How responsible is the media, both domestic and international, for what occurred in Rwanda in 1994? This is the question addressed by Allan Thompson in The Media and the Rwanda Genocide where he has compiled works from several historians, academics and journalists.
Thompson, a reporter-turned-journalism-professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, first brought these minds together for a one-day symposium on the issue held in March 2004 at Carleton’s School of Journalism and Communication.
The goal, as Thompson explained at the Montreal book launch last Thursday, was to examine the failures on the part of the media in reporting the horrors that occurred in Rwanda. Such examination, Thompson told the modest yet interested turnout, may not lead to the discovery of concrete reasons behind the failures, but would at least spark debate as to how the media can best avoid such a breakdown in the future.
Concordia’s own Frank Chalk, professor in the Department of History, spoke of the potential lessons gained from Rwanda tragedy and how they may apply to the crisis now unfolding in Darfur. Chalk himself contributes to the collection on the topic of the media in genocides – when and how effective intervention should occur.
Thompson also stressed the role of the public at large: the responsibility we all have to demand more from our news sources. He’s not all about talk, though.
In looking toward the future, Thompson has set up The Rwanda Initiative. The Initiative is a partnership between Carleton’s Journalism School and its counterpart at the National University of Rwanda. Through the exchange of ideas, resources, knowledge and skilled professionals, Thompson aims to improve the state of the media in that region and beyond.
Thompson does not place all blame for what happened on the media. However, he wants those both within and outside of the industry to reflect on their own accountability.
He articulated his point eloquently when asked if he believed that more media coverage could have prevented the crisis.
His response was that if we accept the notion that more media coverage would not have worsened the crisis (which would be difficult to refute), then logically, there follow only two possibilities; either the media would have had zero effect on the events in Rwanda, or it would have helped. And to the millions of victims affected, those odds were likely worth the effort.
The Media and the Rwanda Genocide is currently available at Paragraphe bookstore on McGill College Ave.
For more information of the Rwanda Initiative, visit www.rwandainitiative.ca
For more information on
Allan Thompson, visit
www.allanthompson.ca
