The Media And Peace

Much is known about the media's role in conflict, but far less is known about the media's role in peace. Graham Spencer's study addresses this deficiency by providing a comparative analysis of reporting conflicts from around the world and examining media receptiveness to the development of peace. This book establishes an argument for the need to rethink journalistic responsibility in relation to peace and interrogates the consequences of news coverage that emphasizes conflict over peace.

This book explores the role and place of popular, traditional and digital media platforms in the mediatization, representation and performance of various conflicts and peacebuilding interventions in the African context. The role of the media in conflict is often depicted as either ‘good’ (as symbolized by peace journalism) or ‘bad’ (as exemplified by war journalism), but this book moves beyond this binary to highlight the ‘in-between’ role that the media often plays in times of conflict. The volume does not only focus on the relationship between mass media, conflict and peacebuilding processes but it broadens its scope by critically analysing the dynamic and emergent roles of popular and digital media platforms in a continent where the semi-literate and oral communities still rely heavily on popular communication platforms to get news and information. Whilst social media platforms have been hailed for their assumed democratic and digital dividends, this book does not only focus on these positive aspects but also shines a light on dark forms of participation which are fuelling racial, gender, ethnic, political and religious conflicts in highly polarized and stratified societies. Highlighting the many ways in which traditional, digital and popular media can be used to both escalate conflicts and promote peacebuilding, this volume will be a useful resource for students, researchers and civil society groups interested in peace and conflict studies, journalism and media studies in different contexts within Africa.

This concise edited collection explores the practice of peace journalism in East Africa, focusing specifically on the unique political and economic contexts of Uganda and Kenya. The book offers a refreshing path towards transformative journalism in East Africa through imbibing pan-African institutional methodological approaches and the African philosophies of Utu (humanity), Umoja (unity) and Harambee (collective responsibility) as news values. Contributions from key academics demonstrate how media practices that are supportive of peace can prevent the escalation of conflict and promote its nonviolent resolution. The chapters cumulatively represent a rich repertoire of experiences and cases that skillfully tell the story of the connections between media and peacebuilding in East Africa, while also avoiding romanticizing peace journalism as an end to itself or using it as an excuse for censorship. This cutting-edge research book is a valuable resource for academics in journalism, media studies, communication, peace and conflict studies, and sociology.

The news media have become the central arena for political conflicts today. It is, therefore, not surprising that the role of the news media in political conflicts has received a good deal of public attention in recent years. Media and Political Conflict provides readers with an understanding of the ways in which news media do and do not become active participants in these conflicts. The author's 'political contest' model provides an alternative approach to this important issue. The best way to understand the role of the news media in politics, he argues, is to view the competition over the news media as part of a larger and more significant contest for political control. The book is divided into two parts. While the first is devoted to developing the theoretical model, the second employs this approach to analyse the role of the news media in three conflicts: the Gulf war, the Palestinian intifada, and the attempt by the Israeli right wing to derail the Israeli-Palestinian peace accord.

Peace Journalism, War and Conflict Resolution draws together the work of over twenty leading international writers, journalists, theorists and campaigners in the field of peace journalism. Mainstream media tend to promote the interests of the military and governments in their coverage of warfare. This major new text aims to provide a definitive, up-to-date, critical, engaging and accessible overview exploring the role of the media in conflict resolution. Sections focus in detail on theory, international practice, and critiques of mainstream media performance from a peace perspective; countries discussed include the U.S., U.K., Germany, Cyprus, Sweden, Canada, India, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. Chapters examine a wide variety of issues including mainstream newspapers, indigenous media, blogs and radical alternative websites. The book includes a foreword by award-winning investigative journalist John Pilger and a critical afterword by cultural commentator Jeffery Klaehn.

Amid the ongoing and volatile debate over the nature and potential of peace journalism, this volume presents visionary insights from some of the most prominent scholars in the fi eld. Th e signifi cant empirical studies included here will provide foundation data for communication studies. Th e contributors broaden the purview and terrain of peace journalism to include new media, and off ers essays on the eff ects and the content of global communications. In sum, the thirteenth volume of Peace and Policy deepens our empirical knowledge of the nature and eff ects of confl ict, while underscoring the increase in numbers of participants and breadth of communications.

Peace Journalism explains how most coverage of conflict unwittingly fuels further violence, and proposes workable options to give peace a chance.

This major new text explores and interrogates peace journalism as a significant challenge to this hegemonic discourse, which has been advocated and elaborated over the recent years in journalism, media development and academic spheres. J Lynch, University of Sydney.