'Building peace through conflict sensitive reporting' manuals launched
 

by P. Krishnaswamy

The concepts of professional journalism embodied in the series of manuals on 'Building Peace through Conflict Sensitive Reporting' published by the National Peace Council (NPC) will be introduced as guidelines for teaching journalism in the Lake House Training School, said Karunaratne Paranavithana, Editorial Director of Lake House yesterday at the launching of the manuals.

Speaking to a large audience of journalists, he also said that in publishing the manuals, the NPC had fulfilled a significant need in the field of teaching journalism in Sri Lanka.

The function was held at the Hotel Taj Samdura under the auspices of the NPC with several popular media personnel as guest speakers.

Media personnel should work towards peace when the country is in trouble instead of promoting violence, he said. In the fifties, certain sections of our press published exaggerated reports on violence worsening the situation and even today that state has not changed much, he said. Party politics in Sri Lanka has led to unreliable and antagonistic reporting which the journalists should desist, he said, adding that, professional journalism should be guided by universally accepted norms of objective reporting.

Ms Remy Herbert of the NPC who authored the workbook for journalists, NPC Media Director Dr. Jehan Perera, Editor of 'Ravaya', Victor Ivan, Free Media Movement (FMM) convenor, Sunanda Desapriya, Rupavahini Director, Kingsley Ratnayake and NPC member Nimalan Karthigeyan also spoke.