Facing the Truth: BBC and Desmond Tutu Join in a Reconciliation Effort in Northern Ireland
Janette Ballard, Producer, BBC London
On March 4-6, 2006, the BBC aired Facing the Truth, a three part television series that brought victims and perpetrators of the conflict in Northern Ireland together for dialogue. Archbishop Desmond Tutu presided over the events. Janette Ballard, producer of the series, will show one of the programs and comment on the media’s role in this groundbreaking effort to promote healing and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
This discussion is the eigth in a series on the topic of Negotiation, Conflict and the News Media presented by the Herbert C. Kelman Seminar on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution, and co-sponsored by the Program on Negotiation, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy, and the MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program, as well as Boston area members of the Alliance for Peacebuilding.
The discussions in the Negotiation, Conflict and the News Media series focus on exploring the relationship among government, news media, and the conflict resolution community in framing and responding to conflict. Topics examine how conflict is framed and how that influences the escalation and de-escalation of conflict and the public understanding of various responses to terrorism. In general, participants will consider ways to strengthen the capacity to prevent, resolve, and transform ethnonational conflicts.
