This session focuses on the importance of human rights and intercultural understanding in relation to journalism.  

Journalism plays a vital role in the portrayal of minorities/‘the others’. This will be expressed in different ways in different countries, depending on such factors as the composition of the population, the political system and the history of the press. The main aim of this session is that the students will gain knowledge of the categorisation processes that take place in multicultural societies and understand the significant role of the press in the exclusion and inclusion of minorities, seen in the light of human rights.

The session starts with an activity aimed at getting the students to experience categorisation and how notions of ‘us’ and ‘them’ can be constructed. Then follows the first lecture section which introduces relevant knowledge on human rights and multiculturalism in relation to journalism. Multiculturalism as a concept and the multicultural society as a construction will be discussed, as will be the mission and role of journalism in multicultural societies. This will be followed by a group work. The second lecture section will present examples of journalists’ own experiences and attitudes when it comes to covering multicultural societies. A case about how the Norwegian public broadcasting company, NRK, has dealt with multiculturalism and other types of diversity in practice will be discussed. This session will conclude with multiple follow-up activities.