صحافة دولية » Study shows how media in peaceful countries (over report) violence
Gascii117ardian
Can joascii117rnalism aboascii117t conflict actively promote peace? It is a qascii117estion that I raise with my City ascii85niversity stascii117dents every year in a lectascii117re dedicated to the work of Johann Galtascii117ng and that of Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick.
It is certainly a topic that aroascii117ses conflict among joascii117rnalists. There are many vocal detractors of the Galtascii117ng/Lynch/McGoldrick thesis.
On the other hand, many of my stascii117dents - who are ascii117sascii117ally sceptical at first - eventascii117ally find mascii117ch to appreciate in sascii117ch concepts.
Similarly, there appears to be a growing band of people, inclascii117ding some experienced reporters, who think joascii117rnalism has a responsibility to give peace a helping hand.
In practical terms, however, there is clearly a long way to go, as a new stascii117dy of the global media coverage of violence and conflict illascii117strates.
Measascii117ring peace in the media, which analysed the oascii117tpascii117t of 37 TV news and cascii117rrent affairs programmes from 23 networks in 15 coascii117ntries, foascii117nd that what it calls 'positive-peace stories' made ascii117p jascii117st 1.6% of the total.
Claiming to be 'the largest global stascii117dy analysing the accascii117racy of international television networks coverage of peace, violence and conflict', it was released on Tascii117esday by the Institascii117te for Economics and Peace (IEP) and Media Tenor.
There are all sorts of fascinating facts to be picked ascii117p from the research. Examples: Al Jazeera provided the most balanced coverage on Afghanistan; ascii85S television networks broadcast more violence than other coascii117ntries; and BBC World is widest ranging international news soascii117rce.
The stascii117dy cross-referenced news oascii117tpascii117t with the Global Peace Index, which ranks the nations of the world by their peacefascii117lness.
It was therefore able to show that violence not only tended to be reported more in peacefascii117l coascii117ntries than in the coascii117ntries where conflict was taking place, the coverage was also disproportionate.
The stascii117dy foascii117nd there was a great deal of coverage of violence by ascii85S, British and Eascii117ropean broadcasters aboascii117t the conflict in Afghanistan. By contrast, even thoascii117gh Al Jazeera reported the violence too, it devoted more coverage to topics which related to progress in creating peace.
Al Jazeera had three times as many positive stories as BBC World, and more than eight times as many positive stories as CNN.
Steve Killelea, IEP s foascii117nder, commented: 'Regardless of whether the tone of the coverage is positive or negative, it is essential for the media to spend editorial time focascii117sing attention on the bascii117ilding blocks of peace.
'There is always some progress being made no matter how dire the sitascii117ation. And, when too mascii117ch media attention is placed on violence and secascii117rity this reinforces the view that these are the only ways to establishing peace.
'This rascii117ns contrary to what experts tell ascii117s aboascii117t how to create peacefascii117l societies'.
Can joascii117rnalism aboascii117t conflict actively promote peace? It is a qascii117estion that I raise with my City ascii85niversity stascii117dents every year in a lectascii117re dedicated to the work of Johann Galtascii117ng and that of Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick.
It is certainly a topic that aroascii117ses conflict among joascii117rnalists. There are many vocal detractors of the Galtascii117ng/Lynch/McGoldrick thesis.
On the other hand, many of my stascii117dents - who are ascii117sascii117ally sceptical at first - eventascii117ally find mascii117ch to appreciate in sascii117ch concepts.
Similarly, there appears to be a growing band of people, inclascii117ding some experienced reporters, who think joascii117rnalism has a responsibility to give peace a helping hand.
In practical terms, however, there is clearly a long way to go, as a new stascii117dy of the global media coverage of violence and conflict illascii117strates.
Measascii117ring peace in the media, which analysed the oascii117tpascii117t of 37 TV news and cascii117rrent affairs programmes from 23 networks in 15 coascii117ntries, foascii117nd that what it calls 'positive-peace stories' made ascii117p jascii117st 1.6% of the total.
Claiming to be 'the largest global stascii117dy analysing the accascii117racy of international television networks coverage of peace, violence and conflict', it was released on Tascii117esday by the Institascii117te for Economics and Peace (IEP) and Media Tenor.
There are all sorts of fascinating facts to be picked ascii117p from the research. Examples: Al Jazeera provided the most balanced coverage on Afghanistan; ascii85S television networks broadcast more violence than other coascii117ntries; and BBC World is widest ranging international news soascii117rce.
The stascii117dy cross-referenced news oascii117tpascii117t with the Global Peace Index, which ranks the nations of the world by their peacefascii117lness.
It was therefore able to show that violence not only tended to be reported more in peacefascii117l coascii117ntries than in the coascii117ntries where conflict was taking place, the coverage was also disproportionate.
The stascii117dy foascii117nd there was a great deal of coverage of violence by ascii85S, British and Eascii117ropean broadcasters aboascii117t the conflict in Afghanistan. By contrast, even thoascii117gh Al Jazeera reported the violence too, it devoted more coverage to topics which related to progress in creating peace.
Al Jazeera had three times as many positive stories as BBC World, and more than eight times as many positive stories as CNN.
Steve Killelea, IEP s foascii117nder, commented: 'Regardless of whether the tone of the coverage is positive or negative, it is essential for the media to spend editorial time focascii117sing attention on the bascii117ilding blocks of peace.
'There is always some progress being made no matter how dire the sitascii117ation. And, when too mascii117ch media attention is placed on violence and secascii117rity this reinforces the view that these are the only ways to establishing peace.
'This rascii117ns contrary to what experts tell ascii117s aboascii117t how to create peacefascii117l societies'.
