Peace Journalism Research Articles

Picturing Peace Journalists: An Examination of Social Profiles and Professional Model Diffusion

Changes in global journalism are reflected in myriad cross-national professionalization efforts, including the development and exportation of models for journalism practice. Literature on peace journalism, for instance, suggests that its adaptation across contexts is shaped by forces on several levels, including the influence of individual media practitioners. However, little research examines those likely to practice peace journalism nor the implications of these social profiles on the diffusion of the model more broadly. Drawing on field theory and 20 in-depth interviews with East African journalists conducted between 2020 and 2021, this study explores such questions by identifying shared dimensions of position and habitus across those who attend peace journalism trainings. Findings suggest that these individuals tend to be well educated, share common experiences with conflict, and hold similar interventionist role conceptions. Such findings illuminate the types of social transformations peace journalism may undergo as it is adapted across contexts, with implications for journalism theory and practice.

The Future in Journalism and Mass Communication India

Journalism is assembling, handling and spread of news and data identified with the news to a group of people. The word applies to both the technique for inquisitive for news and the abstract style which is utilized to spread it. Mass communication is the investigation of how people and elements transfer data through broad communications to vast fragments of the populace in the meantime. International Journal of Media Journalism and Mass Communications (IJMJMC) is an internationally peer reviewed academic journal that publishes recent advancements in the field of Media Journalism and Mass Communications. We publish articles on topics like Media studies, Media influence, Communication studies, Social science, Citizen Journalism, Creative nonfiction, Journalism ethics and standards, Journalism genres, Non-profit journalism, Corporate media, Journalistic professionalism, Media balance, Media bias Peace Journalism, Social dynamics, Political commentary etc.

Social Media and Conflict: A Visual Analysis of War and Peace Frames in Pakistan

Based on traditional peace communication scholarship, this study, embedded in journalism studies and visual politics literature, analyzes photographs of conflict using war and peace frames and explores the role social media can play in digital peacebuilding practices. A content analysis of 674 visuals of the second deadliest terrorist attack in Pakistan posted on Twitter revealed the dominance of war photographs. The majority of the visual tweets were related to the afflicted victims and the visiting elites. Our analysis revealed that the visual narrative predominantly adopted a war approach. Results also showed significant variations in the war and peace narrative over time. Overall, this study challenges the views of peace journalism scholars that social media would lead to a more peace-oriented approach. We argue that peace narratives may be difficult to occur on digital platforms in securitized national conflicts where elites and a dominant public opinion oppose alternative perspectives.

Tweeting “in the language they understand”: a peace journalism conception of political contexts and media narratives on Nigeria's Twitter ban

Tweeting “in the language they understand”: a peace journalism conception of political contexts and media narratives on Nigeria's Twitter ban

Personalized, war and peace journalism on Twitter: The Russo-Ukrainian War through the lens of political journalists

This study compares communication patterns of German political journalists with correspondents assigned in covering Russia/Ukraine regarding the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War discourse on Twitter (now X). During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Twitter has been an important platform for (European) politicians, journalists and other stakeholders to share their views on the war. In general, journalists differ largely in terms of Twitter activity and in posting individual contributions. This comparative research delves into the analysis of journalistic communication in 4,460 tweets, focusing on war and peace journalism framing. The study also investigates the personalization characteristics present in these tweets, considering individual-level influences through the hierarchy of influence model. Specifically, the work employs both peace journalism theoretical framework and the hierarchy of influence model to scrutinize the communication strategies of German political journalists and correspondents covering Russia/Ukraine on Twitter amidst the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War discourse. So far, both approaches have not been combined for the analysis of conflict and war communication in social media. We tracked journalistic tweets for five months from September 2022 to February 2023. Our content analysis shows that, within the journalistic contributions, a peace journalism framework dominates. More than three-quarters of the tweets contain an expression of opinion and around one-third evaluations. Personalization characteristics of politicians are present in almost one-quarter of the tweets.

Media and the Mediation of Conflict: The Role of Journalism in Indonesian Football Supporter Violence

Football supporter violence in Indonesia is a significant issue exacerbated by sensationalist media coverage that often emphasizes conflict and negative stereotypes. This study analyzes how media framing influences football supporter behavior and public perception, using Galtung's peace journalism theory as a framework. Employing a qualitative research design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observations, and content analysis of media reports. The findings reveal that sensationalist reporting and negative portrayals of supporters contribute to increased tensions and aggressive behaviors. Conversely, though rarely used, peace journalism techniques potentially de-escalate conflicts and promote positive interactions. The study highlights the critical role of cultural and socio-economic factors in shaping media narratives and supporter behavior, suggesting the need for context-sensitive peace journalism. These results advance the theoretical understanding of media framing and conflict resolution and emphasize the importance of ethical journalism. Practical recommendations include adopting balanced reporting practices, collaborative campaigns between media and sports organizations, and further research into the long-term effects of media framing. By promoting responsible journalism, stakeholders can help mitigate violence and foster Indonesia's more inclusive and peaceful football culture.

New models, same practices? Examining professional values and peace journalism training

Existing work on peace journalism would suggest that some journalism cultures may be more receptive to—or perhaps already practice elements of—peace journalism. However, little research has documented, nor explored, perceptions of peace journalism when its practices are perceived as customary to situated professional environments. To better understand this phenomenon, this study examines how journalists ascribe value to peace journalism training, particularly when they were reportedly familiar with, or already practicing, peace journalism. Drawing on in-depth interviews with journalists from Uganda, South Sudan, and Kenya, findings suggest that values associated with attending peace journalism trainings at times transcend the ostensible goals of workshop organizers. These values include trainings as a means for building professional networks, improving general journalistic skills, and fulfilling social expectations. Understanding these professional values contextualizes the adaptation of peace journalism across contexts, with implications for journalism professionalization processes more broadly.

(De) Escalatory Framing Analysis of Photographs of Terrorist Organisation in the Press of Pakistan

This research focuses on analysing the representation of the Taliban conflict in four popular Pakistani dailies: Nawa-i-Waqat, Express, The News, and Dawn during three different regimes of Pakistan’s government from 2004 to 2015. The research is concerned with the analysis of escalatory and de-escalatory images to examine the patterns of media reports on the events at different phases of the conflict. The observation confirms that with references to intensity of the war, there is more conflicts reflected in photographs identified. High tension symbolic pictures of the conflict accompanied with violent images were most commonly used, stressing the role of media in presenting the conflict merely as the act of violence. Positive peace messaging or what I refer to here as de-escalatory photos, largely encompassing effort to denote phases of war, were noted frequently during the containment and agreement phases though tremendously reduced during phases of escalation. This implies a change of editorial policies and possibly a change of tack in how media handles the reporting of conflict. There are also observations regarding newspaper’s preference – Express prefers more of strong escalatory photos while Dawn is moderate. Indeed, it was possible to observe only miniscule shifts in the application of the general principles of peace journalism that are supposed to offer a more balanced perspective of the conflict. It therefore supports the notion the media plays an important role in informing the public on conflict. The type of images the media specialising in the conflict with the Taliban used in its outputs shifted with time and primarily focused on escalation because of the changes in the editors’ concerns and audience interests. Keywords: Photographs, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, (De) Escalation, Peace Journalism, Conflict

Investigating Conflict-Sensitive Journalism: Aljazeera News Report on the 2017 Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar

The Rohingya Crisis in 2017 has called for widespread condemnation of Myanmar. However, reports on this event have only escalated tensions. This paper explores the practice of peace/war journalism by an international media, Aljazeera, in reporting such a crisis. To do so, this research utilizes Lynch’s peace journalism framework as a standard of conflict-sensitive media. This paper argues that evidence of peace journalism does exist, but other factors imply that war journalism is still strong. Such practice of war journalism has (1) disregarded the crisis' global ramifications; (2) put a narrow context that ignores Myanmar's democratic struggle; (3) portrays conflicting parties' religious relationships as victim-perpetrators; (4) dehumanized Buddhists, monks, and the Myanmar people in general; (5) lacked accounts from grassroots peacemakers; and (6) created an excessive emphasis on elite-level negotiation, particularly in light of pressure from world leaders.

Visualising War / Peace Photographs: A Comparative Analysis of Selected Asian News Sites’ Coverage of the 2022 Russian-Ukrainian Conflict

Abstract This study analyses the visual coverage of the 2022 Russian-Ukrainian conflict on Asian news sites, utilising the frameworks of war and peace journalism. Conducting a content analysis of 397 images from seven leading Asian news sites, we contribute to the literature on visual coverage, particularly from online platforms. Our analysis identifies the predominant visual narratives employed by these news sites and offers insights into variations in coverage intensity, regional and ethnic focuses, portrayal of age groups, and depiction of harm. The study extends the understanding of framing theory by analysing visual frames, providing valuable implications for future visual studies and contributing to a deeper understanding of conflict portrayal in online news media.

Nigerian Democratic Behaviour and Protest Reportage in 2015 General Elections

Over the ages, the media have been charged with the statutory role of enhancing individual and societal well-being through unfettered sharing of information, values and opinions to engender informed decisions especially on political matters. Through communication, the mass media strengthens the capacity of individuals and groups in the society towards actively contributing to democratic growth, electoral behaviour and development. The question: how far have the media succeeded in discharging this social responsibility in Nigeria? It remains a burning national issue. This study presents the media role in expanding the democratic horizon in the country by focusing on the 2015 general elections and the reportage of protests that followed. The article went further to identify the diverse challenges facing the media, which include misinformation, stereotype and insecurity of journalists and offers plausible recommendations for enhancing the place of the media in democratic culture and governance in Nigeria. The study used mixed method to gather materials from the field on electoral protests. Histogram were used to present a clear analysis of findings, which were supported by secondary research. It found that there were discrepancies in the election reportage and also that the protests, which manifested during the election affected nation building activities and electoral behaviour in many parts of Nigeria. It consequently recommends peace journalism and improved media training for Nigerian journalists.

Journalism in times of war: challenges and opportunities in the digital age

The current conditions of journalistic activity demonstrate the importance of the ability to work properly in times of conflict and instability. The peculiarities of such work determined the purpose of the article - to study the problems of conflict-sensitive journalism as one of the trends of our time. This goal was achieved through the use of scientific methods. First of all, we are talking about the method of content analysis of professional scientific literature, the use of methods of generalisation and systematisation. The results of the study show that for objective coverage of events, it is recommended to use the idea of a ‘just’ war, to carefully assess the opinions and views of different segments of the population regarding the war, not to be in the position of propagandists, to focus on the coverage of the process, to demonstrate the interests and concerns of the warring parties, avoiding the understanding of war as a concept of struggle for the same ideas. As shown in the article, it is important to avoid ‘hate speech’, which is the basis for the development of discriminatory policies. The conclusions note that journalistic work should not be understood as entertainment or selfish practice.

Conflicts and the dilemma of media intervention: An educational information management perspective

Conflicts are inevitable in any human community, despite the fact that they are never desirable. One of the characteristics of the contemporary world is conflict. Different parties participate in disputes (individuals, organizations, and states). When disputes arise, interventionist methods are put into action. Conflicts arise in a variety of ways, such as disagreement, rage, quarrelling, hatred, destruction, killing, or war, because human requirements are diverse. Conflict takes many different shapes, and so do interventions. Individuals, groups (both local and foreign), and governments can all intervene in a conflict. The media and its functions are up for debate among those who mediate disputes. Can the media be seen as intervening in a dispute, or are they merely performing their mandated duties? The diversity of opinions is what drives conversations in peace journalism. In addition, peace journalism promotes media engagement and intervention in conflict situations in order to lessen and end conflict. Media intervention, according to some critics, is not objective journalism because those in charge of educational information management and journalists are not expected to make decisions about the news; rather, they should just tell it as they see it. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the idea of conflict, the stages of conflict development, interventions in conflicts, and the contentious position of the media in conflicts from an educational information management perspective. Hence, this paper will contribute to the role of educational information management via social media and other new media platforms, which have occasionally been used to hold governments responsible, unite people in protest of violence, plan relief operations, empower people, dissipate tensions via knowledge sharing, and create understanding across boundaries.

What actually is peace journalism? Uncovering its (lack of) definition and related practices

While peace journalism is an often-evoked concept in academic and journalism industry literature, its exact definition remains rather elusive. This study utilizes a theoretical framework of metajournalistic discourse to understand how practitioners define peace journalism and identify its related practices. Results show that peace journalism is constructed with advocacy in mind. We argue the concepts of peace journalism and traditional journalism are not adversaries, but rather complementary.

Verging war between two atomic nations: Delineating coverage of India–Pakistan water dispute in global press

Arguably, journalistic practices should outline conflict reporting with a balanced approach to elicit non-violent responses. To date, no study has unfolded the coverage of the Indo-Pak potential war fueling “water dispute” by underpinning the theoretical notion of war and peace journalistic practices. Thus, drawing an analogy to war and peace journalism model, this article examines the media framing of the India–Pakistan water dispute in the USA, Chinese, Indian, and Pakistani newspapers. The study used a content analysis method to examine the use of framing techniques in newspapers. Findings supported that the global press' framing of the water dispute between India and Pakistan was dominated by war frames compared to peace frames. The Indian press used more war frames among the four countries while covering water disputes between rival nuclear neighbors. Moreover, it was found that the USA and Chinese press gave negligible coverage. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Peace journalism and the value in process: Working with children in Northern Ireland

Peace journalism and the value in process: Working with children in Northern Ireland

Constructing Africa in Chinese international news reporting: peace or conflict journalism?

ABSTRACT China’s extensive media presence in Africa aims to distinguish itself through the use of constructive journalism in contrast with the perceived dominance of conflict journalism by Western media outlets. However, many scholars have raised questions of consistency surrounding Chinese media’s use of constructive journalism in representing Africa (e.g. Marsh, 2016). With perspectives from Galtung’s (1987, p. 1998) conflict and peace journalism, this research applies Critical Discourse Analysis to examine Chinese media’s representation of Africa to an international audience. Using linguistic data from China Radio International’s Today, it challenges the distinctions among peace journalism, solutions journalism and constructive journalism. The findings show that China’s claim of constructive journalism strongly favors the coverage of China, yet is largely absent in the coverage of the African continent. It suggests that while Chinese state-sponsored media utilizes the so-called constructive journalism when presenting information about a specific region to that region, these representations are not consistent across their international coverage. Hence, Africa remains a victim of conflict journalism.

Development Journalism in Nigeria: Unveiling Potentials and Confronting Challenges

This article delineates the opinion gap between what we see as pan-globe journalism worldwide with regards to the birth of New International Information Order. It discusses development journalism as a misunderstood concept and how Nigerians perceive this form of journalism. Create an interactive experiential exhibit that simulates various aspects of local history, such as citizen involvement, cultural traditions, ethnic diversity, or natural features. Emphasizing media’s significant position in development of the society, the work brings to focus the necessity of a change from politics and business orientation to an inclusive reporting which addresses the gaps and the livelihood issues affecting the differing strata of the society. Cultural development of the media press is the basis of the article. Hence, first of all, national culture is preferably reflected in content and language. Also, as one of the main themes, it gives principles of peace journalism which is intended to be a responsible reporting tool that can bridge up Nigerians and bring unity and development within the country. On the other hand, the author discusses obstacles obstructing the adequate deployment of the African development journalism in Nigeria including digital impact, ownership of the media houses and profit-oriented news outlets. Keywords: Press, Development, Media, Order, Journalism and Nigerian Press.

Peace Journalism Training for Journalists as a Contribution to PVE in the New Afghanistan

This article presents and discusses results from an exercise in comparative content analysis of news articles about issues of conflict produced by Afghan journalists before and after participating in an internationally sponsored training and mentorship programme in Peace Journalism. The programme was part of a Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) project, intended to create community resources for resilience, in the information sphere, towards conflict issues contributing to recruitment by non-state armed groups such as Islamic State–Khorasan Province (IS–KP). Peace Journalism is familiar as the basis for media development aid in contexts of conflict; however, its use in an intervention aimed specifically at PVE is relatively new. The results showed that the programme was effective, it is argued, in terms of benefits transferred to and applied by participating journalists. A sample of articles after the training showed a markedly higher Peace Journalism quotient than a baseline sample of articles by the same journalists before it. This suggested that the training and mentorship had successfully stimulated and enabled journalistic agency, taking account of constraints imposed by media structures and wider political and social contexts. The latter have become steadily more onerous under the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) government, in power since August 2021, according to international monitoring organisations. Implications are considered, in light of the findings, for future media development aid to Afghanistan.

SENSITIVE JOURNALISM AS A CONFLICT SETTLEMENT TECHNOLOGY

The article is devoted to the possibilities of sensitive journalism in preventing or ending conflicts. Existing proposals based on international experience regarding the use of sensitive journalism as a way to prevent and end conflicts are considered: the need to investigate structural and cultural violence against certain groups; identify all groups that are participants in the conflict; outline the real interests of these groups; to become a dialogue platform for conflicting parties. Conflict is defined by specialists in sensitive journalism as a situation when two or more people, groups of people, have or think they have incompatible goals and undermine the possibility of achieving each other’s goals. When creating journalistic material taking into account the methods of sensitivity, it is first necessary to determine the stage of the conflict (superficial, latent, open), as it affects the further focus of the illumination. Experts advise giving voice by telling personal stories to all potentially conflicted groups. If the conflict has entered the latent stage, it is necessary to reveal the needs of the conflicting groups. Open conflict is an open, often violent, deeply expressed, deep-seated frustration with an unmet need or goal. As the conflict escalates, the collective identity of each side is formed as the opposite of the enemy’s personality. From the point of view of sensitive journalism, it is necessary to study in detail all the nuances of such mutual identification. Further, when journalists “allow their media to become a place for dialogue,” they thereby facilitate mutual understanding between the parties. Further, the article outlines the possibilities of using the technology of sensitive journalism in the modern Ukrainian context. This has gained relevance in connection with Guided by the OSCE proposals, the Ukrainian media space tried to respond to requests of conflict sensitivity. In particular, central and regional online media and television content were monitored. Research results: central and regional online media in 2015 provided 5% of information about social groups related to the conflict. Most of the materials were devoted to fighters; less than 1% to volunteers and immigrants; materials dedicated to the residents of the occupied territories are completely absent. The results of the television content research show similar trends. The analysis of the target groups that were studied in the course of monitoring makes it possible to understand that these are groups that appeared already during the open armed conflict. Thus, unfortunately, we cannot talk about the awareness of the need to investigate and understand the situation of cultural and structural violence that preceded the conflict, to take into account the interests of all interested groups and to have a deep understanding of the context. Separately, such a basic thing for conflict-sensitive journalism as a sensitive interview should be mentioned. Ukrainian journalists and specialists in the field of communication began to pay attention to him mainly during the large-scale invasion of 2022. Although the basic principles of a sensitive interview are somewhat clear, it is a pity that there is no clear line between the interview as a genre and as a method of gathering information. Clearly establishing this boundary, understanding the sensitive interview exclusively as a method of gathering information, in our opinion, would help to better understand the possibilities of this type of interview.