middle east

Description

The Department of Communication Arts at the Lebanese American University (LAU), in Beirut, held a conference under the title "Conflict Reporting and Social Media". The convention that took place on March 3 was organized by the AFP Foundation, supported by the European Union and delivered by representatives from BBC Media Action. Four influential guests attended the event to openly discuss the practical and ethical aspects conflict reporting, social media and citizen journalism. The first speaker was Sami Ketz, Chief of AFP in Beirut. Ketz recalled his 30 years of experience as a war correspondent in the Middle East. He mentioned a number of different stories and incidents he faced during war coverage. In an attempt to clarify things, Ketz explained that curiosity is the first step for professional journalism. It is what makes reporters run to crazy places and put themselves in danger. The speech was followed by a panel discussion chaired by Dr. Yasmine Dabbous, a Journalism Professor at LAU. The panel included Emilie Sueur from L'Orient Le-Jour, Preethi Nallu, a multimedia journalist and visiting professor at LAU, and Ayman Mhanna (UNDP representative). The board discussed issues such as ethics, morals, objectivity, subjectivity and social media, which was then followed by a Q&A session with. And finally, Robert Holloway, the Director of the AFP Foundation, was one of the prominent guests at the conference. Holloway explained to the students about the role of social media in covering conflicts. In addition to this, Holloway instructed the attendees that in any war they cover, they should react quickly to danger and accept simple explanations of things.