The Media as an Agent of Resolution_WEEK 9.pptx

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1. http://www.free-powerpoint-templates-design.com The Media as an Agent of Resolution Prepared by: Melvin N. Espineda, DComm ( Cand .)

2. A Facebook post stating about a super typhoon in 2019. Photo Courtesy: https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/fact-check/philippines-in-path-super-typhoon-2019 A Facebook post stating about VP Robredo and her promises Photo courtesy: https://asiapacificreport.nz/2019/05/17/fake-news-row-over-robredos-step-down-promise-on-philippine-elections/

3. THE MEDIA’S ORIENTATION TOWARD CONFLICT ( Bratic & Schirch , 2007) The media shape what we see and hear about conflict. The perspectives of those who run the media shape stories that are covered.

4. Key Moves For The Media Person

5. (4) Key Moves that Media as Mediators (Cornelius, 2010) Clarify 2. Explore options 3. Move to the positive 4. Go back to legitimate needs and concerns.

6. Clarify (Cornelius, 2010) The facts, the players, the positions, the issues.

7. Explore Options (Cornelius, 2010) Developed by all the players and from the journalists themselves as they unfold the whole picture.

8. Ask questions like: “What would it take to solve this problem?” “What is it that you do want?” “What would make it better?” “What would make you willing?” Move to the Positive ( Schmickle , 2007)

9. Go back to legitimate needs and concerns (Cornelius, 2010) Ask: “What do you need?” “Why is that important to you?” or “Tell me why that seems the best option to you?” “What would having it do for you?” “Are you meaning here that you need…..?” (use this question to test your assumption) “Are there alternatives that would also satisfy you?”

10. Conflict Resolution Toolkit for Media

11. Where’s the conflict story? What’s really wrong? Don’t just report positions. Go back to underlying needs and concerns. What information will you need to be even-handed in your treatment of each side’s case? Win/Win Approach (Cornelius, 2010)

12. Encourage the search for positive outcomes. Journalist’s questions to protagonists can be in themselves tools for positive change. Can you expose the opportunities for positive change that arise out of the present situation “What would it look like if this problem were fixed?” can set protagonists thinking in fruitful directions. The Creative Response (Cornelius, 2010)

13. Avoid simplistic representations of baddies and goodies. Where possible provide enough information to create empathy for all sides. Expose where empathy breakdown is a cause of conflict. Labelling, stereotyping or prejudice may need to be addressed. Empathy (Cornelius, n.d.)

14. Expose the abuse of ethical standards. Firmly steer towards the search for solution. Encourage protagonists to say how it seems to them personally rather than prescribing how things should be for everyone. Don’t encourage or sensationalize personal attacks. Help individuals show the best not the worst of themselves. Seek to report people’s real problems clearly, going beyond their fight stance or fear of speaking out. Let your story be hard on the problems and respectful towards the people. Your method of enquiry can take them towards the preferred approach of problem-solving. Appropriate Assertiveness (Cornelius, 2010)

15. Level the playing field by giving the powerless a voice. Present your media piece so that it says “no” to the misuse of power, injustice, ignorance and the mishandling of conflict. Can you encourage some co-operative problem-solving and report it? “Tell me why you see that as fair?” helps fairness. Don’t let power be the yardstick by which a solution is chosen. Without denying the problems, the genuine struggle towards answers is the stuff of any good novel. Happy endings sell well too. Co-operative Power (Cornelius, 2010)

16. Exposing how each party feels can be helpful. Each party needs to be heard, and the media coverage should not inflame the situation. Therefore, treat the emotions as symptoms. They are guides to where the real problems lie. Look at the clashes of values, needs, scarce resources etc that are causing the emotional response. There is a difference between exposing injustice, or prejudice and pinning the person so they squirm. Attack the problem, not the person. Anger is the person’s fire for change. Ask what they want changed? How do they need it to be? Managing Emotions (Cornelius, 2010)

17. Challenge embittered positions in others where they are unwilling to resolve or to involve themselves in the processes of resolution. Include in the story whatever openness to fixing the problem actually exists. Issues that personally make you very angry tell you something about yourself. At those times, be particularly careful to ensure your objectivity. Stand shoulder-to-shoulder while you design a way forward. Willingness to Resolve (Cornelius, 2010)

18. Report and explain fully and fairly for all parties their conflict “map”, i.e.: 1.needs 2.fears and concerns 3.values 4.objectives 5.limitations (personal, financial, situational) 6.prevailing attitudes Preferably let each side be exposed to the other’s map, as well as helping you draw out their own. Then look for and encourage the parties to look for: new perspectives and insights common ground special concerns hidden agendas. Mapping the Conflict (Cornelius, 2010)

19. Encourage the parties to brainstorm a wider range of solution that they have presently thought of. Draw out their creativity before evaluating. Don’t ignore temporary solutions that address a part of the problem. This is good conflict management while the larger issues are being worked on. Having done your overview, you may be in the best position to see a solution that has not yet occurred to the parties. Can you offer it? “Are there some alternatives that work for you and would also give the other person more of what they need?” “What would it take to solve this problem?” The Development of Options (Cornelius, 2010)

20. Build the overall picture with “ands” not “buts”. Objections need to be included not dismissed. Make the problem the “enemy” rather than the people. Report areas of agreement as well as disagreement. This encourages the problem-solving process to continue. Representatives of an organization will need to return to their “constituency” with a win. If your reporting over-emphasis the loss, the representative may be unable to sell a fair (or the only available) plan for solution. Always point out the wins for both sides, even where small. Your search for these wins may unfold some useful concessions valuable to receive and easy to give. Negotiation Skills (Cornelius, 2010)

21. The media person is often in a unique position to see a broader overview of the situation than any individual party. The media person can validate each party’s needs and point up where greed or bias limit a party’s ability to see the whole picture. The media person may be able to increase awareness of the interdependence between nations, organisations or individuals, and the importance therefore of building solutions that recognise the long-term relationship, e.g. employers and unions; no one particular claim will be the last one. Broadening Perspectives (Cornelius, 2010)

22. Recognize the role the media can play as mediator. The journalist and the mediator ask the same questions. Like the mediator, the journalist can provide a forum for all sides to be fairly represented, and their needs and rights legitimized. The media person acts as mediator when they have the good of the whole at heart and place realistic limits on the need for the sensational story. The Third Party Mediator (Cornelius, 2010)

23. End of Presentation

24. References: Bratic , V. & Schirch , L. (2007). Why and When to Use the Media for Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding. Retrieved from https://www.sfcg.org/articles/media_for_conflict_prevention.pdf . Cornelius, S. (2010). Conflict Resolving Media. Retrieved from https://www.crnhq.org/conflict-resolving-media/