IAWRT 2005 Conference, Williamsburg,
VIRGINIA, USA, October 29th, 2005
Women of the World Welcomed to 2005 IAWRT
Conference by Emily Falk, USA, IAWRT Member
Amid jubilant greetings between old friends
and introductions between new acquaintances,
the IAWRT 2005 conference convened in
Williamsburg, VA. President Jai Chandiram,
India, welcomed the group, acknowledging the
hard work of Mal Johnson, USA and Frieda
Werden, Canada, in organizing the
conference. Just following this
introduction, a portly man clad in a period
costume of green velvet, complete with
breeches and stockings entered ringing a
bell. The town crier bellowed out his
welcome on behalf of the Royal Governor
Spotswood of Williamsburg, stating that
“women are worth their weight in rubies,”
and ending with the customary “God Save the
Queen.”
Jai then gave a
brief overview of recent expansion and the
potential of IAWRT. She spoke of increased
visibility, membership, geographic reach,
participation in international forums,
continued United Nations representation, and
the role of the website in reaching even
more members. Jai welcomed some of IAWRTs
“founding mothers” and pointed out that
while we have come far, the organization
would still like to expand its reach,
especially in the Latin Americas. She
pointed out that it may be difficult to find
space for women in the now highly
commercialized media, but challenged each
member to find space for gender perspectives
and to make our “roots grow upwards.”
At the opening ceremony Jai pointed out the
organizing the 31st Conference in the USA
meant that Mal Johnson, conference organizer
and long time IAWRT member goes the circle
round, since she was active with the earlier
conference in USA, in the beginning of the
80s.
Mal welcomed the group and
introduced the distinguished keynote
speaker, Michele Montas, who is the Chief,
French Language Unit, Radio and Television
Service, New Media Division, at the United
Nations
Reporting Under Fire
Montas’s moving speech entitled Reporting
Under Fire addressed the role of the media
in preserving democracy, her experience as a
broadcaster in partnership with her husband,
Jean Dominique, the political situation in
Haiti, and above all, the responsibility of
the media to be a voice of truth. Montas,
who has been a broadcast journalist for over
30 years, described some of her challenges
and triumphs in giving voice to the
voiceless in Haiti, bringing the microphone
to rural areas where no one else had gone
for news, and asserted that living in a
dictatorship the thin line between reporting
the news and being the news disappears.
Montas explained that from 1986 through 1994
the threats to the radio station, Jean
Dominique and herself were constant, yet
they the news coverage that they provided
had become the lifeline for the people.
Unfortunately, this mouthpiece for truth was
a threat to those in power, and on April 3,
2000, Jean Dominique was gunned down outside
of Radio Haiti.
Following the assisination of Jean
Dominique, Michele continued to broadcast
the news, carrying on the spirit of the
people and her husband, until she could no
longer protect her journalists. She is
currently in her third exile in New York,
working with UN Radio.
There are still many unpunished crimes and
Michele’s husband’s killers have not been
brought to justice. The investigation was
full of impunities – witnesses were
threatened, a judge had to seek political
asylum in the US, all political entities
obstructed the process of justice, however,
Michele still reiterated that it is
rewarding to know that “the work that we do
matters to us and to others,” that we will
galvanize and empower others, and that we
carry their trust. After the five years of
effort, in which people have demanded
justice for Jean, 'the voice', the impunity
is being slowly broken down.
IAWRT president Jai Chandiram opened the
question and answer period by acknowledging
that journalists often bear the brunt of
injustices and unsettlement, but that IAWRT
has taken up the cause of journalists, and
specifically women journalists to protect
human rights
Throughout the question and answer period,
IAWRT participants declared how moving the
speech was, and asked questions about the
role of journalists in effecting social
change, in giving voice to the voiceless,
and in bringing about a truer democracy.
Montas continued to assert that these are
not roles that journalists ask for, but the
role often falls to them. She stated that
for journalists in conflict areas, “being
part of the news is not a choice.” She also
pointed out that knowing the news can be a
question of life and death. Montas
emphasized the importance of truth: “You can
try to be as objective as possible, but the
pressure is on you to be truthful” – people
are so used to lies. She eluded to the fine
line between reporting on political issues
and reporting on social issues, giving
several examples, including instances when
reporting on the trash in the streets of
Port au Prince being perceived as a
political threat.
She recalled interviewing coffee growers
from different regions in Haiti, and
broadcasting their comments side by side
with the international price of coffee
beans.
The question and answer period also
highlighted the importance of international
solidarity. Montas told the group that
outside solidarity works, and that we need
to have networks in place, ready for a quick
response. These types of network provide
protection. Mal Johnson also emphasized the
importance of organization and solidarity.
Finally, the group discussed the importance
of life experience and seeking out the voice
of the people in producing good journalism.
There was concern about the real-life
applicability of current journalism
curricula, however there was optimism for
the future and a desire to bring a new
generation of journalists up to speed.
Leila Doss Shares Life and Perspective,
Inspires Conference
The former Assistant-Secretary General of
The United Nations, Leila Doss, addressed
the IAWRT group following the keynote
address. As journalist with 60 years
experience in this field, Leila Doss spoke
with wisdom and humor about her journalistic
beginnings, and how various unplanned events
had created and changed her career.
When war prevented travel to England and
postponed Doss’s travel to Oxford to attend
the University there, she took a position
with Egyptian State Radio. When she
auditioned for an announcer position, she
was told that she sounded like “a five year
old gone wrong,” however, upon the invasion
of Normandy, as one of the few people at the
station, Leila was told to “start talking”
and has taken advantage of this role ever
since.
After training a succession of Brits for a
position as her boss, Doss finally quit when
the hiring manager told her that she could
not advance in the job as a non-British
Egyptian. After traveling extensively, Doss
ended up in New York where she visited the
Statue of Liberty, The Bronx Zoo and The
United Nations. The last location was to be
an important stop. After hearing the
security council discuss the Suez Canal,
Doss asserted that she would be willing to
“scrub floors” for the UN. Her talents,
however, made her better suited to another
position.
At that point, the UN was beginning to
recruit for UN Radio, and after eight months
working on odd jobs, she was finally allowed
to broadcast, opening each show with "This
is the United Nations Radio calling on the
people of the world." Despite strict rules
(including a ban on all adjectives and
adverbs and strict orders to report only in
the sequence of dialog, giving each delegate
equal air time), Doss reported the news. She
described frustrations with politics
obstructing reporting. She cited examples
including a story which was commissioned to
address the plight of Palestinian refugees,
but never aired because neither side wanted
to have the other side represented.
Integrity and the ability to stand up for
herself continued to serve Doss as she
advanced within the organization. As
assistant to the secretary general, Doss
refused on several occasions to take back
the words her boss had released or to lie to
protect her superior. She stated that she
valued her reputation with the press, and
when her bosses successor asked Leila to
stay on, she agreed only on the condition
that she “could do an honest job.” She
ultimately followed through on this and when
pressures from member governments were too
strong, Doss felt that she could no longer
stay in that position.
Doss shared more generally about the role of
UN reports, and the fact that many
international correspondents would give
totally different reports depending on
whether they were reporting for the
non-partisan UN or for their own country’s
news services. She shared budget
frustrations (and the fact that certain
countries, such as the United States, would
often block funding if they didn’t like the
content of projects), but seemed encouraged
that Michele Montas reported that there was
increasing leeway.
Leila Doss cautioned the group to make sure
that the people were always consulted before
action is taken, citing an example of a
hospital built on holy ground in Nepal. No
local people had been contacted and
consequently, the building was useless since
no one dared go in.
Overall, Doss emphasized the importance of
honest journalism, and smiled concluding
that the UN and UN Radio is a “work in
progress.”
* During the afternoon workshop on Breaking
the Gender Barriers examples were given by
the participants on both good and band
actions in this struggle. And valuable
comments and analysis were given by the very
experienced panel.
* In their workshop New Technology Bringing
the Message a large group of devoted
participants dug deep into the practical use
and benefits of the modern technology and
the digital equipment.
* During the opening of the IAWRT 31st
conference key-note speaks were given also
by Leila Doss, former Under-Secretary
General of the UN, and one of IAWRT's oldest
member. She told us about her experiences as
a young radiowomen in the UN during the 40s,
50s and 60s. |
Preparing for the
conference:
Frieda Weirden, Gerd
Inger Polden, Jai Chandiram and Mal Johnson
A colonial welcome!
IAWRT President Jai
Chandiram
Michele Montas from Haiti
IAWRT stalwart Leila Doss
From left: Inge van
Boenninghausen, Germany, Jai Chandiram,
India (outgoing IAWRT President) Bandana
Rana, Nepal. |
