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How can we encourage mainstream media coverage of Israeli and Palestinian nonviolence leaders?
I would love to hear concrete suggestions for how we can encourage mainstream media coverage of Israeli and Palestinians who are working nonviolently to resolve the conflict and end the occupation. I am also happy to answer questions from the TED community.
Closing Statement from Julia Bacha
Thanks everybody for an amazing Q&A. You had some really great ideas and we'd love to continue hearing from you. Please join our Just Vision facebook page and follow us on twitter @justvisionmedia
It's really important for us to continue this conversation, since Israel and Palestinian nonviolent activists are particularly vulnerable at this sensitive time, while the world's attention is focused on the UN vote and the larger political picture.
We've actually seen several troubling cases of violence and intimidation used against these activists over the past few days and weeks, and they're facing an escalating crackdown from Israeli and Palestinian security forces. That's why its more important than ever to pay attention to what these grassroots leaders are doing, both to ensure that their message reaches as broad an audience as possible at this crucial time, and to guarantee that no extremist or militant elements are able to silence their voices.
Social media came up on many of the posts today as a powerful tool for spreading the message. We would love you to join us tomorrow, Wednesday, 21st September, for a FREE online broadcast of BUDRUS on mubi.com/films/budrus
Please share the broadcast link with all your friends and let's do this together.
And see you all at the premiere of Budrus at the TED Playhouse :) :)
Julia
mahdi hoseinejad
Clem Work
Apple Lynch
Mark Giovati
Zdenek Smith 100+
- setup YouTube channel and present short documentaries, interviews, stories and positive news about Israel-Palestian problem. Setup Facebook/Google+ page to promote that channel.
- get help from growing world-wide influence of Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera is increasingly being watched by audience in North America and elsewhere and they could help to establish such coverage.
- as someone suggested, ask TED to create a new platform to promote peace and social progress with a first task to help nonviolence leaders to promote their ideas and work
cheers
Julia Bacha 50+
We would love people to write to Al Jazeera demanding coverage of nonviolent resistance in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. We have succeeded in getting interviews to nonviolence leaders (and ourselves) on several Al Jazeera programs but like most Western channels, Al Jazeera Arabic is also overwhelmingly focused on the coverage of violence in the region.
Let's keep working on the TED playhouse :)
Kristofer Björnson 10+
Anthony Guerne
Julia Bacha 50+
Shauli Ziv
Now let's try and reverse it by putting "Israel" instead of "Palestine" and vice versa.
I find it hard to believe that such views will be considered "non-violent" when they come from the Israeli side.
Yet, you have no problem praising them when they come from the Palestinian side.
I don't believe Israel should withdraw to the 1967 lines but am definitely willing to sit with every Palestinian who is willing to TALK and try to sort out the disputes. What some of your "non-violent" leaders are unwilling to do.
Kind of an absurd, don't you think?
Julia Bacha 50+
Anant Kothari 500+
One or two phone calls, reading what's written elsewhere and writing the article is all that is required for breaking news stories. Contrastingly, broadcasting of non-violent stories requires a journalist to spend a prolonged time on the ground learning about the situation and then developing their own opinion and writing a story over time.
Quick money is always preferred. But news firms need to realize newsreaders will read whatever article they are shown as newsreaders only require the article to be "well-written" to attract attention.
Journalists also need to realize the biggest stories are long-term stories. Global Warming can be continuosly written about for years, and recently Warren Buffett wrote an article "Stop Coddling the Super Rich" which was repeatedly trending on twitter for 2 weeks.
I believe journalists need to realize the potential of writing about long-term issues and that if they find the right issue it will help them have a stable successful career for years to come.
Mackenzie Scott
I think that one powerful way to encourage mainstream media coverage of Israeli and Palestinian nonviolence leaders is to actually create a broad-ranging progressive coalition or new political party that focuses on gaining main stream media attention for non-violence and peaceful endeavors in general. What I mean is that this could be a key element in the party's platform and strategy. When you are organized, you can make manifest great effects. I'm currently working with some top politicians and activists to bring about this new coalition. Very exciting meetings happening. I would love to speak with you about it in detail.
Mack
Julia Bacha 50+
Makis Otman
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2011/01/gazas-youth-manifesto-for-change/
Ben Lillie 500+
Elisabeth Shields
Uzi Shvadron
So, my suggestion is to open the stage to ideas from the people. Facebook is a good tool for this. We can develop a platform in which people can outline ideas, directions, suggestions, etc. that people can discuss. When clarified people may be able to vote for or against each idea. Facebook has a great ability to spread the word. Hopefully some new ways will be suggested on which people from both sides would vote for. This will catch the eye of the media and leaders. It is certainly a none violent direction.
Julia Bacha 50+
Uzi Shvadron
Claudia Dodson
Julia Bacha 50+
Clem Work
Julia Bacha 50+
You bring up a good point, that Palestinian and Israeli nonviolence activists are particularly vulnerable at this sensitive time, while the world's attention is focused on the UN vote and the larger political picture. We've actually seen several troubling cases of violence and intimidation used against these activists over the past few days and weeks, and they're facing an escalating crackdown from Israeli and Palestinian security forces. That's why its more important than ever to pay attention to what these grassroots leaders are doing, both to ensure that their message reaches as broad an audience as possible at this crucial time, and to guarantee that no extremist or militant elements are able to silence their voices.
Nasser Ali
Jason Kather 10+
Thank you, Ms. Bacha. You are doing honorable work.
Salim Solaiman 50+
Do you have any robust research which tells acceptability of Main Stream Media ?
Does that study has a comparison of acceptability of the same TODAY Vs Say 1960s?
Rather social media can be more powerful in this era of connectivity , with a condition if it is not being influenced again with those as mentioned because POWER CENTERS & PR Agencies also know even better than the general people like me that social media is an emerging communication tool which can be more powerful even.
Rahim Sharieff
James Houston
Julia Bacha 50+
Corvida Raven 100+
To encourage coverage, I would suggest fielding blog posts and articles of these protests (or getting smaller, local coverage going first), to larger media entities. This could help to eliminate any excuses they might have for not covering the story (i.e. not enough information or resources to cover the story). Social media is definitely a powerful way to get mainstream media coverage using hashtags for nonviolent events. If you can get one hashtag to trend, you'll definitely capture the media's attention.
I also believe that it's important not to just give people the tools, or the coverage in this case, but to help them become aware of how to use these tools to prolong the impact and create sustainable change.
The people on the ground are creating the digital trends that the news is covering on a daily basis. We have the power and the network, but a lot of folks are unaware of the potential and possibilities they hold in their hands (and gadgets). They assume they are randomly stumbling upon these opportunities, when really they've been apart of the creation process the entire time.
Mary Painter
Thumper Strauss
The mainstream media's account of the violent part of the story is presented as boilerplate text without much, if any, context. Whether it is bias or laziness, I cannot say. The effect is that this Arab-Israeli conflict is the most covered international conflict in the world that most people have limited knowledge of--including reporters. It is within this context of lazy reporting that we are to convince the mainstream media to cover non-violent leaders.
The other problem is that violence works. The media have to report on violence. (You'll note the lack of weekly news reporting in Tibet.)
Anyway, here are some suggestions:
1. Non-violent leaders can adopt PETA-style marketing. I'm not sure if the world is ready to see Saed Erakat bare more than his bald head, but who knows.
2. Gimmicky events. Why not have a lemonade stand or some other out-of-context event. We've established that the news media is lazy, so this is the perfect story for them.
3. Follow the trends. Produce cheap, quick videos parodying the latest entertainment story but work in to the script info about the organization. For instance, the "just leave her alone" video of that Brittany Spears fan went viral and the parody videos were quick to appear.
Boris Kievsky
I think it may be more important to ask how we get the LOCAL media in Israel and the Palestinian territories to highlight non-violent leaders. The glorification of what is perceived as "strong leadership" in that part of the world is integrally responsible for the proliferation and popularity of violence advocates.
Julia Bacha 50+
clarisse duarte de meireles
The UN recognition of a Palestinian State would be THE major non-violent international political statement.
Unfortunately, without the American support, it's unlikely that this important step will be taken soon.
Would you like to share your opinion about that?
Thank you.
Jason Kather 10+
In order to reach a crowd that has a preconceived perception of the truth, their eyes must be opened more slowly to the full story instead of it being so sharply in contrast to what they have previously been exposed to. To tell only one story of one side of such a sensitive issue, leaves most of the potential audience searching elsewhere for information they are more comfortable with.
Hamas and Hezbollah have marketed their efforts in a way that demands media attention. The use of a Nuclear Weapon Mushroom Cloud as a symbol of their cause grabs all of the available attention. I would think that using that fear tactic as a vehicle to drive a more peaceful method and the need for it could be more successful. People want practical solutions to potentially tragic outcomes. To not acknowledge the really bad, leaves the good in its shadow. Media would be much more likely to cover a more "sensational" topic as well.
Julia Bacha 50+
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d40Aht_9cxY
Ed Schulte 50+
the Programs on the BBC,-TV debate program on Middle east afairs, yes they are still slanted ..but... here the programs are atleast allowing BOTH sides to exprees which is rare in westen media, and the audience votes ...both before and after the debate. also follow BBC "intelligence squared"
Debra Smith 200+
I think it can be done in two ways. We either shame them into covering things by demanding it of them on their comment blogs of their stations, by talking about the absence of the stories everywhere we can and forwarding all the information we can to them,
The second way is the way that I think will really work. I really believe that we need a TED Playhouse for films. We need to provide the film watchers of the world with access to the film makers who are telling the stories we need to hear. I would be willing to pay a fee to subscribe especially if I knew that the proceeds would not go to a middle man but rather to those who did the investigative journalism and made the films directly. People are devouring TED talks, We love them. We love being able to side step the ivory towers and learn. We are not getting what the world needs from main stream media. They do not wish to or cannot play ball with 'we the people'. Thus we need some of 'our own' to tell the stories of our world.
WE WILL LISTEN!
Michael M 30+
Julia Bacha 50+
Julia Bacha 50+
Maybe Budrus can be the opening night of the TED Playhouse :)
Debra Smith 200+
As to your question, lets use some of my marketing training to figure that out. Are you sending email notifications to news outlets at every level to let them know what you have? They can't air or print what they do not know exists. Do you have a mailing list for interested persons who would help you get the information out on blogs and on comment boards. These people will ask questions of the media if what they know is there is not published.
Every cause needs a champion or a figure with which the people can identify. Can you put forward a personality or a character that the mainstream media can build a story around. The Irish peace movement became a story when women said no more and average housewives banded together to protest. These are the unlikely heroes that make stories come alive for average people (and thus sell stories for advertisers revenue.etc.)
You are doing something SO VERY important. I hope that these practical examples do not feel like they dimiinish your work. You just have to make it easy for the media to say yes or we have to make it too hard for them to say NO!
I am really cheering you on in everything you do. Moms like me want peace.
Julia Bacha 50+
Thanks so much for your support and for all the great suggestions. We have a fantastic dedicated team at Just Vision which is constantly conducting outreach to media and partner organizations working on these issues, and we're constantly expanding the circle of people we reach.
We also have a large mailing list, which you're welcome to join at www.justvision.org, to which we send frequent updates about nonviolent efforts being carried out by Palestinians and Israelis on the ground.
And thanks for the nomination!!!
Makis Otman