Wednesday presentations to present ideas for journalism as a force for change

Robert Hackett, a professor of communication at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, will discuss what
kinds of journalism are appropriate to help global society address current fundamental challenges, be they environment and climate, conflict and governance, human rights and mass migrations or globalized poverty and inequality, in the first of two May 2 presentations on the Western Washington University campus.

Criticisms of hegemonic (American) journalism abound – it legitimizes unjust power, trivializes public discourse, foments division and conflict.

This talk, titled  "Occupy the Media! Journalism for a world in crisis," moves beyond the critiques to outline positive alternatives, arguing for journalism as a crisis discipline, and paying particular attention to the contested concept of journalistic objectivity.

The presentation, which is free and open to the public, is set for noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, in the Fairhaven Auditorium. The presentation is part of the World Issues Forum.

At 4 p.m. in Communications Facility Room 120, Hackett will present "Peace Journalism: A new approach to reporting conflict."

Drawing on the field of conflict analysis, especially the work of Johan Galtung, Peace Journalism has emerged as a coherent 'challenger' paradigm since the late 1990s.  It purports to offer both a critique of conventional conflict coverage (which Peace Journalism proponents consider tantamount to conflict-escalating war journalism), and a toolkit of practical alternatives.  Drawing from Hackett's recent co-edited book, "Expanding Peace Journalism," this talk sketches some of the basic concepts of Peace Journalism, as well as critiques of it, and directions for future research and practice.