Showing papers in "Media, War & Conflict in 2017"
TL;DR: The authors investigated the use of social media for visual framing of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine and found that framing the conflict through social media facilitated the propagation of mutually exclusive views on the conflict and led to the formation of divergent expectations in Ukraine and Russia concerning the outcome of the war in Donbas.
Abstract: This article investigates the use of social media for visual framing of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Using a large set of visual data from a popular social networking site, Vkontakte, the authors employ content analysis to examine how the conflict was represented and interpreted in pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian online communities during the peak of violence in summer 2014. The findings point to the existence of profound differences in framing the conflict among pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian online communities. The former tended to interpret the conflict as a limited military action against local insurgents, whereas the latter presented it as an all-out war against the Russian population of Eastern Ukraine. The article suggests that framing the conflict through social media facilitated the propagation of mutually exclusive views on the conflict and led to the formation of divergent expectations in Ukraine and Russia concerning the outcome of the war in Donbas.
37 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors combined the key findings of a dozen empirical studies with an original qualitative investigation aimed at understanding the dynamics of conflict journalism in Pakistan, and found that conflict journalism is a very important area of research.
Abstract: This study combined the key findings of a dozen empirical studies with an original qualitative investigation aimed at understanding the dynamics of conflict journalism in Pakistan. The author devis...
21 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze how journalists perceive self-censorship as an influence on post-conflict news production, and demonstrate the relevance of self censorship as a force in post conflict news production with qualitative interviews conducted with journalists in Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia.
Abstract: Post-conflict societies are subject to other societal forces than non-conflict or conflict societies. As a result, news production might differ between these three societal forms. In conflict, news is influenced either by the affiliation with a conflict party or at gunpoint. In non-conflict, it is shaped by manifold influences that are mostly connected to journalistic routines. In addition, post-conflict news production can be characterized by a high relevance of the conflict context and an emerging importance of routines. This article analyzes how journalists perceive self-censorship as an influence on post-conflict news production. It conceptualizes self-censorship as an analytic category and introduces different forms of self-censorship. Finally, the authors demonstrate the relevance of self-censorship as a force in post-conflict news production with the help of qualitative interviews conducted with journalists in Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia.
19 citations
TL;DR: In Burundi, a small landlocked post-conflict country in Central Africa, the independent broadcasting sector was severely undermined in May 2015, following a coup attempt against the regime of Presi...
Abstract: In Burundi, a small landlocked post-conflict country in Central Africa, the independent broadcasting sector was severely undermined in May 2015, following a coup attempt against the regime of Presi...
18 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze how visual scopic regimes of military drones configure violence as a form of man hunting and explore the medial aspects of this violence by investigating the drone's scopic regime, i.e., its ocular operations of capture, its optical perspective on the target, visual sensing of the drone pilot, as well as the target's range of vision.
Abstract: This article analyzes how visual scopic regimes of military drones configure violence as a form of man hunting. For the French philosopher Gregoire Chamayou, man hunting embodies a type of cynegetic (hunting related) violence, which military drones can execute by power surveillance. Research often focuses on the political, legal, anthropological, and ethical aspects of this type of violence; the aspects of its visual framing are often underexposed. In order to change this shortcoming, this article draws attention to the medial aspects of this violence by investigating the drone’s scopic regime. The scopic regime refers to the drone’s visual configuration, i.e. its ocular operations of capture, its optical perspective on the target, the visual sensing of the drone pilot, as well as the target’s range of vision. Three scopic dimensions of military drones, namely hypervisibility, visual immersion, and invisibility are investigated. In doing so, this article explores how drones stage, interpret, convey, media...
16 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines mobile phone videos that have been disseminated via YouTube since the beginning of the Syrian civil war to illustrate how media aesthetics and public discourse interact in the context of the conflict.
Abstract: This article examines mobile phone videos that have been disseminated via YouTube since the beginning of the Syrian civil war to illustrate how media aesthetics and public discourse interact in the...
14 citations
TL;DR: In many ways, war reporting is easier than other types of journalism as action drives the story and naturally attracts an audience as mentioned in this paper, and war correspondents experience conflict as action, power and adrenaline.
Abstract: In the public’s imagination, war correspondents experience conflict as action, power and adrenaline. Conflict is a hectic series of military, physical and ideological clashes. War correspondents are pictured with mud spattered all over their faces during the day and sharing a drink with soldiers around the campfire at night. It has also been claimed that in many ways war reporting is easier than other types of journalism as action drives the story and naturally attracts an audience.1 The articles gathered in this special issue2 offer first-hand accounts to help re-think the crucial role of war correspondents as well as the changing nature of the job on the ground. The authors have decades of experience under their belts and have been invited to reflect upon the nature of their profession, the challenges and constraints they face and, of course, the intellectual and professional rewards they enjoyed throughout their careers. One article, by Marie-Soleil Frère, gathers interviews with 33 journalists from Burundi and offers new vital information about the challenges faced by journalists at times of political turmoil and ethnic conflict.
13 citations
TL;DR: The commemoration of wartime often has emerged alongside brutal practices waged on the enemy, and the photographed events at Abu Ghraib are no exception as mentioned in this paper, and the composition of these images bui...
Abstract: The commemoration of wartime often has emerged alongside brutal practices waged on the enemy, and the photographed events at Abu Ghraib are no exception. Indeed, the composition of these images bui...
13 citations
TL;DR: The media is still a major source of news about conflicts for the majority of people as mentioned in this paper, and they rely on the media to tell them what to do about conflicts, whether it be political, economic, or social.
Abstract: The media – whether mainstream press, broadcasting and online services or social media – is still a major source of news about conflicts for the majority of people. They rely on the media to tell t...
13 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a genosonic analysis of three high-profile ISIL videos and five popular US State Department CVE videos is presented to understand the allure of extremist videos, as well as the ineffectiveness of US video messages designed to counter violent extremism.
Abstract: Analyses of extremist video messages typically focus on their discursive content. Using the case of ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), this study instead draws upon the emerging subfield of genosonic analysis to understand the allure of extremist videos, as well as the ineffectiveness of US video messages designed to ‘counter violent extremism’ (CVE). Through a genosonic analysis of three high-profile ISIL videos and five popular US State Department CVE videos, the study advances two concepts – sonorous communality and sonic unmaking – to help explain ISIL’s appeal. The lack of equivalent dimensions in US CVE videos renders them sonically sterile in comparison to those of ISIL. The implications of this analysis for scholarship and practice conducted at the intersection of media, war and conflict are discussed.
11 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored whether national political agendas influenced the content of domestic and foreign television news media coverage of the 2011 Israel-Hamas Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal.
Abstract: This article explores whether national political agendas influenced the content of domestic and foreign television news media coverage of the 2011 Israel–Hamas Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal. ...
TL;DR: This article examined the influence of national identity on coverage of human rights and international law, and found that national identity informs and ultimately skews coverage of conflicts, and that the media largely protects the American identity by ignoring or marginalizing considerations of human-rights and international laws, despite these issues being central to the events.
Abstract: This article examines the influence of national identity on coverage of human rights and international law. Based on a content analysis of New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today’s coverage of torture at Abu Ghraib and the Obama administration’s expansion of drone warfare, it is argued that the news media largely protects the American identity by ignoring or marginalizing considerations of human rights and international law, despite these issues being central to the events. This research posits that the news media adheres to the Dan Rather Maxim named after long-time CBS news anchor, Dan Rather, who noted that in times of conflict the press tends to ‘follow the flag’. In other words, national identity informs and ultimately skews coverage of conflicts. This article adds to the existing scholarship on social and national identity biases in the news by giving primacy to international law and human rights frames during controversial periods. The content analysis finds that the actions of US political ...
TL;DR: Homeland is built on the conspiracy plots that provide entertaining suspense in the television series, which also reflects the fear culture that has developed in the wake of 9/11 as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Homeland is built on the conspiracy plots that provide entertaining suspense in the television series, which also reflects the fear culture that has developed in the wake of 9/11. CIA agent Carrie ...
TL;DR: The authors examined the media coverage surrounding the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) military policy to examine how tones in coverage change over time and along the contours of increases in official consensus.
Abstract: Media coverage surrounding the repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (DADT) military policy was analyzed to examine how tones in coverage change over time and along the contours of increases in official consensus. In advancing the concept of indexing beyond actual military conflict, or the threat of war and honing in on a domestic but still military issue, this study examines broadcast network news coverage for a period of one year before and after DADT was repealed. Findings observed here indicate that media coverage may be more independent of official consensus than shown in previous research, specifically in reporting more negatively after official consensus was achieved. These results further suggest that coverage was moderated by network and that conceptions of indexing may not hold in the contemporary media and political environment. Implications are discussed in relation to media coverage of contentious issues and performance in polarized politics.
TL;DR: The newspaper articles written by the Australian Harry Gullett and his English counterpart Philip Gibbs during the opening months of the First World War provide important insights into the nature of war reporting, propaganda, censorship, and the relationship between the press and the military as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The newspaper articles written by the Australian Harry Gullett and his English counterpart Philip Gibbs during the opening months of the First World War provide important insights into the nature of war reporting, propaganda, censorship, and the relationship between the press and the military. Despite differences in background and temperament, their reports, which were written prior to official accreditation, were remarkably similar in tone and content for Gullett and Gibbs shared the belief that war was a regenerative force that would purify and strengthen a degenerate pre-war Britain. Both writers adopted a rhetoric in their initial wartime correspondence that emphasized traditional martial and patriotic values that they believed were an antidote to the weakness and disunity of a pre-war Britain beset by industrial, social and political upheaval. Battles would therefore be best presented as extended heroic narratives in which there was order, honour and greatness. This approach exerted an influence as pervasive as censorship itself.
TL;DR: The authors examines the war prose of Svetlana Alexievich, an author from Belarus who writes predominantly in the oral history genre about significant political and social events in the former Soviet Union.
Abstract: This work examines the war prose of Svetlana Alexievich, an author from Belarus who writes predominantly in the oral history genre about significant political and social events in the Soviet Union ...
TL;DR: The Spanish civil war was a conflict that acted as a touchstone for the divisions within Irish society as discussed by the authors, and Ireland was a newly independent state that was 93 per cent Catholic.
Abstract: The Spanish civil war was a conflict that acted as a touchstone for the divisions within Irish society. As a newly-independent state that was 93 per cent Catholic, reporting a conflict that involve...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the dilemmas documentary filmmakers face when acting upon the cosmopolitan ethos in a context of ongoing civil warfare and peace facilitation from the international society, and focus upon how this can be a challenge for Western states involved in peace processes in the same conflicts, especially for those small states that have little hard power and have to rely on gaining the trust of the conflicting parties.
Abstract: This article discusses the dilemmas documentary filmmakers face when acting upon the cosmopolitan ethos in a context of ongoing civil warfare and peace facilitation from the international society. This ethos is well known and accepted among Western audiences. When applied outside the Western hemisphere, the perspective of human-interest stories tends to get lost among audiences attached to the conflict. Instead, these stories may easily become identified as new public diplomacy on behalf of the participants on the ‘perceptual battlefield’ of war. The authors focus upon how this can be a challenge for Western states involved in peace processes in the same conflicts, especially for those small states that have little hard power and have to rely on gaining the trust of the conflicting parties. The article uses a case study of the Norwegian documentary My Daughter the Terrorist about the civil war in Sri Lanka as an example. The film became the epicentre of a major controversy during a critical stage in the p...
TL;DR: The authors analyzes three commercials, part of the "Heroes in Colombia really do exist" media campaign, as the country's armed forces pursued the military option against left-wing guerrillas.
Abstract: This article analyzes three commercials, part of the ‘Heroes in Colombia really do exist’ media campaign commissioned in 2004 as the country’s armed forces pursued the military option against lefti...
TL;DR: This paper studied the role of newspapers in propagating the First World War propaganda and found that newspapers were eager participants as Britain sought to stiffen public hostility towards Germany and justify the suffering on the Western Front and at home.
Abstract: Edith Cavell’s death by a German firing squad in 1915 proved to be a significant moment for First World War propaganda. News of the British nurse’s death caused a torrent of outrage in Britain and around the world, inspired thousands of Allied troops to enlist and helped sway US opinion against Germany. Newspapers, as the principal source of communication between the government and the people, were essential in relaying this message and this article studies the roles played by the Daily Mail, the Manchester Guardian and the Daily Express. The results show the newspapers were eager participants as Britain sought to stiffen public hostility towards Germany and justify the suffering on the Western Front and at home. This article also examines the immediate post-war period as the newspapers changed from persuaders to reflectors of public opinion.
TL;DR: For almost 70 years, South Korea has upheld the principle of universal male conscription, and the military has been a potent force in post-war South Korean political, economic, and social developme...
Abstract: For almost 70 years, South Korea has upheld the principle of universal male conscription, and the military has been a potent force in post-war South Korean political, economic, and social developme...
TL;DR: In this paper, a journalist's personal experience of reporting on the UK military, analysing the relationship between senior military figures and the Ministry of Defence (MoD), is described.
Abstract: This article reflects a journalist’s personal experience of reporting on the UK military, analysing the relationship between senior military figures and the Ministry of Defence (their political mas...
TL;DR: The quality of reporting African conflicts by Western media has declined in recent years as budgets have been cut and the number of correspondents has been reduced as discussed by the authors, and falling coverage has meant that...
Abstract: The quality of reporting African conflicts by Western media has declined in recent years as budgets have been cut and the number of correspondents has been reduced. Falling coverage has meant that ...