Recommendations
Panel 4: Behind the Headlines
Objectives:
To provide delegates with an opportunity to explore the issues, questions and debate surrounding media coverage on currents socio- political issues from Asia, such as trade and human rights, child labour, freedom of the press and the Hong Kong handover to China.To encourage positive editorials in school newspapers and media; personal initiative should be taken to contact editors of magazines to suggest positive media outlets; youth sections should be encouraged in popular adult magazines such as MacLeans so adults learn about youth issues and views. Youth will also have the opportunity to browse the adult sections, thus exploring adult issues and views.
To encourage Canadian newspapers and reporters must work together with "sister" (partner) newspapers in Asia in order to strengthen the understanding between them. This relationship will facilitate their access to information, thereby bringing Asian culture, cuisine, astrology, current events, economic advancements to Canada.
To pay more attention to alternative media. To better educate Canadian youth, we should advertise alternative media more often. Translations of Asian articles to French and English can better bridge the gap between east and west.
To offer a series of introductory media courses which teach ethics in high school. These courses would prevent the bias that can arise in publications and also introduce a better perspective how to interpret the media.
To develop a periodical in Canada that will publish articles from Canadian and Asian journalists on the same issues. This would allow readers to access different points of view, giving them the opportunity to develop their own opinions based on the content of both articles.
To promote objectivity, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada should create commercials (similar to Heritage Minutes by the CRB Foundation, World Vision and Amnesty International) in order to educate Canadian society. To implement school programs (ex. cultural clubs) early in a student’s career and encourage parental involvement.
To refer to a variety of sources, including primary sources, and explore all the available points of view before forming an opinion.
To encourage critical thinking in the English curriculum by having students participate in debates on the two different angles of reporting. This would allow students to examine both sides of the issue in discussion. In history, historical events should be discusses from different points of view. In journalism, reporters should write articles and stories that are discussed from both the Asian and Western points of view.
The media should take the initiative to create documentation on other cultures which will allow them to report on these cultures along with the facts of the news.
To combat overuse of cultural/religious/ethnic labels to describe people engaged in "negative" activities by using regional labels or talk about the issues behind the event. Go into depth about background information in order to show that terrorist attacks, for example, are usually motivated not by the principles of a religion but by oppression.
To contact news media and encourage them to become more sensitive to cultural practices while reporting.
To recognize that there are two sides to every story and that some reports may only reflect one point of view. Therefore one should question the source instead of accepting it as the absolute truth and read material from various sources.
We recommend that media should not be taken immediately at face value. Possible ways to gain insight into an issue include scrutinizing other forms of media. We believe this serves to enhance the understanding of cultural differences.
To hold open debates in class on subjects concerning Asia and how the media presents the current events there.
To place pressure on the government to make people more aware of the lack of human rights all over the world. This would include, the media having to write the absolute truth about what is happening across the nation and the world.
To form international communication links between respective alliances against the trafficking of women and compile a list of convicted johns on the World Wide Web. Also, crack down on johns by increasing the severity of penalties when they are caught.
To make available in schools sources of information where multiple points of view about various issues can be analyzed and discussed. Only then can students be given the opportunity to critically analyze and creatively think about issues that are relevant in their lives.
To provide textbooks that are more open-ended and allow students to think for themselves by researching background information, checking for bias, analyzing various points of view, and asking more questions. To offer courses that are issues oriented such as, issues that relate to the Asia Pacific and America Pacific regions, such as environmentalism, child labour, womens' rights, peace and security, and human rights.
To inform consumers that child labor was used in the production of imported goods.
© 1997 - TG Magazine / The Students Commission
© 1997 le magazine TG / la Commission des Ètudiants