(Beirut, Lebanon)--For most Americans, discussions about peace and war are, thankfully, abstract. Sadly, that’s not the case here in Lebanon, where talk of war, of “the enemy”, and of the prospects for peace is never far from the surface.…

  (Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan)--How are religious labels used by leaders (and media) to divide populations and inflame passions? What role do stereotypes have in laying a foundation for hate speech?

Now that finals are almost over at Park University, things are really going to start to get busy.

Beginning the week of May 12, I'll be headed out to spread the peace journalism gospel. The first initiative will be workshop presentations at the Fulbright Association's…

If peace journalism means not inflaming passions, then why do peace journalists tell emotional stories? Aren't peace journalists biased?

These tough questions were posed by attendees at my keynote address last night at California State University-San Marcos. It was gratifying to see about 130 people in the audience for my presentation, "The Ethics of Peace Journalism: Serving a Higher Calling."…

By Steven Youngblood, Director, Center for Global Peace Journalism, Park University

It’s not easy being a peace journalist who, on the one hand, wants to avoid inflammatory comments but, on the other hand, sees the need to expose those who would spread hate and divisiveness.

This very situation arose yesterday when I learned on Facebook of a flyer (pictured) that was distributed to the home of a colleague of…

The April edition of The Peace Journalist magazine, published by the Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park University, has arrived.

For a free .pdf download , click here.

The April 2013 edition features a piece…

 Kenyan media generally practiced peace journalism in the aftermath of the March elections this year, according to observers as well as a small study conducted by peace journalism students at Park University. Yet interestingly, Kenyan media have come under fire for utilizing this style of reporting.

The Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) wrote, “Some critics have condemned the media for not following up on claims made by politicians that the poll was rigged. For example,…

The 10-year anniversary of the Iraq war has led to some interesting soul-searching among American journalists and journalism organizations.



Two of the most insightful pieces were published by CNN and the Washington Post. In the CNN piece ("Duped in Iraq war, has press learned?"), Paul Waldman…

A 15-month Peace Media and Counterterrorism project is coming to a close today and tomorrow in Kampala, Uganda.

The project, which is funded with a $150,000 U.S. State Department grant, has brought together media and security/government officials in 12 seminars around Uganda. The goal is for media and…

Experts: Peace will prevail in Kenya

Tororo, Uganda—The majority of experts gathered here today 8km from the Kenyan border believe that peace will prevail in Kenya in the aftermath of yesterday’s election.

The journalists, government officials, and security officials at our peace journalism seminar here believe that peace will prevail for several reasons. First, they said that Kenyan security officials are much…

Tororo, Uganda—In this town 8km from the Kenyan border, all eyes today were on the Kenyan presidential election. The attention here isn’t so much on the result, but rather on whether this election will mimic the violent 2007 one.

As the day unfolded here, I spoke about the potential for election violence in Kenya with security officials and journalists who are attending the peace journalism workshop I’m teaching here. The consensus this morning was that there may be sporadic…

The peace journalism symposium (see below) has been rescheduled due to an impending snowstorm in Kansas City. The symposium will now be held from 11am-12:30pm this Friday, Feb 22. The location is the same--The Meetin House on the Park University campus. The event will still be streamed live. 



"The Crisis in Mexico: Is Peace Journalism Possible?"

A special symposium considering…

The Peace Journalist is a semi-annual publication of the Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park University in Parkville, Missouri USA.

The Peace Journalist is dedicated to disseminating news and information for and about teachers, students, and practitioners of peace and conflict sensitive journalism.…

As a peace journalist, academic, and human being, is it incumbent upon me to speak out against prejudice and injustice, even if doing so could distract from the important message I’m trying to deliver?



A recent exchange with a colleague and a shocking video on NYTimes.com has left me pondering this question.



My professor friend, who teaches overseas, is boycotting academic exchanges and cooperation of any kind with Israeli academics and institutions. I wrote him to ask…

By Steven Youngblood, Director, Center for Global Peace Journalism

I had the honor of being the keynote speaker recently at the American Friends Service Committee's "If I Had A Trillion Dollars" film festival in Kansas City. The festival featured peace-themed videos produced by area students. My speech, titled "Viral Peace", is below. Sorry for the all caps--it's just the way I…

By Steven Youngblood

As peace journalists, our prime directive is to consider the consequences of our reporting.



For example, when covering terrorist attacks, this means being careful to frame our stories in such a way as to not glorify the perpetrators or sensationalize the violence. When covering something like the Sandy Hook shootings, this means reporting that doesn’t make a bad situation worse. This means producing stories that…

Journalism has a long, proud tradition of giving voice to the voiceless. In fact, this notion is spelled out in the Society for Professional Journalists Code of Ethics: “Give voice to the voiceless; official and unofficial sources of information can be equally valid.”



Since Friday’s mass shooting, I’ve been thinking a great deal about the voiceless.



As I’ve taught peace journalism abroad, the voiceless have usually been the extremely poor, the displaced, and victims of war…

I appeared a few days ago on KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR affiliate. The program, Central Standard, was excellent, and my host, Jabulani Leffall, was thoughtful and well prepared. (Click here to listen to archived copy of the program in which I discuss peace journalism and my new book…