EU says stories on Mindanao peace can sell, too

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Good news, especially about peace in Mindanao, could sell, too.

This, in gist, is the message that the European Union (EU) wants to impart through its EU Peace Journalism Awards, that was launched in Cotabato City yesterday.

“Bad news sells well, like pictures of fighting, people dying so it’s a challenge to sell good news, said EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux.

“That is why we are launching the competition because it’s more challenging” to find good news that would land on the front pages of newspapers, Ledoux said.

“Journalism today is also a business. Your employers want to sell more news, make more hits,” he added.

Ledoux said EU is very interested in stories about the peace process in Mindanao and it’s the main reason the awards program was launched.

He expressed lament that inspiring stories about the peace effort in Mindanao hardly land on the front pages of newspapers or find airtime in radio and TV networks.

He said it is the first time that EU is promoting a program to encourage journalists to write good stories about peace in Mindanao.

“It’s a good initiative. We are at an important juncture now,” said Ledoux.

“The Bangsamoro Basic Law is submitted to Congress and people might have the feeling that nothing is happening at the moment so we need to help keep the momentum and we need to ensure that everybody is still committed to peace,” Ledoux said.

The EU Peace Journalism Awards was launched with the help of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, the Office of the Presidential Adviser to the Peace Process (OPAPP), the Center for Humanitarian Dialogues, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, the Photojournalists Center of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University and several other groups. Julie Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao

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