Robert Fisk, one of the world’s most celebrated foreign correspondents, was a keynote speaker at UAlberta’s International Week.
One of the world's most celebrated foreign correspondents slammed the press for its failings, weaknesses and clichés—especially in its coverage of the Middle East—during his presentation Jan. 31 during the University of Alberta's International Week. Robert Fisk, who has covered the Middle East for Britain's The Independent for more than 30 years, said journalists "throw these clichés at you so the tragedy of the Middle East doesn't look so bad." The result is that people in the West have a sanitized and distorted view of the region's complexity. In his keynote talk for International Week—an annual U of A showcase of global issues that this year explores the theme of "Conscious Culture: Finding Paths to a Better World"—Fisk touched on his decades covering a range of conflicts including Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine, the rise of al-Qaida, the Arab Awakening and the recent civil strife in Syria. He said his vast experience has taught him that the conventional formula for balance in journalism—giving each side in a conflict 50 per cent of the story—has proven woefully inadequate. "The Middle East is not a football match," he said. "It is a bloody tragedy of unending proportions, and I believe journalists have to adopt a different system of morality.
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