XXXVIIII Disarmament Archive Award – Golden Doves for Peace

“The mass media in wartime: inform or persuade?” this is the title of the debate, organized in Rome by the Disarmament Archive with the patronage of the Order of Journalists of Lazio. Moving towards the XXXVIIII edition of the Colombe d’oro journalistic award for peace – created by Archivio Disarmo with the support of the Cooperatives belonging to Legacoop – the winning journalists of the previous editions met to discuss the role of information, during the conflict that it is hitting Ukraine. Fabrizio Battistelli (President of Archivio Disarmo) moderated the debate and congratulated those present, sent to the field on the occasion of this and previous conflicts, “courageous even in stressful situations, telling the facts with professionalism, enhancing the elements of hope even in the tragic conditions of war “. Elisabetta Soglio underlined “the flowering of good practices which, paradoxically, also take shape in the war emergency: the spontaneous mobilization of groups and individuals that has made the reception system for refugees effective”. For Giampaolo Cadalanu: “it is important to reflect on media and war. We need a little more” coldness “in information, putting aside the emotional involvement. It is clear that without information the democratic dialectic dies, even more in war. But exasperated information does not produce a good job. The appeal I take is to try to curb the emotional involvement. The way out of war is called peace, it is not called another war, it is not called escalation, it is not called involvement of other actors. Enough with the exasperated tones, which certainly do not lead us on the path of peace “. According to Ugo Tramballi “it is extremely difficult to communicate the reality of the conflict. The parties rely on a propaganda that decides what you can or cannot say. Journalism often falls victim to the general narrative, at other times it manages to investigate the causes and background of the conflicts”. For Giuliana Sgrena: “The information we receive today from Ukraine is objectively embedded information. In the face of Russian aggression, it is natural for the journalist to be on Ukraine’s side as well. However, this does not mean depending on propaganda because they are at war everybody uses propaganda. The information seems to be one-way, so forms of spectacle of the war circulate. Sometimes we have also witnessed scenes of pornography of pain. This does not serve to make war understood, but only to raise the level of violence . It will take years before we can reflect on what caused this war. In the meantime it is difficult to talk about victory over a power. nza nuclear. People want the war to end, whoever detects it should not be labeled as “pro-Putin”, just because he is a voice out of the chorus “. Alberto Negri believes that” The ongoing war offers sad confirmations and some good surprises. The good thing is the young freelancers, who are sent to the field and who do a splendid job, with all the difficulties that exist in a war front. Sometimes, however, the editorial staff can dismantle this good work by not contextualizing it adequately. Some journalists become pundits to advertise themselves. Information is more and more flattened, conformism prevails, “ban lists” are circulating. Even for Madi Ferrucci emotionality is useless and hinders dialogue. “Verbal conflicts in television talks are a kind of preparation for acceptance of the reality of war. Public opinion becomes polarized, from an opportunity to meet, the debate becomes a clash”. Gabriella Simoni observes: “This war was told more through the debates in the studio, which through the images of the war itself. So I wonder if it still makes sense to be a war correspondent, at a time when antagonism “for” or “against” seems to dominate. Good journalism, on the other hand, is first of all having a doubt and going to see. Instead the services do not become food for thought, but a pretext for quarrels. Little was tried to understand what this war in Ukraine really was, but they preferred to make it spectacular. People have understood little of this war not because of politics but because we journalists have competed to see who came farther, who risked more ». Says Pietro Suber: “The work of the war correspondent, inevitably, is conditioned by the place he is in. It happened to me too recently, in my interventions from Moscow, to have to resist pressure. As soon as I arrived, the Russian secret services, despite the journalistic visa, stopped me for 7 hours, seizing my phone which they only returned to me afterwards. The good news is that, thanks to the younger generations present in the ongoing conflict, the level of information has improved ” According to Francesca Nava “in a narrative polarized by the West we should stop considering the countries that are not part of it as enemies. Instead there is a whole world that is not told by the Italian media. Apart from Russia, there are also India, China, South Africa etc. There is a lack of a multipolar vision, while it is increasingly necessary to recount the points of view of other states “. According to Paola Caridi, “historical background is necessary to correctly frame the news broadcast. Freelancers have shown us conflicts in which few of us have been. (Syria, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, etc.). The gap between those who are on the field and propose pieces that may not be published and those who speak on talk shows with a very strong ideology. Finally, the use of language is important, a “surgical” vocabulary is needed to describe war and peace “. For Laura Silvia Battaglia “It is necessary to understand how weapons are used through studies and precise investigations. Conflicts are not forgotten, they are silenced. Given the importance of digital and social media, classical information needs to evolve by meeting young viewers directly on their favorite means of communication “. Concludes Nancy Porsia. “The conflict tends to be told with a single narrative, while journalists should be the” watchdogs “of politics.” She then stresses the importance of the role of freelancers and notes that their growing multitasking ability is not a choice, but an obligatory necessity if they want to sell their services.