Ethical Journalism Network Newsletter – 23 February 2016

News

How comics journalism is helping to humanise migration

The negative portrayal of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the media have led to some people not considering them as fully human. A more careful, sensitive approach is crucial and the old art of comics journalism is proving a powerful way to tell these stories in a way other forms of storytelling cannot.

Read the full article here. (WAN-IFRA)

Europe: Strangers on My Doorstep

BBC Radio 4 are running a series of programmes exploring migration in Europe. The episodes broadcast so far are:

Hungary: At the Cutting Edge – As more European countries follow Hungary’s lead and fence their borders against irregular migration, Maria Margaronis explores Hungarians’ responses to the refugee and migration crisis.

Germany: At the Centre – In the European migration crisis, Germany stands at the centre. Angela Merkel encouraged hundreds of thousands to move there in recent months, calling for a ‘welcome culture’ to show itself among her fellow citizens.

It is also worth keeping an eye on The Media Show on BBC Radio 4 which covered our Moving Stories report last year focusing on Bulgaria, Italy, Turkey, United Kingdom and the view from Brussels, as well as 10 other countries.

The Bigger Picture

This new project is a collaboration between the Centre for Innovation, Leiden University and World Press Photo Foundation bringing together photography and data analysis to tell the story of migration in a visual way. The Bigger Picture is in cooperation with the Displacement Tracking Matrix team at the International Organization for Migration in order to interpret data from Migration Flows Europe and the Missing Migrants Project.

Exiled by the Environment

The National Geographic have featured the work of photographer Alessandro Grassani in their Picture Stories section. Grassani tracks the lives of environmental and climate migrants in countries including Bangladesh, Kenya, Haiti and Mongolia.

Read the full article here. (National Geographic)

Follow our friends at the Climate News Network for regular news on climate change from around the world.

New York Times public editor moves to Washington Post as a media columnist

Margaret Sullivan’s decision to end her tenure as the fifth public editor of the New York Times early and move to the Washington Post as a media columnist received extensive coverage in the North American press.

Margaret Sullivan Took The New York Times Public Editor Role Into The Digital Age – (Huffington Post)

Margaret Sullivan joins The Post as media columnist – (Washington Post)

Margaret Sullivan Leaving The New York Times for The Washington Post – (Observer.com)

You can read Sullivan’s blog as the New York Times public editor here.

For more on the role of public editors, also know as the readers’ editor or internal ombudsman, read our blog on the talk given by Chris Elliott, the readers’ editor at The Guardian, at City University last year on the commercial and ethical case for self-regulation.

Readers’ editors – Do they matter?

Chris Elliot is a board member of the Ethical Journalism Network. You can read his Open Door blog on the Guardian and watch him talk about self-regulation and codes of conduct and accountability on the EJN youtube channel.

Accusations of bias in coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict

Complaints about the Guardian’s coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict are not new. They come from both sides although the overwhelming number are from those who are pro-Israel. It is a steady stream from individuals, lobby groups and the Israeli embassy in London.

These complaints form one of the largest groups relating to a single subject that come to the readers’ editor’s office.

Since the increase in attacks by Palestinians using knives, guns and vehicles there has been a shift in the focus of complaints. It is not the body text of the stories about these attacks that is under scrutiny but the headlines.

Read the full article by Guardian readers’ editor and EJN Board Member, Chris Elliott, here. (The Guardian)

We must fight back against Silicon Valley’s cultural imperialism

Alex’s Agenda is the weekly column from the front lines of the future by The Memo’s Editor in Chief, Alex Wood.

Lately, I’ve noticed a worrying trend. One that risks us losing the internet as we know it.

Across the world, our personal photos are disappearing. They’re disappearing because according to services like Facebook and Instagram, they’re inappropriate. Their crime? These images show female nipples.

Nipples might be offensive to some. But when did these online platforms become the decision-makers when it comes to our freedom of expression?

Read the full article here. (The Memo)

Nicco Mele – In Search of a Business Model: The Future of Journalism in an Age of Social Media and Dramatic Declines in Print Revenue

Nicco Mele, author, digital strategist and Wallis Annenberg Chair in Journalism at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism, discussed the future and feasibility of various news outlet business models.

Mele, who is also a former senior vice president and deputy publisher of the Los Angeles Times, and a Shorenstein Center board member, said that while the production and distribution of digital journalism are well understood, “what’s not well understood is how we make money or fund journalism in the digital age.”

Read the full article here. (Shorenstein Center)

MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski Says Donald Trump Didn’t Dictate Questions At Town Hall

“Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski has rejected suggestions that she allowed Republican front-runner Donald Trump to dictate questions at last week’s MSNBC town hall.

Read the full article here. (Huff Post)

Activities

World Radio Day 2016: The ethics of reporting natural disasters, conflicts & hate-speech

Our expert panel discusses the ethical issues faced by radio journalists covering natural disasters and humanitarian crises like the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal. We also debate the ethics of covering past and present conflicts in Rwanda, Sudan and South Sudan and the hate-speech that often fuels them.

Listen to the podcast on the UNESCO World Radio Day soundcloud page.

Media and migration debates in London

Earlier this month

Earlier this month the EJN attended two events on migration. The first was at the Overseas Development Institute entitled ‘Global migration: from crisis to opportunity’ with Peter Sutherland the UN Special Representative on Migration. The second event was at the London School of Economics hosted by Polis and the London Press Club – ‘Migrants, terror and the media: reporting and responsibilities on the frontline’

You can read EJN’s coverage of the events here:

Migration: Can Media Show Courage in the Face of Europe’s Political Cowardice?

ODI event: Global migration: from crisis to opportunity

LSE event: Migrants, terror and the media: reporting and responsibilities on the frontline

And read the further coverage of the events here:

Refugee crisis – what’s the role of the media? BBC, Buzzfeed, C4, Indy & Tel panel discuss (London Press Club)

Reporting the migrant crisis: A dual responsibility to tell the human story (BBC Academy)