Kwame Boafo (left), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's director and representative for the Caribbean, discusses plans for a conference on media and violence in Jamaica with Drs. Marjan de Bruin, head of the Caribean Institute of Media and Communication, just before the start of Tuesday's conference at the Multifunctional Room at the University of the West Indies, Mona. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

THE CARIBBEAN Institute of Media and Communications (CARIMAC) on Tuesday launched two videos on crime and violenceand the news reporting process in the Caribbean.

The videos - 'Reporting News' and 'Seeing Red' - were produced by CARIMAC and funded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). 'Reporting News' allows media managers to articulate the problems they face in presenting and covering the crime beat.

It also addresses issues such as best practices for socially-responsible reporting, the impact that news coverage of crime and violence has on children, and the standards and policies of the newsroom in reporting on crime.

Franklyn St. Juste, lecturer at CARIMAC, who spearheaded the production of 'Reporting News', said the video was made in an effort to develop some kind of awareness of the conditions that exist in reporting crime and violence, and that it was hoped that the production would incite intense discussions which would lead to finding some direction on the way forward.

'Seeing Red: The Science of Violence' is an exploratory video on the connection between violence and the development of the brain. It also presents implications for addressing the challenge of violence in the Caribbean.

A solution

Professor Ronald Young, dean of the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences and producer of the video, said the production presents a solution to the country's crime problem and promotes the use of science through proper nutrition for children at an early age.

Dr. Kwame Boafo, director of UNESCO, in officially launching the programme said that a UNESCO study on media violence has indicated that there was a strong correlation between violence in the media and youth perception of reality.

He said the study also showed that the media were transmitters of culture and also shaped the formation of cultural meanings and belief systems.

Dr. Marjan de Bruin, director of CARIMAC, said the videos would be disseminated to all media houses and will be used as teaching tools in workshops and at CARIMAC.