This document discusses how principles of peace journalism can improve reporting on droughts in Australia. It analyzes news stories from 2015-2016 during a major drought nicknamed "Godzilla El Niño". Peace journalism focuses on peace, truth, people and solutions rather than just problems. The analysis found most stories emphasized negative impacts but few explained drought science or offered solutions. Applying peace journalism could help stories give voice to more perspectives, explain droughts' causes and impacts neutrally, and highlight practical solutions and progress. Balanced reporting involving science, people and solutions is still rare but could help the public understand and prepare for droughts.
1. How Incorporating Principles of Peace Journalism can help better tell Australian Drought News
Stories?
Introduction
Peace journalismwasanewgenre of journalism,foundedbyJohanGaltunginthe 1960s.Itwas a kind
of journalism used to counter the traditional war journalism, which was mostly violence-oriented,
propaganda-oriented, elite-oriented and victory-oriented (Galtung, 2003: 178), and very much
dominated the mainstream media. Everything peace journalism focuses on is the opposite of war
journalism. It centres on four main principles that is peace, truth, people and solutions. It serves to
remind the public that a conflict is never only about winning or losing, but more importantly, it was
meant to ‘create opportunities for society at large to consider and value nonviolent responses to
conflict’ (Lynch & McGoldrick, 2005: 5, cited in Lynch & McGoldrick, 2007: 256). Just like every
revolutionary idea,peace journalismisnotlimitedtocounterwarjournalism.The principles of peace
journalismcananddo affectotherfieldsof journalismaswell,includingenvironmental reporting.And
withAustraliaanditsclimate,goodenvironmental reportingisvital forthe country.
Since two centuries ago, Australian poetry has described the country as a ‘land of fire and flood’.
Droughts are not uncommon in Australia. In fact, droughts and bushfires have come to be a part of
Australianculture. Inlessthan adecade afterthe endof the MillenniumDrought,the countrybraced
itself forthe ‘GodzillaEl Nino’.While droughtsare notuncommon inAustralia,the mediastill playsan
importantrole toeducate and betterprepare the publicforsevere droughts.
Thispaperaimsto researchonhowthe principlesof peace journalismcanbe appliedtothe reporting
of Australiandroughtsnewsstories. The paperanalysesnewsstoriesandreportsduringthe periodof
the ‘GodzillaEl Nino’,betweenOctober andDecember2015, to determine how peace journalismcan
furtherimprove the currentreportingof droughtsinAustralia.
ReportingondroughtsinAustralia
Environmental reportinghasalwaysbeenandstill isdescribedasproblematicinnewsmediaaround
the world. CharlesAlexander,a formerenvironmental editorinTime magazine,once saidthat much
of environmentalreportingplacedemphasisonlyonthe problemsandgavenosolutions(Rogers,2002:
33).
AlthoughdroughtsinAustraliaare undoubtedlycrises,especiallysince agriculture playsanimportant
role in Australianeconomy,itisa phenomenonthatrural Australianswill struggle withatthe cost of
theirlivelihoodsandlifestyles,andthe urbancommunitieswon’texperiencehalf asmuch(Bell,2009:
584). In severe droughts, urban residents will probably be unable to soak in their bathtubs or keep
their lawn green, while rural communities will be potentiallylosing all their investments,heritage
farmsand eventheirhomes.
Andthisis the significance of reportingdroughtstoriesinAustralia,newsstoriesof droughtsconnect
rural and urban Australians. But in the country defined by ‘fire and flood’, the possibility of
‘compassion fatigue’ towards droughts are high, especially when it is the visible impacts of the
droughts that are only reported, which more than 80 percent of the Australian population will find
difficulttorelate to. A shallowunderstandingof the cause and effectof droughtswill leadtothe less
capabilitytoempathise (Moeller,1999: 8).
Thispaperanalysesdroughtnewsstoriespublished betweenOctoberandDecember2015, from ABC
NewsOnline,SBSNewsOnline,SydneyMorningHeraldandThe Conversation.The newsmediawere
chosenfortheircoverage of independent,commercial,mainstreamandalternative.
2. Throughout the course of the Millennium Drought, Sarah Bell found that news stories about the
droughts fromSydneynewsmediabarelyofferedanysolutions,andinstead “consistentlyemphasized
that Australians should realise that they live on the driestinhabitedcontinent on the planet” (2009:
583). Half a decade laterasAustraliansonce againprepare forthe ‘GodzillaEl Nino’,SydneyMorning
Herald still fail to offer more solutions. Among the 20 news stories about droughts from Sydney
MorningHerald between October2015andDecember2015,onlyaquarterof themprovidessolutions
and reportsonsuccessstories(refertoAppendix1). While othernewsmediaseemstohave increase
the number of solution articles and success stories, most of the articles seemed to have reported
solutions and successes at the expense of explaining the science behind droughts. Among 34 news
stories about droughts, ABC News had reported20 solutions and success stories,but only 8 articles
explainedthe sciencesbehinddroughts. Personal successstoriesfocusedonthe subjects,tacklingthe
social andhumane side of droughts,almostcompletely ignoringtoexplainthe scienceand cause,and
even the impacts of droughts. Comforting as these successstoriesmay be, it act more as a comfort
than a guidance through the drought.
Newsarticlesdedicatedtoexplainthe sciencebehinddroughts mostlyconcentratedonthe scientific
facts, offeringnocreative solutions,merelyaheadsup for the warmweatherahead. One of the few
piecesof advicesactuallygivenbythe newsisstockpilingwater,one whichwhile urbancommunities
may find useful, rural communities are completely left out. Most news articles on the sciences and
drought policies had only included quotes and opinions from elite sources, giving no chance for the
public,especiallythe rural communities,tovoice their views.
Exposing truths are rarely the focus of drought news stories. Early in the Millennium Drought, Bell
found the news media to highlight the responsibilities of individual consumers, and only as the
droughtworseneddidwaterinfrastructures,managementsandpoliciescame intothe publicdebate
(2009: 584). Although news stories about droughts from October to December 2015 do include the
failure of some waterinfrastructuresandmanagements,mostof the focuswasonthe sufferingof the
people.
Balance in environmental reporting is seen as giving equal voices to both scientistsand sceptics and
the balance betweenscience,peopleandsolutionsindrought new storiesare ararity.
ApplyingPrinciplesof Peace Journalism toDroughtNewsStories
Peace,people,truthandsolutionare the four pillarsof peace journalism(Galtung,2003: 178), made
asa directcountermeasure againsttheconventionalwarjournalism.However,if youlookatthe bigger
picture,almosteverynewsstorycontainsaconflict,includingenvironmentalreporting. Conventional
war reporting is violence-oriented. And while drought reporting involves no violence, the focus on
violence canbe comparedwiththe focus on the dry land and deadcrops. The focus on the negative
impacts of droughts is equivalent to the focus on the violence of wars. The highlight on the
responsibilitiesof individual consumerduringa droughtinsteadof corporationsand the government
could also be likened to a propagandistic approach in the media. Of course droughts are not about
victories,neithercanone saythatwe are victoriousatthe endof adrought,butdroughtnewsstories,
like most other environmental reporting, could do much better with more orientation towards
solutions. At the end of the day, peace journalism is meant to challenge mainstream media and
conventional journalism, andpromote more creativepossibilitiesandsolutions.
In brief terms, peace journalismisto:
- Take an analytical approachto conflict,seekingopportunitiestoidentifyparties,goals,needs
and interests;
3. - Findroomfor perspectivesfrombeyondthe usual ‘official sources’;
- Seekoutpeace initiativesaswell as‘pegs’(opportunities)toreportonthem.
(Lynch,2008: 39)
In the current reporting of droughts, there is still an obvious inclination to the reporting of all the
visible negative impacts. And while reporting the ugly side of droughts is important, practical,
developmental solutionsandprogressare as importanttoavoid the risk of compassionfatigue.
Many reporters saw the drought as an opportunity for seriousdiscussion about climate change and
global warming.Althoughglobal warmingandclimate change couldbe directlycausingthe droughts,
climate change and global warming are both highly internationalised issues, unless localised, will
barelybe relatable.People-orientedreportingplaysahuge part in localizingsuchkindof discussion.
The one of the principlesof peace journalismispeople-orientedreporting,whichmeansfocusingon
giving voice to the voiceless. ‘What do the Indigenous voices say on climate change?’ on SBS News
(http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/ 2015/12/08/what-do-indigenous-voices-say-climate-change)
whichlooks to include the voice of Indigenouspeople inthe discussionof climate change (December
8, 2015) wasa prime exampleof humanizinganinternationalevent. Itreportsimportance,justice and
effortsof includingindigenouspeople intothe discussion,especiallywiththe eventsof the Paristalk
and the ‘Godzilla El Nino’. Adding the Indigenous people into the discussion of climate change
challengesthepropagandisticstyleof internationalevents.Itpromptsthepublictoquestiontheelites
and mostimportantly,foundperspectivesbeyondthe usual ‘official sources’.Justlikewar,droughtis
a multipartyissue.Itrequire science,politics,socialandeconomytoworktogetherforthe livelihoods
of rural communitiestosurvive. The difference is there are noclearwinnerorloser.
FredSmith,founderof Competitive Enterprise Institute,once expressedhiswishformore journalists
tobe familiarwiththe science of risk (Rogers,2002:33). Unfortunately,negativityinexplainingscience
isusuallythe majorityinjournalism. These sciencesare importantforexplainingthecause ofdroughts,
the progress of the drought, the efforts of farmers, and even drought policies. “The media dictate
what most people know about contemporary scientific debates” (Lewis, 2010). Hurlimann and
Dolnicar(2012: 6505) foundthe more informedthepublicis,thebetter theirbehavioursandattitudes
towardspolicies are. But if the sciencesspellsonlynegativities,itwill be mostlikelyforthe publicto
approach drought with a sigh. However, excessive positivity may undermine the full extent of the
negative impacts of droughts. Neutrality in explaining the science becomes extremely importantin
droughtreporting.Describingdroughtsaspurelynegative islikedescribingawar withone of the two
parties as purely bad. Unlike other natural disasters as earthquakes or hurricanes, drought is a slow
process. Explaining the sciences of droughts clearly early in the droughts can actually hep rural
communities to prepare for the warm weather, especially the farming community. Articles like
Michael Roderick’s‘ElNiñoishereandthatmeansdroughts,buttheydon’tworkhowyoumightthink’
(October 2, 2015) from The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/el-nino-is-here-and-that-
means-droughts-but-they-dont-work-how-you-might-think-47866) is an example. Science which
explains the formation of droughts step by step actually guides farmers to act accordingly in
preparationfordroughts. This patientexplanationmade the ideaof global warmingless far-fetched.
In fact, Roderick managed to link the happeningof droughts directly to the consequencesof certain
human activities. Clear explanation gives urban communities an idea on the truth behind droughts.
And if urban communitiescanbe convincedto pushfor better climate anddrought policies together
withthe rural communities,itwill be unitingthe wholecountry fundamentally forabettercause.
Personal successstories andsolution-orientedreports are extremelyimportantingivinghope tothe
people. However,the purposeof hope getsdefeatedwhenthe storycarriesoverwhelmingpositivity.
4. Stories about victims of severe droughts finding solace and purpose in other lifestyle often
underreport their previous state which pushed, or even forced them to abandon their previous
livelihoodfor another. The story about the ‘LongreachTea Lady’ by Brendan Mounter on ABC News
(http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-21/longreach-tea-lady-hopes-to-take-minds-off-the-
drought/6872870) is an example of such reporting. The article tellsthe story of a womanwho sends
parcels of tea to drought victims, in the hope that it might offer victims some relief. While it is
heartening to know that a kind spirits exist, the story neither offers pragmatic solution nor does it
explain the situation of the victims. The fact that the article only included interview with the
‘LongreachTea Lady’ doesnot help. Itdoesnot seekopportunities. Audiences getabsolutely noidea
about the situation of the victims or the impact of her small gesture. It cannot be about just getting
the story, understanding and backgrounding the story should be as important (Moeller, 1999: 14).
‘Communitiesmustuse pastexperiencestoprepare for drought,physicallyandmentally:SA farmer’
by Alexia Attwood (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-05/past-experiences-can-help-farmers-
mentally-prepare-for-drought/6829026) would be anexampleof themore balancednewsstory.Using
just the experience of a South Australian farmer, it gave practical psychological and economical
solutions. Whilegivinghopesforsurvivaltootherfarmers,itdoesnotforgettoremindaudiencesthe
depressingexperienceof the SA farmer,whichgave himthe strongmentalityhe hastoday.Andinthe
situationwhere afarmer is up againstthe forcesof Mother Nature,strongmental healthbecomesa
key factor in surviving the drought. But strong mentality is not enough, which the journalist
understoodandincludedexplanationof concessionloans. Eveninpeople-orientednewsstories,itis
essential totake ananalytical approachto include all parties,needsandinterests.
Conclusion
Without doubt, drought reporting in Australia has too much room for improvement. Only recently
have we finally solvedthemisconceptionof balanceinthefieldof environmentalreporting,thatgiving
scepticsequal voice as the scientistisfairdespite the fact that 97 percentof the science community
agree on global warming. Nowadays, sceptics are not heard as often as they used to be, and news
mediaare startingto choose their scepticscarefullyaccordingtotheircredibility.
Nowthat the newsmediahave overcomethe imbalance betweenscepticsandscientists,itcanmove
onto the imbalance betweenscience,peopleandsolutions,onewhichcanbe relatedtothe principles
of peace journalismeasily. Asproveninthis paper,the principlesof peace journalismcanbe usedin
drought news stories, it should be and it has been. Balanced news storiesinvolving science, people
andsolutionisstillrare inthe scene of mainstreammedia.Butalternative medialike TheConversation
gives chances to peace journalism and its principles to be implemented properly into droughtsnew
storiesandenvironmental reporting.
In news media, “the facts of tomorrow bear a slight residue, or imprint, of the reporting of today”
(Lynch&McGoldrick,2007: 257). Andtoprepare the publicandgivethemhopeintheface of droughts,
applicationof the principlesof peace journalismwill serve.
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