MEDIA RACISM HIGHLIGHTED IN MEETING (Cyprus)
24/3/2006- Journalists in Cyprus need to be more careful in the way they report news, as they often unconsciously play into racist public stereotypes about foreign workers and other minority groups on the island. This was but one of many issues raised during an informal meeting between the immigrant support group KISA, the Journalists’ Union and the media. Journalists’ Union President Andreas Kannaouros said that while the media promoted more discriminatory attitudes in the past than at present, journalists still “continue to demonstrate negative tendencies” in the way they report race-related issues. “For example, we might write that a Filipino or a Georgian was arrested for committing some crime, but we don’t write that a Greek Cypriot was arrested when the same crime is committed,” Kannaouros said. A heated discussion developed over whether or not journalists should note nationality when reporting arrests. Some claimed that it was rarely necessary to include the country of origin, adding that whenever it was necessary, the person’s country of origin could come later in an article rather than in the lead sentence. One journalist claimed it was not enough to merely report the arrested person’s name or age. “It’s information and we have to include it,” he said. But Head of KISA (Action for Equality, Support and Antiracism) Doros Polycarpou questioned why that piece of information had to be included when so much other information is often left out. “For example, most reporters simply report what they read from the police bulletins,” Polycarpou said. “But I’ve spoken to many of the people who were arrested and often their story is far different than what the police report. Why not talk to these people if you want information?” Polycarpou agreed that in itself there was nothing wrong with reporting a person’s nationality, but added that it was important to recognise the effect that one’s reportage will have on the public. “In Cyprus reporting the nationality of a person who was arrested will have a negative effect because there is widespread fear and racism towards foreigners,” Polycarpou said. “So you must always bear in mind how your journalism will affect the public.”

Another debate was over why journalists did not report extensively on the plight of foreigners in Cyprus. Some claimed that it was because “the public cares about Greek Cypriot suffering but not the foreigner.” Others argued there was far more saleable news in the plight of foreigners than in the usual repetition of stagnant news regarding the Cyprus issue “where you know exactly what a person is going to say before he even opens his mouth.” It was widely agreed during the discussion that some of the worst stereotyping in the media came via television news. “There was once a man who had been found to be deceiving people with some sort of alleged voodoo magic,” Kannaouros said. “When they reported it on the television, they used images of African culture and used tribal African rhythms.” “In other words, they identified African culture with deception. That was a blatant case of racism.”
Polycarpou said that in the field of law there is a reigning attitude that good lawyers do not take on cases dealing with foreigners, with the result that “a lot of scoundrels” end up defending foreigners. “A lawyer friend of mine in Limassol told me that if he took on a certain case defending a foreigner, his life would be hellish in the courts for the next six months.” “So we ask, does this culture exist in the media?”
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