These resources are available online. You can use the following key as a guide for the level of reading / web navigation ability required by each text.

 

 Easy

 Average

 Advanced 

 

War Photographer documentary (2001). Christian Frei

War Photographer is a documentary film that follows the work of famous and long-time war photographer James Nachtwey. It is a very good text for looking at the relationship between the media and journalists (and photojournalists particularly) and the people and conflicts that they report on. It will be helpful in answering the focus question of ‘How is conflict represented in texts and the media?’, as it explores the internal conflict between being an impartial (non-biased) reporter and observer, and wanting to help those who are suffering. The documentary can be found here – you will be asked to portal login and password to gain access.

 

Awake at Night Podcast Melissa Fleming

The Awake at Night podcast is produced through the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, which is the most authoritative organisation in the world around refugees and refugee issues. The podcast is currently in its third season. Each episode features an interview with current or former refugees, or those responsible for providing aid and support to those fleeing conflict. You may wish to focus on seasons 1 and 2, which look more exclusively at the issues faced by refugees – season 3 focuses in on the particular issues of COVID-19, and how it is impacting those in refugee camps and conflict zones.

 

 

War reporting and the 2003 invasion of Iraq (2014) Elizabeth Thurlow

This article contains links to both other articles and audio about news reporting on the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The linked articles can be helpful in demonstrating how the media represent and tell the stories of conflict, and the ethical decisions in telling these stories. It also provides information about the different perspectives the news is told from – for example, journalists embedded with military forces have restrictions on their reporting that others don’t, for security purposes. This can lead to differing reports and information.

 

Behind the News Episode #24 (2011) Australian Broadcasting Corporation

This episode of Behind the News looks at the role of the war reporter, what it involves, and why reporters put their hands up for such dangerous assignments. It is a helpful overview of the role of the war reporter, and is an easy-to-follow starting point for looking at how reporters cover conflict.

 

Life on Hold (2015) Al Jazeera

Life on Hold is an interactive resource developed by Al Jazeera. It contains many videos and links showcasing the personal stories of those fleeing the conflict in Syria. Arrowing through the site takes you to the personal stories of individual Syrian refugees who have fled to Lebanon to escape the fighting. Each individual page also contains links to stories, video and audio. These personal accounts show the impact of war on young people and the disruption to every day life – they may be helpful to compare to news articles or the reporting we see on the television. How are they different?

 

 

Go Back to Where You Came From (2018) SBS

Go Back to Where You Came From currently consists of four seasons, where Australians are sent to see the conditions in refugee camps and war zones and recreate the (often dangerous) journeys that refugees take to get to Australia. The participants are often confronted with extreme conditions that challenge or contradict what they have believed or have heard about from other sources. It may be helpful to your studies of this unit to consider where the participants have gotten their previous information and attitudes from, and why this is often different to what they are faced with when actually in refugee camps and conflict zones.

 

CBBC Newsround (2020) BBC

The CBBC Newsround website is produced by the BBC, with news stories aimed particularly at a younger audience. You will find news stories on a range of topics (and will therefore need to use the ‘search’ option to find reports on a particular topic or conflict) that are accessible and easy to read, with students and younger readers in mind. As the news is written as a learning and information resource for children on this site, it may be interesting to compare how certain issues are reported compared to commercial news sources. Do other sources report in the same way, or do they use emotive language, hyperbole, political spin, or a particular viewpoint?