“Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15).
Dialogue and the media
By Michele Zanzucchi
Living the reciprocity and dialogue we seek. A journalist and reporter shares his values and convictions based on his work experience of living the spirituality of unity
“We ought to acknowledge for humankind the significance of the simultaneous invention of gunpowder and printer’s ink,” said Austrian journalist Karl Kraus. Within today’s globalized context of terrorism, war and fear, the media can contribute to conflict or to peace. It can do so by either propagating misunderstanding, or by fostering dialogue.
Where does dialogue begin?
When we talk about media and dialogue — intercultural or interreligious —– we need to understand that dialogue is only possible when someone both talks and listens. All too often dialogue degenerates into a debate based on simplistic statements or sound bites, when people are not active listeners.
A second problem is that while the globalization of media technology seems to foster the coming together of individuals and peoples on the macro level, at the same time it seems to block communication on a micro level. In other words, virtual communication is increased and interpersonal communication is decreased. Just think of people walking along a street looking at their own iPod or talking on their cell phone, essentially oblivious to what is happening around them.
The bottom line is: dialogue between people of different religions and cultures begins through interpersonal communication and is strongly connected to knowledge of one another. It is encouraged by handshakes, by cups of tea or simply by living side by side in the same neighborhood. It is a dialogue of life.
Can globalization contribute to a positive dialogue of cultures and religious traditions?
To watch the same movies in America and in Asia does not mean that we are living in a global village of many cultures.
One of the most brilliant media experts worldwide, French scholar Dominique Wolton, once told me: “We all took, are taking and will continue to take advantage of globalization. However, at the same time, we realize that many cultural conflicts are triggered by globalization.
“Yet,” he added, “the aim of positive globalization is the promotion of cultural cohabitation at the global level.”
What is the role of the media in intercultural dialogue?
No one can deny that the media has both richly implemented and fostered such dialogue, as well as contributed to the conflict between different religions and cultures.
The media today is dogmatically accepted by some without good criticism. By others, it is blamed for the amorality, violence and superficiality it communicates. Still others consider the media as an instrument of power.
In fact, in some countries, the media has been used to manipulate people’s minds especially in the religious field; it portrays stereotyped images, forcing people to look at another community or groups in a biased way. It often gives excessive coverage to terrorists and to their deeds while not reporting news about Muslims who preach peace and work toward it.
The Syrian member of parliament Al-Habash once told me: “Western media should provide us with more impartial news, because by showing only bombs and the people killed by terrorists, the media in the West plays into their hands. Without publicity, these traitors of authentic Islam would not exist.”
We can offer some guiding principles based on a spirit of unity for how the media can contribute to positive intercultural dialogue, understanding and peace.
First, universal brotherhood has to be the common goal of society and the media. In fact, the ultimate aim of any communication should be the effort of building a world that is more united and therefore more peaceful.
Second, if we are convinced that communication is in itself positive, the media is also positive by nature. Only if used incorrectly, can it become a negative tool. Through the media one should be able to highlight what moves humanity toward solidarity and unity. To put into light what is good is infinitely more constructive than to highlight what is negative, violent or scandalous. Even reporting evil should be oriented towards the good of humanity. “We live in a society that turns death into a show,” philosopher Michel Serres recently wrote. “Good, positive news is left out of our world. In order to get back positive news, we simply need to look at reality, look beyond the show!”
Third, since communication in the media requires as strong an ethical commitment as the goal toward which it works, for people in the media, this means being able to listen to others with respect in order to communicate effectively It means being people of dialogue.
For example, I have traveled through predominantly Muslim countries with the precise aim of collecting interviews with Muslim religious leaders, opinion makers and scholars who support the development and nurturing of the values of peace and reconciliation within Islam. Generally, the more moderate opinions these leaders express, the less space they get in the media. Their opinions are usually drowned out by the voices of fundamentalists and people inclined to promote conflict.
“Empathy is the indispensable and essential condition for my job,” Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski wrote. “I need to live among people, eat with them and starve with them. I need to think, even if for a moment, that the world I am exploring at present is the only one existing.”
This passage led me through my journey as a reporter. Acting in this dialogical way, I believe that media workers can achieve real reciprocity with those they are interviewing in a way that helps them communicate what those people are really living, experiencing and trying to tell the world.
Finally, this vision of a communication that places the person rather than ideologies at the center is able to multiply good, not evil; it is willing to endorse the logic of respect and love of neighbor, and aims at peace. This vision is not just a dream. This vision is an achievable goal.
I feel reassured in offering this advice by the fact that I belong to a network of professionals working in different media who share this vision. Established in 2000, NetOne explores through fraternity the practice of reciprocity and dialogue and its consequences. Fraternity is the art of considering all those involved in the media as our brothers and sisters — those who work within the media and all who are touched by its influence in any way. In NetOne we have encountered topics where different values and convictions have surfaced in our discussions, since we are people with different faith and cultural traditions. But we have been able to create a communicative fraternal space in which we experience the reality of being one human family while respecting our differences. We are living together the reciprocity and dialogue we seek to develop in pursuing our professions in the media.
Michele Zanzucchi, editor of Citta Nuova magazine, is a member of the Abba School, the Focolare’s interdisciplinary study center, and NetOne, the Focolare center for the media (net-one.org). He teaches journalism at the Gregorian University in Rome and at Sophia University Institute in Loppiano, Italy.
| “I need to live among people, eat with them and starve with them. I need to think, even if for a moment, that the world I am exploring at present is the only one existing.” —Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski |
Five risks,
five opportunities
| 1. Attempting to communicate a correct view of the events related to relationships among religions. This is often due to the fact that sensationalism sells, or to lack of time and space. Reality can be distorted in order to increase an audience, so half-truths are passed on that do not provide a correct global vision. | 2. Interpreting events in the light of a specific current ideology. It is said that people who are involved in a religion have an ideological understanding of events. I can see the risk, but it is not totally correct, provided there is no attempt to deceive people. | 3. Taking intellectual shortcuts. History and all the different phases of relationships and conflicts are essential parts of the dialogue. Journalists tend to have a general background and they have to write on subjects on which they have limited expertise. | 4. Controlling sources partially. If two agencies present the same information, there is a tendency to think that it must be correct, while often this is not the case. There are several examples of popular news written by people who want to spread false or incomplete information from a biased point of view. | 5. Thinking that what we believe to be true about a situation is the only adequate way to understand and report it (a type of narcissism). Often it is an exclusively individual point of view that creates so many problems. |
| Opportunities | ||||
| 1. Having a positive influence on society, amplifying and spreading the good. I refer to all types of media, not only those that deal mainly with interreligious dialogue. | 2. Portraying a balanced account of events, thanks to access to specific current insights and historical knowledge about a certain situation. This can ease tensions and remind people not only of previous conflicts but also of periods of peace. | 3. Working for peace. In the event that politics and diplomacy break down, the media may still have some space left to keep communication going and to keep some hope of a peaceful resolution alive. | 4. Giving voice to ethnic and religious minorities, regardless of their numerical size and reach. In the context of interreligious conflicts, this may help decrease tensions and reach stability. | 5. Finding stories related to interreligious dialogue that can be appealing to the media. This is not always easy. One could also envisage writing fiction that expresses positive interfaith dialogue. |
You may be interested in the following links:
Net-One official website (the Focolare center for the media)
Read more on Interreligious Dialogue. Click here!
More articles on the Golden Rule:
And for experiences of people who put the Golden Rule into practice. Click here!
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© 2012 by the Focolare Movement (New York) •