Media outlets should work hard to provide balanced reporting of contentious issues, such as Muslim-Christian violence in Nigeria, making a concerted effort to screen out bias and to understand the views and backgrounds of the religious communities and local reporters in the area.
Journalists from the West should understand that religion is a vital part of people’s lives in most of the world and a key to conflict resolution, economic growth, democracy promotion, and peace-building.
Western journalists should strive to educate themselves as much about religious factors as about political and economic ones. NGOs such as Lapido Media, which promotes religious literacy in journalism, can be helpful in this regard.