Journalists as messengers of hate speech: The case of Lebanon

The term "crisis" has become synonymous with describing the political, social, and economic state of many Arab countries including Lebanon. These continuous crises, including a global pandemic, have manifested in Lebanese news and current affairs through messages of hate disseminating via the media and journalists. Hate speech circulated via airwaves and the Internet has been shown to cause more harm than having hate shared in private conversations. The global pandemic, followed by the Beirut Port explosion in August 2020, has raised the level of hate speech in public, and Lebanese journalists have been used directly or indirectly as tools for propagating hate speech. This reflective account engages Lebanese journalists with the aim of producing a set of guidelines for tackling hate speech in news coverage and current affairs programs. Two workshops were conducted with Lebanese journalists in Lebanon in an attempt to understand the level of awareness of hate speech and its consequences among Lebanese journalists, assess how they understand hate speech, and determine the importance of guidelines and tools in helping journalists identify and tackle hate speech

Ethics in British Journalism: A Reflective Overview

Preparing for my MA dissertation project in 2000, I expressed to my tutor my interest in investigating the state of journalism ethics in the UK.  He dismissed it as an outdated topic. He referred me to the belief the British journalism industry held at the time that ethics is engrained in their journalism culture and there had been no serious shortcomings. Fast forward to 2011 and journalism ethics found its way quick and fast into almost every single UK newsroom editorial team discussion. The story of the News International phone hacking scandal tainted British press with a dark shadow. The scandal led to the setting of a public inquiry that became known as the Leveson Inquiry. In July 2011 Sir Brian Henry Leveson chaired a public inquiry into culture, practices and ethics of the British press followed the revelation that murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler phone had been hacked by journalists from News of the World newspaper, which had a knock effect on the police investigation into the school girl murder. Editors and journalists were prosecuted and the scandal resulted in closing down one of Britain’s oldest newspapers, News of the World.Preparing for my MA dissertation project in 2000, I expressed to my tutor my interest in investigating the state of journalism ethics in the UK.  He dismissed it as an outdated topic. He referred me to the belief the British journalism industry held at the time that ethics is engrained in their journalism culture and there had been no serious shortcomings. Fast forward to 2011 and journalism ethics found its way quick and fast into almost every single UK newsroom editorial team discussion. The story of the News International phone hacking scandal tainted British press with a dark shadow. The scandal led to the setting of a public inquiry that became known as the Leveson Inquiry. In July 2011 Sir Brian Henry Leveson chaired a public inquiry into culture, practices and ethics of the British press followed the revelation that murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler phone had been hacked by journalists from News of the World newspaper, which had a knock effect on the police investigation into the school girl murder. Editors and journalists were prosecuted and the scandal resulted in closing down one of Britain’s oldest newspapers, News of the World

Liberation propaganda: Lebanese media campaigns against the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon (1996-2000)

On May 25th 2000 Israeli occupation forces withdrew from South Lebanon after 22 years of occupation. The role the Lebanese media played in achieving liberation has been regarded as significant. Media campaigns were conducted to unite the Lebanese people against their foreign occupier (the Israeli military forces) and in support of the Lebanese resistance in South Lebanon. This study is a qualitative investigation into the culture and performance of Lebanese journalism in the context of the Israeli forces' escalating incursions against Lebanon and their encounters with the Lebanese resistance. It is a story about journalism told by a journalist, yet one who is using academic tools to narrate her story and the story of her fellow journalists. Necessarily, the ethnographic tale of Lebanese journalists' coverage of these events, and of their performance, has been narrated retrospectively and reflexively. Thus, it is a reflexive ethnographically informed study. The culture and performance of Lebanese journalism has been examined within the framework of war propaganda. The objective has been to restore propaganda as a distinct generic entity and to claim a new understanding for it in the context of two conditions: foreign occupation and the struggle against that occupation. This study examines the media coverage of the two Lebanese TV stations. Tele Liban and Al Manar in just such a context of occupation and resistance to it. The first of the two television stations was considered to have started the campaigns I will call instances of liberation propaganda and the latter to have successfully continued them. To identify the characteristics of an alternative interpretation of propaganda this study will explore the historical, cultural, organizational and religious contexts in which the Lebanese TV outlets and journalists studied here operated and how these contexts shaped their professional practice and their news values. My argument will be that particular kinds and genres of journalism realise a positive form of propaganda in this particular context. This positive form of propaganda is what I call liberation propaganda

Immigration and inclusion in South Wales

This research explores the impact of new migration on receiving communities, in particular on community, integration and cohesion. Based on research carried out in Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil, it explores the perspectives of both new and settled residents. Key points For new migrants, economic integration seemed a necessary precursor for inclusion and cohesion; those who were able to work were viewed more favourably by settled populations. But economic integration was no guarantee. Discrimination and negative media portrayals were cited as particular barriers by new migrants, while in some apparently integrated and cohesive settled contexts, particular vulnerable groups (e.g. older people and women) remained excluded. These amounts are after income tax, and do not include housing or childcare costs. There was no evidence that community tensions are an inevitable consequence of new immigration. White immigration, whether middle-class professional, student or migrant worker, appeared to be invisible to local populations in Cardiff. Educated migrants with good English, whatever their ethnic or national background or migrant status, and whether living in deprived or affluent areas, integrated more easily than others. Age-based and generational tensions of different kinds existed across all the groups and geographical areas studied. Among young people, some expressed hostility toward migrants; others shared education, sport and social outings together. Older people in all groups expressed anxieties about the behaviours of young people. Poverty and deprivation had a direct and negative impact on inclusion and cohesion in the case study areas. People who were poor or living in deprived areas, from both migrant and settled communities, felt they were treated poorly by those in positions of power and described similar discrimination and attitudes among service providers. Visibly different migrant interviewees related this to issues of race, but the research suggests that it is also class-based. Social class differences were a complex but important factor in shaping people's experiences of inclusion and cohesion and in shaping community responses to new migration

Advice for journalists covering Covid-19: Welsh NHS confederation

The outbreak of COVID-19 is placing an unprecedented strain on health services in Wales and across the world. At the same time, coverage of the outbreak is essential, and there is a great demand from media organisations and their audiences to receive information about the outbreak and its frontline. This can put additional pressures on health care organisations and staff and may in certain cases interfere with their operations in dealing with the outbreak. This document has been prepared by Professor Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Cardiff University, to support the work of the Welsh NHS Confederation. It draws on input from leading academics, journalists and PR practitioners (full list of contributors on p. 9). The document provides a number of suggestions for media organisations designed to facilitate coverage in and around healthcare facilities in Wales. The experts involved in preparing this document are independent from the NHS, and the document does not reflect official NHS policy. Here is a summary of our advice: 1. Responsible, detailed, and accurate reporting of COVID-19 is an essential public service. 2. Use credible experts as sources and be wary of unverified rumour 3. News organisations should use pooled materials whenever possible. 4. If looking for information verification, check other sources first before contacting NHS. 5. Ensure compliance with procedures for risk assessment and consent. 6. Enforce social distancing and ensure safe use of equipment. 7. Ensure risk assessments have been carried out prior to hospital visits and face-toface interactions with NHS staff. 8. Obtain consent from anyone interviewed or filmed. 9. When making requests for interviews or information, be specific about who you need to speak to, and where, what and how the information will be used

Advice for journalists covering Covid-19: Welsh NHS confederation

The outbreak of COVID-19 is placing an unprecedented strain on health services in Wales and across the world. At the same time, coverage of the outbreak is essential, and there is a great demand from media organisations and their audiences to receive information about the outbreak and its frontline. This can put additional pressures on health care organisations and staff and may in certain cases interfere with their operations in dealing with the outbreak. This document has been prepared by Professor Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Cardiff University, to support the work of the Welsh NHS Confederation. It draws on input from leading academics, journalists and PR practitioners (full list of contributors on p. 9). The document provides a number of suggestions for media organisations designed to facilitate coverage in and around healthcare facilities in Wales. The experts involved in preparing this document are independent from the NHS, and the document does not reflect official NHS policy. Here is a summary of our advice: 1. Responsible, detailed, and accurate reporting of COVID-19 is an essential public service. 2. Use credible experts as sources and be wary of unverified rumour 3. News organisations should use pooled materials whenever possible. 4. If looking for information verification, check other sources first before contacting NHS. 5. Ensure compliance with procedures for risk assessment and consent. 6. Enforce social distancing and ensure safe use of equipment. 7. Ensure risk assessments have been carried out prior to hospital visits and face-toface interactions with NHS staff. 8. Obtain consent from anyone interviewed or filmed. 9. When making requests for interviews or information, be specific about who you need to speak to, and where, what and how the information will be used

Advice for journalists covering Covid-19:Welsh NHS confederation

The outbreak of COVID-19 is placing an unprecedented strain on health services in Wales and across the world. At the same time, coverage of the outbreak is essential, and there is a great demand from media organisations and their audiences to receive information about the outbreak and its frontline. This can put additional pressures on health care organisations and staff and may in certain cases interfere with their operations in dealing with the outbreak. This document has been prepared by Professor Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Cardiff University, to support the work of the Welsh NHS Confederation. It draws on input from leading academics, journalists and PR practitioners (full list of contributors on p. 9). The document provides a number of suggestions for media organisations designed to facilitate coverage in and around healthcare facilities in Wales. The experts involved in preparing this document are independent from the NHS, and the document does not reflect official NHS policy. Here is a summary of our advice: 1. Responsible, detailed, and accurate reporting of COVID-19 is an essential public service. 2. Use credible experts as sources and be wary of unverified rumour 3. News organisations should use pooled materials whenever possible. 4. If looking for information verification, check other sources first before contacting NHS. 5. Ensure compliance with procedures for risk assessment and consent. 6. Enforce social distancing and ensure safe use of equipment. 7. Ensure risk assessments have been carried out prior to hospital visits and face-to-face interactions with NHS staff. 8. Obtain consent from anyone interviewed or filmed. 9. When making requests for interviews or information, be specific about who you need to speak to, and where, what and how the information will be used