The abstracts
The following are four abstracts selected for the portfolio project have to do with the central topic that is the “Peace Journalism”:
1. War or Peace Journalism? Asian Newspaper Coverage of Conflicts
Authors: Seow Ting Lee, Crispin C. Maslog
Abstract:
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.
2. Journalists as peacekeeping force? Peace journalism and mass communication theory
Author: Thomas Hanitzsch
Abstract:
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. ed by a focus research.
3. Is Peace Journalism Possible? Three Frameworks for Assessing Structure and Agency in News Media
Author: Robert A. Hackett
Abstract:
As a contribution to an assessment of the prospects for realizing the principles of peace journalism in practice, this article considers three conceptual frameworks for analyzing the relationship between journalism and other relations and institutions of power. Herman and Chomsky’s propaganda model usefully highlights some ways that state and capital influence journalism, but it risks being reductionist and functionalist. Shoemaker and Reese’s “hierarchy of influences” model helps us to assess pressures for and against peace journalism at each of five levels of factors. But both models risk obscuring the specificity and coherence of journalism as a cultural practice and form of knowledge-production. Pierre Bourdieu’s notion of journalism as a field, a relatively autonomous institutional sphere, has the advantage of allowing conceptual space for both the structural influences of and on news media, as well as the potential agency and creativity of journalists. Taken together, the three models help to identify the tasks, challenges and potential strategies for the peace journalism movement.
4. Situating peace journalism in journalism studies: A critical appraisal
Author: Thomas Hanitzsch
Abstract:
Most wars were not brought to our attention if there were no journalists to report on them and no news media to send reporters to conflict spots. At the same time, the media often give priority to conflict and war at the expense of playing a positive role in attempts to bring about peace. The concept of peace journalism is, therefore, seen as an alternative model to traditional ways of war reporting. This article argues, however, that the idea of peace journalism comes as old wine in new bottles. Although carrying a noble goal, it ignores the manifold nuances in the media and tends to highlight the exceptional, spectacular and negative of war coverage. The idea of peace journalism tends to overestimate the influence journalists and the media have on political decisions; and it often understands audiences in terms of a passive mass that needs to be enlightened by virtue of peace reporting. In addition to this, peace journalism is, to a considerable extent, based on an overly individualistic perspective and ignores the many structural constraints that shape and limit the work of journalists: few personnel, time and material resources; editorial procedures and hierarchies; textual constraints; availability of sources; access to the scene and information in general — just to name a few. All this suggests that the conduct of peace journalism is not a matter of individual leeway, and media structures and professional routines cannot be modified from the position of the individual journalist. Modern corporate journalism involves processes of organized news production, thus giving priority to organizational and institutional factors as well as processes of professional socialization. To have any impact on the way the news is made, and its critical scrutiny, the advocates of peace journalism must address the structural constraints of news production. The discussion of peace journalism, and particularly of its practical implications, must be tied to the realm of journalism studies where it resonates with ongoing efforts to promote excellence in journalism.
