MICHAEL MEDINA
Editor-in-chief
TAGBILARAN CITY--Three members of the editorial staff of the MINDANAO PILGRIM, Philip James Tremedal, Jong Cadion and this paper's editor, recently completed the second and final course in Peace and Conflict Journalism Network (Pecojon) Training, Feb. 28 to March 2, here.
The second training came exactly three months after the said journalists attended the first training in Cagayan de Oro City last October which tackled on intensifying a reporter’s understanding on conflict by introducing the basic concepts and practical tools on how to report conflict in a professional and conflict- sensitive way.
Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter and PECOJON trainer Ryan Rosauro said this is the first time the organizers prearranged the same batch of participants from PECOJON 1, composed of different tri-media practitioners from all over the country.
Aside from those in print, radio and broadcast, journalism teachers and students taking their masteral studies, writers and document filmmakers composed the second batch of PECOJON trainees.
All Pecojon trainings are financed by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and given in collaboration with the International Institute for Journalism (IIJ) of InWEnt, Berlin.
German journalist and Pecojon-Philippines consultant Antonia Koop facilitated the training together with Julia Meyers, Ledloren Manriquez and Rosauro.
While PECOJON 1 discussed the role and influence of media in conflict situations and the problems of objectivity, including how to report violence and framing of conflict stories, PECOJON 2 dealt with all the colors of propaganda and new definitions of quality journalism using the techniques taught by PECOJON.
Also, group discussions, games and reporting were still done attempting to interpret and study the reporting strategies of conflict sensitive peace journalism, including the differences between conflict-focused and violence-focused journalism.
Most of the ponderings and discussions in the three-day activity centered on the four propaganda phases of war, strategies and tactics, the use of words in propaganda news stories and approaches in dealing with propaganda.