REPORTING OF INDO-PAK CONFLICTS IN ELITE PRESS: A PEACE JOURNALISM APPROACH

Abstract

In this study, the researchers have contently analyzed the prevalence of war and peace journalism in the elite press of India, Pakistan and UK on the reporting on three war and three peace events in the past twenty years between India and Pakistan. The data was obtained through lexis-nexus database. The total number of stories in the final sample was 3889. The researchers found that selected press mainly reported the six events through war journalism approach. Interestingly, the three warring events got more war journalism stories as compared to the peace events. Unlike the existing literature, the researchers found the peace events were also reported in war journalism approach. The economic CBMs on the other hand got equal distribution of war and peace journalism. The researcher found that those peace events that occur in highly politicized and elitist environments are also reported in war journalism approach. The study concludes that the nature of war and peace journalism approach is linked with the nature of an event. If an event involves a direct confrontation between rival groups, the national media is bound to produce more war journalism. If the level of intensity of a conflict decreases, opportunity for peace journalism increases.