Intercultural Communication Institute

 Media Watch Group

Member:
KUME Teruyuki
Holly S. KAWAKAMI
ITABA Yoshihisa
CHEN Guang
E Gwangho 

MEDIA WATCH GROUP： PURPOSE AND ACTIVITIES

1. WHAT IS THE MEDIA WATCH GROUP?

This group was established in April 1995 at Intercultural Communication Institute of Kanda Gaigo Daigaku (Kanda University of International Studies). Five people who are teaching at this university, share an interest in international and intercultural communication and represent four different national backgrounds are in the group. At the same time, all have lived or are presently living in a society not their own. The common language is Japanese and is used for meetings. The second language used is English. The group profile is four men, one woman; two Japanese, one Chinese, one South Korean, one American (U.S.). Regular meetings are held about once a month while university is in session. Having only been established since April 1995, the group and concept is still extremely new.  The presentation at SIETAR's Spring Conference was the first time this group could explain itself to fellow professionals and present some case studies. We are still in the process of clarifying our guidelines and parameters and welcome like-minded people to join us. Please see below for future plans and how to join us.

At this point, we receive no outside funding nor have we applied for any grant money. We use the facilities of Kanda Gaigo Daigaku for our meetings but our activities and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the university.

2. HOW DID THE MEDIA WATCH GROUP START?

The group started from an idea of one of the members, Holly Siebert Kawakami. Having been active for some years in the field of Intercultural Communication (IC), she had conducted research, training, consulting and also taught at the university level. It seemed to her that just conducting research to find out facts, what happened, report what people said, did or even felt, was not enough for this field.

At the same time that many people are conducting research and many others not necessarily in this field are becoming more aware of IC and its importance for all levels of society and a peaceful world, there are many others with a contrary point of view who are using airwaves, print, the political arena, etc. to propose solutions which are narrow-minded, exclusive and separatist to say the least, bigoted and hate-mongering at the worst. These people seem to know how to make themselves highly visible and therefore are often quite influential. That happens partly because people seeking better communication and a peaceful world are not so visible or vociferous. Therefore, if people well-versed in the field of IC do not make themselves more accessible to the greater society and work more effectively for better understanding between groups they will have only themselves to blame when people choose the hate-mongers for solutions. In other words, somehow we in this field needed to become more active in getting our point of view and philosophy across to the general public.

There are examples of certain groups that have their own media watch activities and could be models for a media watch group looking at reporting and journalism from the Intercultural Communication point of view. For example, feminists in the U.S. watch the U.S. mass media to access how women are being portrayed. Action may be taken for or against companies or politicians. Also, Jews watch the media to counteract instances of anti-Semitism or incorrect reporting about the Holocaust.

In fact, in 1994 just such an incident received wide coverage in Japan. One Japanese magazine MARCO had published a headline and article questioning or denying that the Holocaust ever took place. The journalist had simply lifted some statements from certain western writers who write their own view of history. The Jewish Media Watch Group was quite vigilant and was able to contact the publisher of this magazine quickly. They also called a news conference and the entire incident was well covered in Japan. The publisher of the magazine publicly apologized for their sloppy reporting and insult to the Jewish community and promised to work closely with Jewish groups and learn more about their history and way of life. The Jewish Group accepted the apology and offered to work closely with the publisher and reporters in the future. Shortly after, however, this magazine ceased publication.

In this case, the reporter and publisher were not ill-intentioned but simply ignorant of the true situation and facts. There are also media watching groups which check on accuracy and fairness. Taking all these examples together, Ms. Kawakami thought of having a media watch group which would look at reporting from an intercultural communication point of view, that is, check for fairness and accuracy regarding groups of people, point out ethnocentric or insensitive reporting and recommend change or point out unbiased, ethnorelative reporting as examples to emulate. After all, as in the case of MARCO, most reporters, journalists and commentators are not knowingly prejudiced but they may take for granted a point of view without closer examination of its roots. Most people in the media want to do a good job but they have never taken a course in IC and are not familiar with its principles. It is very difficult to become self-aware enough to realize one's own biases and shortsightedness. A media watch group could act as a watchdog in this way.

After talking with several prominent people in the IC field including Dr. John Condon and Dr. George Renwick, Ms. Kawakami proposed forming a Media Watch Group at the Intercultural Communication Institute at Kanda Gaigo Daigaku. The original purpose and intent has been preserved while being immeasurably enriched by the participation of the four other members.

It is hoped that the membership will not stop there and that interested people in many places will form their own cell groups and add their expertise, knowledge, and voices to this endeavor. This activity is neither the same as pure research nor pure activism. Hopefully, it combines the best of both and offers a way for people in the IC field to concretely contribute to the better world we often envision but have not offered the practical means to achieve.

3. WHAT HAVE BEEN THE ACTIVITIES FOR THE PAST YEAR?

We have conceived of three different types of media watching for our group. They are as follows.

Choose one theme or incident and note how it was reported in at least three different countries. Since our group members represent four countries, we would note how it was reported in all four. For example, the 50th anniversary of World War II was of interest to all four countries: Japan, China, South Korea and the United States. Each of us could research how this anniversary was reported and covered. To be sure, it is impossible for only one or two people to cover the entire media and going back to do research usually means looking at printed materials. However, it is also possible to video tape programs. We do not claim that we have covered all media but our coverage is representative.

Choose one bi-lateral incident and note how it was reported in the two countries or groups. In this case, it could be between countries or betweentwo groups in the same country or place. The incident where an American manager of a baseball team was fired midway into his contract by the Japanese manager of the same baseball team in Japan is an example of this type of media watch.

Choose one publication or program and follow it over a period of time to note the quality of its reporting on world events, sensitive topics, people or societies outside its own base. This can be done by an individual over a period of time. In this case, one is checking for ethnocentric biases or ethnorelative points of view. We did not present this type for the Spring Conference. However, someone covering, for example, TIME magazine over a period of two or more years and noting its overall tone, expertise, fairness and accuracy, as well as noting specific articles would be following this type of media watch.

Persons interested in joining the Media Watch Group and conducting their own activities in coordination should contact any of the members through SIETAR or the Home Page under Kanda University of International Studies (http://www.kuis.ac.jp/daigaku/ibunken/icci.html/).

We are presently working on compiling guidelines so that all small groups can coordinate under the same format. We hope to use electronic messages to communicate with other groups and to hold a symposium at some point. (Holly S. KAWAKAMI)