Throughout the negotiation process, the mediator needs to educate the media on their influence and responsibility in that process. For Tsipa-Sipoyo, the mediator needs to build a relationship with journalists and editors. She argues that they need to be educated on how to deal with the conflict and how to present it constructively through the media. Particularly, they need to sensitise the media about the repercussions of their sensationalising negative aspects of the conflict. They also need to understand the fundamental pillars of mediation, and how their influence can promote or upset negotiations.
Mediators often confront moral dilemmas in their work.
Visser acknowledges that in the South African context, it is typical to have convicted or alleged criminal offenders either at the talks or involved in the dispute. If mediators feel morally affronted, Visser says, they can always opt out of the process. Visser himself is currently involved in a conflict between two communities that have gone through episodic violence since 1995. One of the main leaders of one party is a man who was on trial for 18 murders. However, due to lack of evidence, he was never convicted.