Mediatized war and the moralizing function of news about disruptive events

Abstract

Theory of mediatized war asserts that the study of contemporary wars must consider the role of the media in it. However, while the focus of the mediatization of wars is usually on the power dynamics between the military, the media, and the audiences, the institutional approach to mediatization invites us to consider the role of the media as educators and providers of moral orientation. Thus, the study of mediatized war needs to consider the moral work of news in articulating an ethical solicitation for spectators to reflect upon their responsibility to the suffering of distant others during wartime. Following Judith Butler’s call to reflect on the cultural frames through which ethical solicitation emerges, this article studies Al-Jazeera English’s coverage of the 2008 Gaza War and points to the discursive and performative means through which news constructs distant deaths as grievable and fosters cosmopolitan sentiment.