Discussion Questions
Hellow! wenzangu wa mawasiliano lets discuss this;

How can a reporter remain independent, unbiased and faithful to the truth if she/he is also to promote peace and reconciliation? Is it possible to be objective in reporting and yet promote humanistic values like peace, unity, and social harmony?

What should be done with extremist language and views in the media, whether it comes from the government or from rebel leaders?’ Is it possible to offer examples of extremist language in the media from the region?

Some scholars have suggested that media freedom implies ‘the freedom to be irresponsible.’ Do you have any reasons to agree or disagree with this view? What are the implications of this view in the volatile context characterized by ethnic, religious, and regional cleavages like the GLR?

Is the news value "media freedom" used to justify peddle false information and rumours that incite violence more important than the need to save human lives? Are there concreate examples of the abuse of media freedom in the region?

Why is the Great Lakes region so prone to conflict? What role can the media play to mitigate conflicts?

Is there any relationship between weak institutions of State (the Police, the Judiciary etc) and the current state of conflict in the region? How do the media in the region undermine institutions of state?

"The Politics of the Belly"(corruption) is said to be a central element in the failure of development in the region. To what extent corruption is a factor in poor media performance in conflict situations?

How can Africa be delivered form ethnic and religious demons that ravage the continent? What is the role of the media in fanning ethnic and other conflicts?

Should the media and journalists involved in hate speech be considered combatants in conflicts? What evidence are in the region’s media showing hate speech etc?

Corruption in the media is sometimes attributed to the failure to reconcile communitarian values (brotherhood, ethnicity etc) and libertarian views like (accuracy, balance etc.)to what extent are the media caught in the communitarian/libertarian dilemma? Viz. Okigbo (1989) suggested the ethnicity is a news value in the Nigerian context whereby news is often analyzed by looking at what ones tribe will lose or gain. Is this true of the Great Lakes region?