The course is designed to suit the needs of the journalists and producers at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting and will explore effective news management techniques, evaluation of risks,editorial priorities,concerns and responsibilities in hostile environments.

Conflict News Management in hostile environment
14 to 18 June 2008 at IRIB in Tehran
By Aled Price, Consultant

Snow. Deep Snow. Snow deep enough to close roads and isolate communities. It would be a big story and a challenge to journalists in many countries, but especially so in Iran, where the unexpected nature of the recent snowfall caused problems in many areas in the north of the country. Iran has many natural and man made hazards, many of them severe and unpredictable, and presents journalists in this vast country with obstacles and dangers on a daily basis.

I was invited to visit the national broadcaster IRIB in its headquarters in Tehran to lead a workshop on News Management and Hazardous Environments. A fascinating task for myself, and I was impressed by the experience of the students taking part. Among the twenty or so joining me in the workshop, experienced journalists, producers and editors. Experienced not only in producing news programmes, but also many joining me were experienced in working in the aftermath of the most daunting of challenges including the Earthquake in Bam , and the Iran – Iraq war. I had some experience to draw upon – as a producer and journalist with the BBC, I had worked in Bosnia and had been trained in working in hazardous environments. I had ideas to share about the editorial challenges of working in dangerous places, as well as a strong awareness of ensuring safety of people in difficult circumstances.

Where could I begin, I wondered ahead of my departure from Wales to Tehran. First of all, I would need to understand the hazards faced by journalists in Iran. Talking with friends an colleagues ahead of my visit, there was a question I had to answer time after time. Was it safe to visit Iran? After all, this is country surrounded by military conflict an instability.
A country under threat of military action from abroad because of its nuclear activities
A country not immune to severe earthquake or political and social tremors. However what I was soon to learn following my arrival at the workshop was the astounding variety of hazards facing journalists there. The climate and terrain alone presents journalists with potential trouble. But the daily hazards are far less dramatic and far more dangerous.

Any first time visitor to Tehran will be struck by the bustling nature of the city. The traffic has a tremendous presence. The Capitol's arteries and veins are clogged by hundreds and thousands of cars, motorcycles and pedestrians, all competing for space and time. And according to the Tehran times, the roads had claimed 22,198 lives during the previous year. This would be the starting point for my workshop. If we are going to assess risk, we would have to address the biggest risk facing journalists. It was not the terrifying danger of war or even the enormous damage caused by earthquake. The starting point of my workshop would be assessing the biggest risk facing everybody in Iran. The traffic, the cars, and the attitude to risk on the roads. Of course everybody in Iran is well aware that the roads are dangerous. With casualty figures so high, there can barely be a family in the country that has not been effected by a tragedy on the roads. However I was not convinced that the attitude to risk was right. And I guess that this was one of the most interesting aspects of the workshop – discussing the differing attitudes to risk. It was a message I would try and emphasise. Get your attitude to risk right and you will minimize the dangers to yourself and your colleagues. Whatever the hazard, the attitude to risk must be the same. Assess the dangers, prepare, take the right equipment, minimize the risks on location and continue to reassess. If you are not safe, you must withdraw or get to a point of safety. These were some of my headlines during the workshop.

Life is of course not that simple. The 90 or so journalists killed in an air accident recently had no way of avoiding danger, and in many instances dangers are unexpected. However my message was that if you are entering a hazardous environment deliberately and professionally you must assess the risk professionally and take appropriate action. Action that includes the right training , the right equipment and most of all an understanding of the potential risks ahead
The workshop went on to discuss editorial priorities in a hazardous environment. Journalism, in the best of circumstances is hazardous. In countries such as Iran, things can get complicated very quickly. Take for instance the need, according to my values, to attempt to report from a hazardous environment in a balanced way. The terminology used by journalists in Iran is often loaded in ways that makes achieving that balance rather difficult. For instance, the Iran- Iraq war is still described as the “imposed war” and the result of the war is routinely described as “The humiliating defeat of....” I knew of course that the approach to journalism in Iran is not the same as mine. However we had some lively and friendly discussions about these issues, which were to me at least, valuable.

There was a wide ranging discussion on the implications on the use of such language – including a discussion on the difference between the national interest and the public interest. And there was editorial ground to cover on the use of pictures, attributing or crediting material, and working within reporting restrictions.
The aims of the workshop were two fold. First of all ensuring safety in a hazardous environment. Secondly doing the best editorial job possible from a hazardous environment. For me both are equally important - ensuring safety must be the first priority - but the we must get on with challenges ahead within difficult environments.

I wish to thank the IRIB and all the attendees at the workshop for their welcome and contribution, and AIBD for the opportunity.

Last updated 21.11.08 15:28 by Manil