Press Releases

Sri Lankan Journalists Cross Ethnic Divides to Cover Local Issues Together

Photo: Matt Abud/Internews Sri Lanka A journalist interviews a fish seller at a market.

(August 7, 2007) Ethnic conflict has plagued the Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka for 24 years and claimed more than 65,000 lives. In late 2005, after a peace process and ceasefire fell apart, the fighting only intensified.

For many Sri Lankan journalists, the conflict has colored their coverage of local issues. To address this problem, Internews is fostering more balanced reporting by bringing Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala journalists together in cross-production activities to cover stories that affect local communities and people’s lives.

In one case, journalists jointly covered a local tsunami reconstruction dispute at Deepagavi that had split community attitudes. “Before this cross-production I misunderstood the Deepagavi issue,” said Sinhala journalist Ravindra Medagedera. “I thought the Muslim community had unjustly treated the Sinhalese, and I wrote that in my stories. But now…I realize there was no injustice… This problem is over-politicized.”

The exchange between journalists is not only about producing stories, but also about individual relations. “Before the cross-production, I didn't like the Sinhala language and I had a bad impression of Sinhala people,” said Kalivani, a Tamil trainee from Batticaloa. “But since [meeting southern colleagues through] the cross-production I love the language, and I've now enrolled in a Sinhala class.”

Internews provides interpretation at all stages of cross-production, to maximize both formal and informal exchanges.

Cross-production participants also held meetings with fellow journalists and community representatives across the east of Sri Lanka. These background briefings and discussions gave a detailed picture of communities affected by military conflict and ethnic strife.

Over the last year, Internews has established media houses in Matara and Ampara to provide a place for journalists to come together for training, production and resource support. Three cross-productions have been conducted so far. All stories were broadcast on Internews’ Real Voices, a weekly radio program covering community issues that airs on local radio stations in the East and South.

Real Voices is now distributed on nine outlets, including Sinhala-language radio stations, Tamil-language radio stations, podcasts and, starting in late August, a satellite network that broadcasts directly to 16 villages, with plans to expand to one thousand.

Internews' Regional Media Initiative in Sri Lanka is funded by a cooperative agreement from the US Agency for International Development's Office of Transition Initiatives.