Conflict sensitive journalism
Conflict Sensitive Journalism is a part of the safety and protection training mechanism that IMS offers to journalists working in conflict zones.
In countries affected by conflict and human insecurity media has an important role to play as an active promoter of human rights and democratisation, peace, dialogue and conflict resolution through the gathering of non-partisan information.
Journalism sensitive to conflict empowers reporters to report conflicts professionally without feeding the flames. To report reliable and unbiased information to the public in a time of violent conflict requires additional journalism skills and a deeper understanding of what causes conflict, how it develops and ends. Reporters must know where to look for solutions and crucially, they must be aware of media’s role and the responsibility that follows with this in times of conflict.
IMS’ Handbook for Conflict Sensitive Journalism produced in collaboration with Ross Howard (2003) continues to be an important resource in the training of journalists all over the world. Country-specific copies of the handbook are also available for Zimbabwe (2009), Rwanda (2008) and Kenya (2007).