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Backing Peace and the Press in the Horn of Africa

Just over 10 years ago, Mogadishu International airport was just a strip of tarmac in the middle of turmoil; teenagers with guns extorted “landing fees” from passengers descending from whatever United Nations or NGO flight touched down; sometimes rival gangs of...

Taking Issue with Problems

“You have a problem here, don’t you?” a prominent British radio journalist asked recently. “No, but we have some issues to look into,” the interviewee replied. “I’m not sure I know the difference,” the journalist responded. Well here’s a suggestion. A problem is...

Reporting on Children – Sacrificing Impact for Safety

UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, is naturally very keen that journalists should produce stories that promote children’s welfare.  It matters for basic areas such as pre-school care, primary education, health care, internet access and the like. But it’s also important...

In the Eye of the Beholder

Coverage of the new Somali parliament in Britain’s main left-wing newspapers makes for an amusing case study. The Independent and The Guardian are both anti-establishment, relentlessly “Third-Worldist” in their international perspective and instinctively critical of...

What is the Communications Officer’s most important asset?

Are you a Communications Officer? Which of the following would be your single most important asset? 1)    Thorough knowledge of your organisation’s goals. 2)    Thorough knowledge of your organisation’s staff. 3)    Thorough knowledge of all the challenges your...

My word is my bond – unless it’s “political”

It’s all a bit obsessive – a U.S. reporter who’s been dead for 49 years wins an “apology” from the employer who had fired him 18 years earlier! Who cares? Actually there’s an important principle at stake here. Associated Press (AP) wire reporter Ed Kennedy broke the...