Question: Using the language of cultural disintegration that I presented in lecture and learning from the many examples we talked about, what do you think Dawes would give as advice to journalists and humanitarians -especially communications directors tasked with telling stories- as they deal with the affected community living within ‘disintegrated’ cultures in the midst of conflict and/or reconstruction?
It’s very important that media channels keep in mind the language that they use when portraying humanitarian crises. Dawes would definitely advise journalists and humanitarians to tell stories that maximize the dignity of the affected community. In order to do so, Dawes would advise that they tell stories from the perspective of the vulnerable population, instead of the perspective of Americans or the global north. Additionally, Dawes would recommend that people be interviewed and actually give their first hand accounts of what is happening, instead of some white journalist speculating about their condition and getting it all wrong – misleading the public but also demeaning the vulnerable population.
While I agree that it is important to not just write sensationalized stories about these real crises happening to people, I also wonder whether it is a necessary tactic of war to sensationalize what the “other side” is subjecting people to. For example, a headline for an article that reads “ALL RWANDANS ARE STARVING” would most definitely be an embellishment and maybe overstate the issue, Dawes would say it is culturally insensitive. But at the same time, I think journalists are tasked with the nuanced challenge to not only maximize dignity but also to portray the urgency of the situation at hand. In American culture/society, we live in what’s called a “clickbait” society. People want to hear overly dramatic, sensationalized news stories, and it’s hard to compel people to help or donate to humanitarian aid efforts without dramatizing the issue and framing the story in a different manner.
Unfortunately, this dichotomy, which Dawes addresses in his book, is something that will always be present. So it is up to journalists and communications experts to come up with a way to balance maintaining cultural sensitivity while still fully portraying how urgent and critical the humanitarian crisis is.
25 Trackbacks
… [Trackback]
[…] Here you will find 97742 more Information to that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More Information here on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Information to that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More on on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More on to that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] There you will find 44285 additional Information on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More on to that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More Info here on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Information to that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Here you will find 17390 more Info on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Information on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] There you will find 23085 more Info on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More Information here on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More here to that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More Information here on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More Information here to that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More Information here to that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More Information here on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Info on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Info on that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More to that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More Info here to that Topic: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]
… [Trackback]
[…] There you will find 55822 more Infos: blogs.elon.edu/soc3711903/?p=3933 […]