PESHAWAR
Panelists at a media workshop on Sunday urged journalists to ensure impartiality while reporting in the conflict zones and sensitive areas as well and make balanced reports with viewpoints of the warring factions.
The training workshop on Free, Independent and Responsible Media (FIRM) and Conflict Sensitive Journalism at a hotel in Peshawar. The workshop was organised by Islamabad-based organisation, Individual and Pakistan, in collaboration with Germany’s Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF).
Besides media representatives from both print and electronic media, a large number of students of mass communication and journalism department, University of Peshawar participated.
Hamza Khan, Farhan Khalid and Rehan Ali worked as facilitators on behalf of Individual and Pakistan in the workshop, whom focused on various issues pertaining reporting in electronic media. They stressed the need to encourage professionalism, quality and effectiveness of the news while keeping in mind the freedom of media.
It focused on various issues pertaining to reporting in conflict sensitive areas including the safety and security of the field reporters. The panelists also focused on to ensure professionalism, quality and effectiveness of the news in conflict sensitive areas.
The participants students did actively took part in the workshop. They were of the opinion that the role of print and electronic media has now changed. Electronic media is now focused on breaking news and encourage debates on burning issues, whereas print media focuses on in-depth analysis of the news stories. While some of the participants were of the opinion that field reporters lacks professional training that how to do reporting in conflict areas, whereas some of the media groups remain oblivious to this.