Peace Journalism Research Articles

Framing Analysis of a Conflict: How Newspapers in Five Asian Countries Covered the Iraq War

This five-country study examined the extent to which the news coverage of the Iraq war by newspapers from India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines and by one news agency from Pakistan is framed according to the principles of war/peace journalism outlined by Johan Galtung. The findings, based on a content analysis of 442 stories from eight newspapers, suggest a slight peace journalism framing. Two important factors shaping the news framing of the conflict and support for the war and for the protagonists in the war (Americans/British vs. Iraqis) are religion and sourcing. Newspapers from the non-Muslim countries, except the Philippines, have a stronger war journalism framing, and are more supportive of the war and of the Americans/British than the newspapers from the Muslim countries, which are more supportive of the Iraqis. Stories produced by foreign wire services have a stronger war journalism framing, and show more support for the war and for the Americans/British than stories written by the newspapers’ own correspondents.

War or Peace Journalism? Asian Newspaper Coverage of Conflicts

This study examines the extent to which four Asian regional conflicts involving India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines are framed as war journalism or peace journalism based on Johan Galtung's classification. A content analysis of 1,338 stories from 10 newspapers suggests that, overall, the news coverage of these conflicts is dominated by a war journalism frame. The Indian and Pakistani coverage of the Kashmir issue shows the strongest war journalism framing whereas the coverage of the Tamil Tiger movement and the Mindanao conflict by the Sri Lankan and the Philippine newspapers reveals a more promising peace journalism framing. The three most salient indicators of peace journalism are the avoidance of demonizing language, a nonpartisan approach, and a multiparty orientation. The war journalism frame is supported by a focus on the here and now, an elite orientation, and a dichotomy of good and bad.

War or Peace Journalism? Asian Newspaper Coverage of Conflicts

War or Peace Journalism? Asian Newspaper Coverage of Conflicts

Journalists as peacekeeping force? Peace journalism and mass communication theory

Peace journalism is defined as a special mode of socially responsible journalism which contributes to the peaceful settlement of conflicts. Although this concept has been widely discussed, there has been no assessment of its underlying philosophy from the perspective of mass communication theory. This paper argues that peace journalism draws epistemologically from a naive realism and is, according to mass communication theory, largely based on the assumption of powerful, causal and linear media effects. By contrast, the author theorizes journalism as a highly autonomous though not autarkic system whose function is to provide social co-orientation. If that is true, it cannot be the task of journalism to engage actively in the peaceful settlement of conflicts since this is the task of politics or the military. There is, however, no doubt that journalism can contribute to the peaceful settlement of conflicts, but its potential influence is limited. After discussing peace journalism for three decades many questions remain unanswered. This contribution will, therefore, identify some important issues for further research.

Peace Journalism

This paper introduces the concept of peace journalism by drawing the analogy that current war reporting is akin to reporting of the ravages of diseases to the exclusion of medical practices to combat them. It proposes an approach to journalism that focuses on conflict transformation, and suggests a number of ways that peace journalism might be adopted.

Media and Conflict in Sri Lanka

This paper looks at Sri Lanka’s media situation against the backdrop of the ceasefire following decades of violence. It explores the detrimental effects of the partisan media, and advocates conflict-sensitive journalism to mitigate against them.

Peace Journalism

The terrorist attack on the United States on September 11,2001, demonstrated that we live in an interdependent, vulnerable, and fragile global village. This village, however, does not enjoy the intimacy of face-to-face communication among the villagers. We live in a largely mediated world ruled by government media monopolies or commercial media oligopolies that construct images of “the other.” Promotion of particular commodities and identities are the main preoccupations of the two commercial and government systems. The two systems thus tend to exacerbate international tensions by dichotomizing, dramatizing, and demonizing “them” against “us.” Is there an alternative media system to promote peace journalism for international and intercultural understanding? This article argues that ethically responsible journalism is a sine qua non of peace journalism. The locus of most media ethics has hitherto been the individual journalist. But the individual journalist operates in the context of institutional, national, and international regimes. In a globalized world, media ethics must be negotiated not only professionally but also institutionally, nationally, and internationally. Such ethics must be based on international agreements that have already established the right to communicate as a human right. However, ethics without commensurate institutional frameworks and sanctions often translate into pious wishes. To obtain a pluralism of content to reflect the diversity and complexity of the world, this article calls for a pluralism of media structures at the local, national, and global levels. The article concludes with pro posals to promote peace journalism through greater freedom, balance, and diversity in media representations.

Why Peace Journalism Isn't News

This paper examines the discursive difficulties facing the advocates of a peace journalism that is proactive and oriented towards "win-win" solutions. The article focuses on a case study involving a nationalist and a unionist newspaper in Northern Ireland which joined together in a "peace journalism" initiative. This concerned a controversial Orange Order parade that takes place each year in the town of Portadown. The paper draws on this example to discuss some of the discursive shortcomings of a conciliation frame and the discursive attractions of a conflict frame. The case study illustrates how rhetorical and narrative structures shape and constrain the way in which newspapers report conflict.

The Task of Peace Journalism

Envisageant toute forme de conflit comme une incapacite a entendre la partie adverse, l'A. met l'accent sur la capacite a l'empathie, en estimant que cette qualite fait defaut a de nombreux journalistes. Elle mentionne ses cours de journalisme pacifiste comme un moyen de faire entendre la voix des plus vulnerables, qui sont toujours les victimes, dans les deux camps d'un conflit. Mia Doornaert apporte une reponse soulignant l'irremplacable valeur du temoignage journalistique et certaines limites du journalisme engage

Targeting the Audience: Video Games as War Propaganda in Entertainment and News

This article will discuss video war games as propaganda, and the possible impact of video games on war reporting in news broadcasting. It will analyse computer games based on real wars in the light of Steven Poole's approach to computer games as modern mass media, and of Johan Galtung's theory of peace journalism. I will also draw upon earlier works on the military-industrial complex, to understand how the new generation computer games emerged from research within the armed forces in order to develop training videos for military personnel (Held, 2000; Lenoir, 2000). DOI: 10.3126/bodhi.v2i1.2862 Bodhi Vol.2(1) 2008 p.14-41