News coverage of the Afghan crisis: what you need to know.
Foreign correspondents who report directly from Kabul risk their lives after the collapse of the US-backed government and the takeover of power by the terrorist group Taliban. These correspondents have a rare opportunity to witness and report these historical moments of the horrible situation that is currently unfolding in Afghanistan. Their reports are the most reliable way for the rest of the world to keep up with developments from the street battlefields in Kabul, where civilians, particularly women, struggle to escape the terror imposed by the Taliban's barbarous regime.
A Taliban member (C) stands outside Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2021. (Photo Credits: Reuters Photo)
The grim reality emerging in Kabul over the past few days is very worrisome for the Western world. It will have a longstanding impact on the balance of power in geopolitics for years to come. It is reasonable for all global media and international journalists working around the world to keep a very close eye on the developments in Afghanistan. Most journalists who are not in Kabul covering the news directly are gathering information online from major news agencies, videos, and information shared by those few foreign correspondents who risk being in Afghanistan with the support of their organizations. Informing their audiences about a situation in a country thousands of miles away from their own is not easy. Here are some useful insights for journalists writing stories and covering the situation in Kabul for their organizations, despite being far away:
Source verification: assembling sources for a story about a foreign country from news and information all over the internet can be difficult. The first step in incorporating any information into your story is to verify the accuracy by checking the source's credibility and by citing the source directly. Although global news agencies such as Reuters and AP can be trusted, attention needs to be paid when it comes to sources used by online websites and, especially, Twitter accounts. They may transmit misinformation, propaganda, or even fake videos. By citing information from unverified sources, journalists may become vehicles for bad actors to distort reality and promote propaganda that benefits special interests.
Whenever possible, ask sources to contribute original content rather than citing them: you must cite a source, but it's better if you can speak to this source and have them contribute some original content to your story. Consider this example: If your story is about how Afghan women journalists are dealing with the oppressive regime of the Taliban, you may find some Afghan women journalists who have already been interviewed by major media outlets such as The Guardian and the New York Times. Then it is easy to cite their statements in your reporting. By doing so, you do not add any value to your audience, and you do not create something new on this story. If you choose to give your audience a quick overview, then that is fine. To be serious, that is not enough. So how can you add value as a journalist? The answer is by conducting your own research and taking the time to find and contact the sources who have already been interviewed for other media outlets. If you can speak to a source, avoid asking questions already answered previously in major media. Be sure to build on their statements and follow up on what they have already said. Try to get something extra that can differentiate you and your reporting in the minds of your audience. It's challenging, but it's not impossible.
Think critically: When confronting extremely complicated situations such as the current one in Afghanistan, journalists must ask themselves, "Why does someone say what he says?" A journalist must use his ability to read between the lines and interpret public statements. In a previous article by FOREIGN PRESS, the Taliban's spokesperson vowed to respect press freedom and Afghan women journalists' rights to contribute to their careers fearlessly. Journalists should not limit themselves to just reporting this statement. Instead, reporters should ask what's behind the Taliban spokesperson's statement, especially considering the Taliban's past acts of terrorism against women, journalists, and civilians who do not conform to their extremist ideology.
Broader context: Journalism is the intermediary between a message and the audience. Journalists must filter the message of the messenger, and before they communicate a message to the public, they must put it into a broader context so that the general audience can understand and interpret the message. In our example, it is not enough for journalists to report the Taliban's spokesperson’s message, but they must also question the "why" that lies behind it. Journalists should encourage their audiences to ask questions such as "Can such a claim be true?" or "Does Taliban want to project a strange image of themselves that's not their own?"
To write a story about something happening in another part of the world without being present on the ground requires multitasking, critical thinking, and time commitment. Consider it as a responsibility that is as serious as if you were reporting on the ground on the battlefield. While you may not risk your life like correspondents on the ground, your story raises awareness about something everyone cares about.
(Photo Credits: AFP Photo)
