|            BY THOMSON FOUNDATION

For the record:
Covering war and conflict

Write your awesome label here.
This course aims to train journalists on best practice when it comes to documenting and archiving, including from scenes of possible war crimes, and explains why it is necessary.

Course Contents

About
Outcomes
Course Experts
Organisations
"This course was a valuable addition to both my knowledge and practice… offering essential editorial tools and human-centred insights into survivor interviews, trauma impact, and self-care.” Seham Saied Ali, Journalist – Egypt.

Wars and conflicts around the world are being fought on the ground and also online. Amid the confusion, bloodshed and destruction it’s the journalist’s job in a war zone to record and document what they see and hear. How well they do that and how effectively their newsroom then archives that material could impact future events such as further journalistic investigation or even a potential war crime inquiry. The course is designed to help journalists make order out of the chaos in a conflict zone by guiding you through the process of documenting and archiving. It’s designed as a journalistic tool making clear the distinction between journalism and judicial investigation.
By the end of the course you will:

  • Know the importance of using the right language in reports about a conflict or war
  • Know what is meant by the term ‘war crime’
  • Appreciate the journalists’ role in documenting and archiving potential war crimes 
  • Know best practice around archiving material from chain of custody to tagging 
  • Recognise the relevant legal processes determining how the information you archive may be used 
  • Appreciate the ethical considerations facing journalists who interview survivors
  • Know some of the signs of trauma 
  • Be able to address questions around a journalist’s role in potential war crimes investigations 
  • Recognise the possible impact on a journalist’s wellbeing in covering potential war crimes in the field and in the newsroom

Rushdi Abu Alouf - BBC News

Rushdi Abu Alouf is the BBC’s Gaza correspondent. For more than 20 years, he has covered significant events in the Middle East including Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank, the death of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the series of conflicts between Hamas and Israel from 2009 to 2021 and the recent war following the Hamas attacks in southern Israel in October 2023.

Yousra Elbagir - Sky News

Yousra Elbagir is Sky News' Africa correspondent.  Her reports from the frontline of Sudan's conflict have shown the scale of devastation and the humanitarian crisis. Before joining Sky News, Yousra was a foreign news reporter for Channel 4 News in the UK and is a former winner of the Thomson Young Journalist of the Year Award.

Federico Escher - Channel 4 News

Federico Escher is the head of foreign news at Channel 4 News in the UK where he led coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the October 7 aftermath in Israel and Gaza, winning awards for news coverage in both cases. In his time at Channel 4, Federico produced the award-winning series of reports Inside Aleppo with the Syrian filmmaker Waad Al-Kateab.

Guadalupe Megías - TVE, Spain

Guadalupe Megías has been a journalist for almost 20 years and for the past decade she has worked as a reporter in the international area of the news service for the Spanish public service broadcaster, TVE. Her coverage of the war in Ukraine has resulted in her and her team winning a coveted Ondas Award in Spain.

Chris McGreal - Guardian News & Media

Chris McGreal writes for The Guardian US and is a former Guardian correspondent for Africa, the Middle East and Central America. He has won many awards for his journalism including the Amnesty International print reporter of the year award for his coverage of the Rwandan genocide.

Quentin Sommerville - BBC News

Quentin Sommerville is the BBC’s Middle East correspondent. He has covered the Israel Gaza war and the war in Ukraine as well as conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Along with his cameraman Darren Conway, Quentin won the Foreign Press Association TV news story of the year in 2023.

Dr. Anya Neistat - Human rights lawyer

Dr. Anya Neistat is the president of InterJust, an international organisation which initiates universal jurisdiction against individuals and corporations implicated in atrocity crimes. She is the former legal director of The Docket, an initiative at the Clooney Foundation for Justice, and has conducted over 60 investigations in wars and conflicts  around the world.

Ole Solvang - UN Human Rights monitoring mission, Ukraine

Ole Solvang is the senior human rights officer for the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. He was previously the fact-finding team leader for the UN Commission of Inquiry in Ukraine. Prior to joining the Commission, Ole was the director of partnerships and policy at the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Gavin Rees - Global Center for Journalism and Trauma

Gavin Rees is the senior advisor for training and innovation at The Global Center for Journalism and Trauma. Prior to that he was with the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma which was dedicated to informed, innovative and ethical news reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy. 

Liz Corbin - EBU

Liz Corbin is the director of news at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). She oversees the Eurovision News Exchange, the Eurovision News Events broadcast services team, radio news, and digital transformation projects. This includes the creation of a unique Ukraine War Archive built on the contributions of EBU Members to the highest international standards. This course is part of that project.

Catherine Mackie –
Thomson Foundation

Catherine Mackie is the training and communications editor for Thomson Foundation and the course instructor. She’s a former BBC senior journalist with almost 30 years experience in front of and behind the camera. She’s a recipient of a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship at the University of Michigan.