{"id":9484,"date":"2017-04-28T06:29:45","date_gmt":"2017-04-28T10:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=9484"},"modified":"2019-10-10T12:18:49","modified_gmt":"2019-10-10T16:18:49","slug":"usa-panel-discussion-on-news-and-a-culture-of-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=9484","title":{"rendered":"USA; Panel discussion on news and a \u2018culture of peace\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION<\/p>\n

An article by John Darling for the Ashland Tidings<\/a><\/p>\n

In a time of alternate facts, public bullying and intense polarization of our public life, how can we use the media to foster a culture of peace, rather than violence? That\u2019s the question addressed Monday by a panel at Southern Oregon University called \u201cCultivating a Culture of Peace in an Era of Trump: What\u2019s the Media\u2019s Role?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nPhoto by John Carling
\nClick on the image to enlarge<\/center><\/p>\n

Citing the \u201cunprecedented antagonism of the Trump administration to media,\u201d Jeff Golden, producer of \u201cImmense Possibilities\u201d on Southern Oregon Public TV, said our challenges didn\u2019t start Jan. 20, because, years ago, much of the media abandoned its role in public service and became driven by profit.<\/p>\n

This trend greatly increases the need for independent media, he notes, and much of it can flower on the internet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d be in much deeper trouble than we are now if not for independent media. Our challenge is very deep,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In the process, the journalist who supports a culture of peace \u201cmay not appear very peaceful. Journalists have to be combative and warriors for our own rights. You\u2019ll do a more valuable job building a culture of peace than those who want to lie down.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Wick, executive director of Ashland Culture of Peace Commission, agreed, noting, \u201cWe\u2019re not saying \u2018let\u2019s all just be peaceful.\u2019 There always will be conflict, but peace is a powerful force. It\u2019s not just sitting by the river on Lullaby Lane.\u201d<\/p>\n

The discussion is part of Independent Media Week, now in its 13th year. Sponsors include KSKQ Community Radio, the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission, Southern Oregon Jobs With Justice and the UN Club of SOU.<\/p>\n

Its goals include \u201ctransforming attitudes, behaviors and institutions (for) harmonious relationships, (especially now) when the information landscape has been roiled by new national leadership.\u201d It\u2019s theme this week is \u201cA well-informed citizenry is a cornerstone of democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Article continued in the right column.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Question(s) related to this article:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
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Free flow of information, How is it important for a culture of peace?<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

(Article continued from left column)<\/p>\n

Hannah Jones, editor of SOU\u2019s The Siskiyou newspaper, says the election \u201ctotally polarized us\u201d leading her to \u201cfeel like a watchdog against someone who told us we\u2019re wrong. We report the verifiable truth. It\u2019s so easy to attack each other but that gets us in a culture of war and hate. People say journalism is dying, but it mustn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several panelists referred to the slogan, \u201cSpeak truth to power,\u201d coined by Bayard Rustin, a leader for social justice, nonviolence and gay rights, in 1942.<\/p>\n

Journalists cyclically get too cozy with the powerful and begin to trust their sources too much, as happened with the widely liked Secretary of State Colin Powell as he claimed weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, said Jason Houk of Southern Oregon Jobs With Justice.<\/p>\n

Jones responded with, \u201cYou can\u2019t have peace without the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seeking to avoid conflict has often led to the opposite of a culture of peace, added Golden, noting the mainstream media \u201cfailed in its job\u201d by accepting the official story that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, thus leading to a huge war.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t want to be in conflict with President Bush,\u201d he said, \u201cand the results are there to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Media are deeply self-examining now, as they were taught to be objective and balance opinions, said Golden, however, what do they do when faced with lies \u2014 and that the supposedly balancing point-of-view is comprised of alternate facts? And should journalists use the word \u201cliar?\u201d<\/p>\n

David Adams, coordinator of the Culture of Peace News Network, and a creator of the Culture of Peace movement (speaking via a video link from New Haven, Conn.), said the trend is that more and more people, informed by media, want democracy and oppose war. However, the state has come to \u201cmonopolize the culture of war and use media as a weapon … while they create incidents (of conflict) to convince people they have to have war.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daily Tidings Editor Bert Etling, a member of the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission, cited the \u201churricane\u201d in Washington, advocating actions \u201copposite of the culture of peace,\u201d fragmenting and setting religions against each other, and trying to frame media and politics as an \u201cus vs them … degrading what the media says … and the value of the information.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION An article by John Darling for the Ashland Tidings In a time of alternate facts, public bullying and intense polarization of our public life, how can we use the media to foster a culture of peace, rather than violence? That\u2019s the question addressed Monday by a panel at Southern Oregon University … Continue reading USA; Panel discussion on news and a \u2018culture of peace\u2019<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,91],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-9484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-information","category-north-america","tag-north-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9484\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}