"Disagreeing Well": Bloomsbury Theatre Hosts Discussions on Reporting Conflict

Image Courtesy: UCL Imagestore

On Tuesday, April 29, UCL’s Bloomsbury Theatre played host to the latest instalment of “Disagreeing Well”, a panel series presented by UCL Events which seeks to platform a “wide variety of conflicting opinions”.

In this edition, the focus was on reporting conflict, with experienced journalists Jeremy Bowen (BBC), Fiona O’Brien (Reporters Without Borders), and Rageh Omaar (ITV) comprising the panel chaired by Dr Julie Norman, an associate professor at UCL.

The discussion centred in large part on the unique challenges presented to reporters in a warzone. The problem of points of access to conflict hotspots consistently cropped up, as well as power imbalances in narratives between despots and those they reign over. Discussion on the psychological impact such a barrage of human suffering can have on the journalist was also pertinent.

Expanding on this topic of psychological damage, Bowen, who is also a UCL alum, spoke candidly of his mental health struggles as a result of what he had witnessed during his time as a reporter. In a particularly moving moment, he retold the story of a near-death experience in Lebanon, where his colleague was killed by Israeli soldiers while he was fortunately able to escape.

The conversation, which ran for ninety minutes, certainly touched on many captivating, and at times heart-breaking, stories. What it didn’t platform was, ironically, disagreement, with the only point of contention arising from an audience protest. Bowen, now the BBC’s International Editor, was targeted for the broadcaster’s characterisation of the Israel-Gaza conflict. As a result, the last part of the conversation, which included an appearance from the Provost, was drowned out by calls from one member of the audience to “free Palestine!”.