The news media played a crucial role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide: local media fuelled the killings, while the international media either ignored or seriously misconstrued what was happening. This is the first book to explore both sides of that media equation. The book examines how local radio and print media were used as a tool of hate by encouraging neighbours to turn against each other. It also presents a critique of international media coverage of the cataclysmic events in Rwanda. Bringing together local reporters and commentators from Rwanda, high-profile Western journalists and leading media theorists, this is the only book to identify and probe the extent of the media's accountability. It also examines deliberations by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on the role of the media in the genocide. This book is a startling record of the dangerous negative influence that the media can have, when used as a political tool or when news organisations and journalists fail to live up to their responsibilities. The authors put forward suggestions for the future by outlining how we can avoid censorship and propaganda, and by arguing for a new responsibility in media reporting. Allan Thompson is Professor of Journalism at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada and a columnist with the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. After working as a reporter with the Toronto Star for 17 years, Thompson took up a teaching post at Carleton in 2003 and now heads a media capacity-building project in Rwanda called the Rwanda Initiative. The Media and the Rwanda Genocide By Allan Thompson Pluto Press Copyright © 2007 Allan Thompson All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-7453-2625-2 Contents Message to Symposium on the Media and the Rwanda Genocide Kofi Annan, ix, Preface, xi, Notes on Contributors, xiii, 1 Introduction Allan Thompson, 1, 2 The Media Dichotomy Roméo Dallaire, 12, 3 Rwanda: Walking the Road to Genocide Gerald Caplan, 20, PART ONE: HATE MEDIA IN RWANDA, 4 Call to Genocide: Radio in Rwanda, 1994 Alison Des Forges, 41, 5 RTLM Propaganda: the Democratic Alibi Jean-Pierre Chrétien, 55, 6 Kangura: the Triumph of Propaganda Refined Marcel Kabanda, 62, 7 Rwandan Private Print Media on the Eve of the Genocide Jean-Marie Vianney Higiro, 73, 8 Echoes of Violence: Considerations on Radio and Genocide in Rwanda Darryl Li, 90, 9 RTLM: the Medium that Became a Tool for Mass Murder Mary Kimani, 110, 10 The Effect of RTLM's Rhetoric of Ethnic Hatred in Rural Rwanda Charles Mironko, 125, 11 Journalism in a Time of Hate Media Thomas Kamilindi, 136, PART TWO: INTERNATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE GENOCIDE, 12 Reporting the Genocide Mark Doyle, 145, 13 Who Failed in Rwanda, Journalists or the Media? Anne Chaon, 160, 14 Reporting Rwanda: the Media and the Aid Agencies Lindsey Hilsum, 167, 15 Limited Vision: How Both the American Media and Government Failed Rwanda Steven Livingston, 188, 16 Missing the Story: the Media and the Rwanda Genocide Linda Melvern, 198, 17 What Did They Say? African Media Coverage of the First 100 Days of the Rwanda Crisis Emmanuel C. Alozie, 211, 18 Exhibit 467: Genocide Through a Camera Lens Nick Hughes, 231, 19 Media Failure over Rwanda's Genocide Tom Giles, 235, 20 A Genocide Without Images: White Film Noirs Edgar Roskis, 238, 21 Notes on Circumstances that Facilitate Genocide: the Attention Given to Rwanda by the Media and Others Outside Rwanda Before 1990 Mike Dottridge, 242, 22 The Media's Failure: a Reflection on the Rwanda Genocide Richard Dowden, 248, 23 How the Media missed the Rwanda Genocide Alan J. Kuperman, 256, 24 An Analysis of News Magazine Coverage of the Rwanda Crisis in the United States Melissa Wall, 261, PART THREE: JOURNALISM AS GENOCIDE – THE MEDIA TRIAL, 25 The Verdict: Summary Judgement from the Media Trial, 277, 26 The Pre-Genocide Case Against Radio-Télévision Libre des Milles Collines Simone Monasebian, 308, 27 The Challenges in Prosecuting Print Media for Incitement to Genocide Charity Kagwi-Ndungu, 330, 28 'Hate Media' – Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide: Opportunities Missed by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Jean-Marie Biju-Duval, 343, 29 A Lost Opportunity for Justice: Why Did the ICTR Not Prosecute Gender Propaganda? Binaifer Nowrojee, 362, PART FOUR: AFTER THE GENOCIDE AND THE WAY FORWARD, 30 Intervening to Prevent Genocidal Violence: the Role of the Media Frank Chalk 375, 31 Information in Crisis Areas as a Tool for Peace: the Hirondelle Experience Philippe Dahinden, 381, 32 The Use and Abuse of Media in Vulnerable Societies Mark Frohardt and Jonathan Temin, 389, 33 Censorship and Propaganda in Post-Genocide Rwanda Lars Waldorf, 404, 34 PG – Parental Guidance or Portrayal of Genocide: the Comparative Depiction of Mass Murder in Contemporary Cinema Michael Dorland, 417, 35 The Responsibility to Report: a New Journalistic Paradigm Allan Thompson, 433, Bibliography, 447, Index, 455,