not entirely negative …
Who Watches the Watchers?
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Media Lens:
“News and commentary are ‘filtered’ by the media’s
profit-orientation, by its dependence on advertisers, parent companies,
wealthy owners and official news sources”
The Campaign for Press and Broadcasting
Freedom: “To challenge the myth that press freedom is best served by
current forms of ownership and control, and by 'self-regulation' on the part
of the Press Complaints Commission”
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Glasgow University Media Group
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Spinwatch:
“Monitors the role of public relations and spin … promotes
greater understanding of the role of PR, propaganda and lobbying”
Journalists As “Participants”
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“Under Fire” and “The Year of Living Dangerously” …
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Should journalists even vote?
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In NI – a long-standing TV presenter during the
Troubles is now leader of the Ulster Unionists
Another TV journalist is now SDLP Westminster
candidate for Fermanagh/South Tyrone
I am now a “human rights activist” – some would
say I have declared a position
Change of Tack
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Those are the big issues of the future
Here are some factors as I have
experienced them in the North
Now seen from my new role as a Case
Worker with “The Pat Finucane Centre”
Now able to investigate human rights
abuses
Realise now how suspicious both
officialdom and ordinary people are of
journalists!
Covering Violent Events
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Inevitably means witnessing pain and death
Intruding into the most personal moments of
victims’ lives
Only justification is the public interest
Most journalists ambitious – but should retain an
ethical focus
Guard against allowing your humanity being
compromised
In the end, you’ll still need to be able to live with
yourself …
Questions to Ask
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Does my story portray victims of violence with accuracy,
insight and sensitivity?
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Does it inform readers about more than the individual
story?
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Is it representative of the wider conflict?
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Does it avoid sensationalism and melodrama?
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Does it portrays victims as more than just tragic or
pathetic?
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In the NI conflict, this meant getting MORE than
writing/filming dramatic scenes of riots or the aftermath
of shootings/bombings
Interviewing the Recently
Bereaved
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Standard practice in NI
Witnesses/bereaved often too shocked to
say “no”
Difficult for reporters also
Justified on grounds that death was part
of a continuing civil conflict
Better to cover the death than ignore it
Bereaved/witnesses often (usually) were
grateful in retrospect for speaking
Should Journalists Ever “Hide”
Stories
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Does the public good ever justify not
reporting news?
Admit to this twice:
1. Loyalists tipping maggots into the deepfreezes at Dunnes Stores, Portadown,
Drumcree 1998
2. Cross-Community meetings involving
lay people and priests/ministers
Falls/Shankill early 1990’s
Protecting Sources
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Should journalists’ sources be legally protected?
 Eibhlin Glenholmes 1984
This woman was once “Britain’s Most Wanted”.
She was chased through the streets of Dublin by armed Gardai.
She was said to have bombed London. Metropolitan Police sought her
extradition.
Nine extradition warrants accused her of murder and other crimes.
Should a journalist who interviewed her be protected from giving
evidence?
Journalists: “The Pack Instinct”
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Pressure to come up with a story
Example: Holiday Inn, Gibraltar, 1988, after the
shooting of three unarmed IRA members
Speculation about a fourth gang member who
had escaped
Journalists talking, one asked where the theory
of the “fourth man” came from?
“Oh, it's a woman and we are saying it's Evelyn
Glenholmes …we have a nice picture of her and
she won't sue' "
Amongst her other soubriquets: “Blonde
Bomber”, “Angel of Death”, “Terror Blonde in
Jeans”
Eibhlin Glenholmes Now
Shot and wounded by loyalists in Short Strand, aged 16.
“Strong advocate” within republicanism for the Peace Process.
Member of the Northern Ireland Victims’ Forum.
“We didn’t go to war. War came to us.”
My Part in Her Story …
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Invited to come to an interview by man I knew
to be IRA
Taken by car with Irish Times reporter, Andy
Pollak
Interviewed her in, we believe, Tallaght
Interview ran Page 1, Irish Times
Lead “BBC 9 O’Clock News”
Pressure to co-operate with Scotland Yard
Offered any job within BBC if agreed to testify
Patsy Kelly – Murdered July 1974
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Anonymous contact
Two anonymous
witnesses – evidence of a
named witness to murder
Account of UDR and
current MLA involvement
Witness to murder now
dead
Refused PSNI demand for
names
Was I correct?
The “Worthy But Dull” Story
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SF documents:
“Scenario For Peace” 1987
“Towards a Lasting Peace in Ireland” 1992
Only three journalists at Dundalk ard fheis for
discussions in 1992
The press missed the story of growth in support
for ending the IRA campaign
More interested in covering day-to-day killings
Did this prolong the violence?
Compare to Lawyers
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Lawyers had to decide their relationships
with an emerging civil rights movement
Answer ethical questions on taking part in
the courts under emergency/repressive
laws
Respond when other lawyers became
victims of paramilitary and state inspired
violence
Whether to challenge long-held views on
what constituted a ‘neutral’ legal system.
Lawyers and Journalists
Wider Responsibilities?
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Are both “neutral professionals”?
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Responsibilities restricted to competence?
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Or should both lawyers and journalists
face, head on, broader social, political
and moral responsibilities in a society in
conflict?
What Role Should Journalists Play in
Civil Conflict
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Adapted from Kieran McEvoy “What Did Lawyers Do
During the War? Neutrality, Conflict and the Culture of
Quietism”, Modern Law Review, 2011
Did journalists “do their jobs in very difficult
circumstances”? Is doing a competent job enough?
Were public stances beyond their remit?
What exactly are our expectations from journalists in
conflicted societies?
Should we view journalists simply as apolitical people
who make necessary accommodations to sustain their
own status/income?
Is it fair to burden them with more pressing
responsibilities?
Human Nature …
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Do people want to hear distressing news stories
from far-flung places?
Especially if they feel they can do little to help?
Do they prefer travelogues (Michael Palin etc) to
complex and difficult questions?
Are human beings, in short, ostriches?
CONCLUSION
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Can Irish journalists consider their coverage of the North
was “a job well done”?
Can the British media do the same?
Do newspapers, television and radio provide a global
audience with enough information about current conflicts
in, for example, Iraq and Afghanistan?
Is it human nature to avoid “distressing” news stories?
Is it possible to provide responsible, accurate, news
reporting on foreign conflicts in a commercial context?