Media and conflict
There are many countries in the world where media organisations have to operate in a
conflict situation. It is essential that they can continue to do their job as the media can play an
important role in conflict resolution. People become easy to manipulate if they do not have
access to neutral and independent information. The media can provide people with information
that can keep them safe and help them make informed decisions
Concept
Conflict’, as it is used in everyday speech, is a vague term and associated with it are many
vague concepts. While in principle the issue of definition is a question of decision about how to
use words, in practice definitions are already located in a linguistic context and have prior
associations. Thus we need to be careful in our definitions, and take care to note where a
disagreement which appears to be merely a question of linguistic taste hides some more basic
division about how we should conceptualise the underlying characteristics of the discipline.
Conflict is an activity which takes place between conscious, though not necessarily
rational, beings. If two astronomical bodies collide, we do not say that they are in conflict. A
conflict is defined in terms of the wants, needs or obligations of the parties involved. These
wants may be relatively practical, such as in a conflict over fishing limits, where one would hope
negotiation would end in a settlement. It may concern fundamental beliefs and attitudes such as
over the status of Jerusalem, where attitudes are not readily altered.
The Role of Media in International Conflict
Security
There is an ongoing tension between journalists' desires to report on conflicts and military
actions, and military concerns about security. Generally journalists accept the need for some
secrecy regarding military maneuvers. However many journalists have observed that "secrecy
and controls on reporters are often imposed for reasons of political convenience, for example to
avoid blame for military or political errors that deserve exposure.
In order to maintain military security and prevent a massive influx of reporters into the war
zone, reporters were confined to pools during the Gulf War. Representative journalists were
included in the press pool, and their reports were made available to the rest of the media. Many
journalists were dissatisfied with this system, since it greatly restricted most reporters' access to
events, and since the military limited what even the pool reporters could cover. Retired General
Sidle, who continues to work as a consultant to the Defense Department, argues that in dealing
with the press, security and troop safety must be the military's first concern. Rather than pools,
Sidle favors field press censorship, which he argues provides the maximum freedom for the
press, while still maintaining troop safety. Sidle cautions however that if the media won't limit the
number of reporters it send into a battle zone, the military will have to intervene and impose
limits.
Escalation
The media can contribute to conflict escalation, either directly or indirectly. Experienced war
reporters observe that sometimes the very presence of cameras will prompt the sides to start
shooting. Terrorists often rely on the media. Terrorist attacks may be calculated to draw media
attention, and so draw attention to their cause. In the absence of media coverage, many types
of terrorism would be useless.
Video media in particular tend to focus on dramatic and violent events. It was observed that
"more than ever in terms of news, war is better than peace, violence is better than non-
violence.This tendency to focus on violence and conflict, and to further sensationalize violent
events can distort the public's perceptions of the situation.
Many seminar participants felt that the American press, in particular, failed to adequately
investigate the Gulf War, or to report on the causes of the war. Instead the media "became the
mouthpiece for the government, it gave up its privilege of free criticism, reinforced the us-
versus-them syndrome.Many participants expressed grave concern that the public seemed
quite willing to accept such a "tame" press. Milton Viorst of the New Yorker argued that, as a
result of this "Congress didn't obtain, and the American people didn't obtain the information
needed to challenge the president on the subject of a war which I believe could have been
avoided.
De-escalation
The media can also contribute to conflict de-escalation. Many people believe that the
media coverage of the conflict played a key role in turning U.S. public opinion against the war in
Vietnam. Lack of popular support eventually forced the U.S. to withdraw from that conflict. One
seminar participant suggested that the constant live coverage in the early stages of the
Yugoslavian conflict helped to contain that conflict by allowing the parties to publicly vent their
emotions and positions. Another participant observes that the Gulf War "is the first war in the
history of humanity where a representative of the other belligerent appeared almost nightly in
the homes of the world. Can you imagine interviews with Ho Chi Min in American living- rooms
at the height of the Vietnam war? The media can offer better communication with and better
information regarding the adversary. By allowing each side to see the other relatively directly, by
bringing the opponent into our living-rooms, the media can help to prevent the demonization of
the other side.
Hostages
Former hostage and journalist Roger Auque argued that the media should cover hostage-
takings. The safety of the hostages depends in part on their being remembered by their own
governments and by the broader community. Auque also observed that "Americans have a kind
of naive belief in not negotiating with terrorists, but they benefit as much as anyone else.The
media often serves as a needed channel of communication between the terrorists and the target
government. However, another journalist observed that media sensationalism can escalate a
hostage situation. When a U.S. television station described the Iranian hostage situation as
"America held hostage," their exaggeration simply puffed up the already inflated self-image of
the hostage-takers.
Press as go-between
The media can also serve as a channel of communication between leaders, and between
leaders and their constituencies. Ted Turner of CNN recalled that when Philippine President
Marcos wanted to appeal to key U.S. legislators he would ask CNN to broadcast his speech.
CNN would alert the appropriate legislators and then solicit their comments after the broadcast.
Turner said "when we were doing a follow-up story we would find them quoting each other
based on what they had seen on CNN.Many analysts argue that Saddam Hussein's Gulf Crisis
speeches and appearances were directed primarily toward developing a stronger Arab
constituency.
Selective Focus
Media response to conflict is shaped, and some say distorted, by a number of factors. Many
journalists observed that in the age of video, if there is no picture, there is no story. Situations
which cannot be captured on film, or to which photographer cannot get access, tend to be
under-reported. Visually dramatic, acute events (such as battles or bombings) receive more
coverage, while longer-term, wide-spread situations (such as famine or poverty) get less. A
number of participants observed that while the Gulf War got extensive coverage, the deaths of
over 140,000 Bangladeshis due to spring flooding went virtually unreported.
This emphasis on the visual also leads to "escalation by anchor man." In the age of satellite
video the relevant live backdrop comes to represent journalistic authenticity and credibility. "If I
am standing here live, and there is a minaret behind me, then I am a journalist and you should
believe me."This leads to competition among the various media outlets to get their "man on the
scene," even when the "scene" has no real relevance to the story. Referring to the blue domes
which were a favorite backdrop for televised Gulf War reports, one participant noted that
"everybody thought it was part of a mosque, but you know the blue domes are over the pool [of
the Dhahran Hotel]." Another factor which shaped coverage of stories is the cultivated
preference of both the media and the public for good-guy, bad-guy stories. The Iran-Iraq War
resulted in over a million deaths and was of major political importance but received relatively
little media coverage in the West. Both parties were out of favor with the American public, and
so there was no clear "good- guy" in that conflict. In contrast the Soviet-backed Afghani civil war
received much more coverage at least until the Soviets withdrew from the conflict.
Search for truth.
Finally, the traditional role of the media as reporters of the truth can play an important role in
international conflicts. As noted above, a key function of the media is to give the public the
information necessary to make good decisions. The media can seek to confirm official accounts,
reveal official deceit, and correct errors of omission. When officials claim that there was an oil
spill eighteen times as large as the Exxon Valdez spill spreading off the coast of Kuwait, one
reporter hired a helicopter to look for the spill. She found no evidence of a spill of that
magnitude, and revealed that the official claims were greatly exaggerated.
Veteran journalist Ann Medina stressed the importance of being a first-hand witness. Official
sources, even when they agree, may simply be wrong. She recounted a time where Canadian
and British embassy officials and the Ugandan government all assured the press that the
government still held a key town against rebel forces. However, when she was finally able to get
there in person she found rebel forces in complete control
Unit 2
Types of Media
Modern media comes in many different formats, including print media (books, magazines,
newspapers), television, movies, video games, music, cell phones, various kinds of software,
and the Internet. Each type of media involves both content, and also a device or object through
which that content is delivered.
Print Media
The term 'print media' is used to describe the traditional or "old-fashioned" print-based
media that today's parents grew up with, including newspapers, magazines, books, and comics
or graphic novels. Historically, only wealthy publishers had access to sophisticated type-setting
technologies necessary to create printed material, but this has changed in recent years with the
widespread accessibility of desktop publishing software and print-on-demand publication
services such as Lulu.com (LINK). More recently, electronic book readers such as the Amazon
Kindle which store hundreds of books on a single device and which allow readers to directly
download books and newspapers have become popular.
Television
Television has been entertaining American families for over fifty years. In the beginning,
there were few programs to pick from, but today, there are literally hundreds of general and
specialty channels to choose from and thousands upon thousands of programs. Where it was
once the case that programs had to be watched at the time they were broadcast on a television,
this is no longer the case. Today, viewers can summon a movie or television episode whenever
they want, through many cable or satellite services' pay-per-view or free on-demand services.
They may also download or stream episodes from the Internet and watch them on their
computers. Viewers may use DVR (digital video recorder) devices, such as a Tivo to record
programs at one time and watch them at another time. Viewers with certain cell phones may
even watch programs through their cell phones
Movies
Movies (films) are the oldest form of motion picture technology capable of capturing
lifelike video-style images. Originally, movies could only be consumed at a neighborhood movie
theater, but these days movies are widely available for people to consume in their homes, on
their computers, and even in through their telephones. Commercial movies are broadcast on
television, and via cable and satellite services which may feature High Definition (HD) video
resolution and sound, essentially allowing the movie theater experience to be replicated in a
home theater environment. Commercial movies are also distributed on DVD and Blu-Ray disks,
which can be rented from stores and through-the-mail services such as Netflix, and through
downloadable computer files, which can be legally downloaded from movie rental services such
as Amazon and iTunes or streamed through Netflix or on-demand cable services. Home movies
produced by amateurs with inexpensive video cameras are now also widely available through
video sharing websites such as YouTube.com and Vimeo.com.
Video Games
Available since the early 1980s, video games have only grown in popularity among youth.
Today's games make use of advanced graphics and processors to enable three dimensional
game play featuring highly realistic landscapes and physics simulations, and the ability to
compete against other players through a network connection. Modern video games are
immersive, exciting and increasingly interactive. Players feel like they really are in the situation
because of the life-like graphics and sounds. Through video games, youth can extend their
pretend play, as they become soldiers, aliens, race car drivers, street fighters, and football
players.
Popular gaming consoles today include Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony
Playstation III. There are also hand held consoles which enable mobile game play such as
Nintendo's DS. As well, some video games can also be played on personal computers. Most
video games use a hand-held device with buttons, joysticks, and other devices for manipulating
the characters on the screen. However, the newer games systems use motion-detecting
sensors, such as accelerometers which encourage players to move their entire body to
complete game activities. For example, in Wii Tennis, a player swings his entire arm to have the
player on the screen hit the tennis ball.
Games such as the recently popular World of Warcraft are played in a networked universe
shared simultaneously by thousands of gamers at once. Players may be across the street from
one another or across the globe using the the Internet to participate in a shared
three-dimensional world in which each player can control one or more avatars, and chat using
text or voice.
Internet media
The Contractor is permitted to use the COSTARS Brand in broadcast, or Internet media
solely in connection with this Contract and any other Contract with the Commonwealth under
which it has agreed to make sales to COSTARS Purchasers.
This includes but is not limited to books, poems, speeches, films, TV, newspapers,
magazines, and Internet media.
These advertising products are designed to boost advertising efficacy for all concerned
parties, namely, advertisers, users, and the Internet media itself.The Yahoo Japan Group
rigorously respects the privacy of individual users in its collection and analysis of behavioral
history.
These advertising products are designed to boost advertising efficiency for all concerned
parties, namely, advertisers, users, and the Internet media itself.The Yahoo Japan Group
rigorously respects the privacy of individual users in its collection and analysis of behavioral
history information.
You agree not to transmit unsolicited or prohibited advertising or other harassing or illegal
materials through electronic mail, Usenet postings, or other Internet media.
These advertising products are designed to boost advertising efficiency for all concerned
parties, namely, advertisers, users, and the Internet media itself.The Group rigorously respects
the privacy of individual users in its collection and analysis of behavioral history information.
The Online Advertising & Media segment provides marketing solutions for customers with online
businesses, and includes online advertising, Internet media and Internet research
sub-segments.
Katz Media is the only full-service media representation firm in the United States serving
multiple types of electronic media, representing radio and television stations, cable television
systems and Internet media outlets.
Except as instructed otherwise in writing, each party may assume that the other approves of
properly addressed fax, email (including email exchanged via Internet media) and voicemail
communication of both sensitive and non-sensitive documents and other communications
concerning this engagement, including other means of communication used or accepted by the
other.
DoD information proposed or projected for publication on public Internet media (e.g., website,
blog, social media)
political media
New political media are forms of communication that facilitate the production, dissemination,
and exchange of political content on platforms and within networks that accommodate
interaction and collaboration. They have evolved rapidly over the past three decades, and
continue to develop in novel, sometimes unanticipated ways. New media have wide-ranging
implications for democratic governance and political practices. They have radically altered the
ways in which government institutions operate and political leaders communicate. They have
transformed the political media system, and redefined the role of journalists. They have
redefined the way elections are contested, and how citizens engage in politics.
The rise of new media has complicated the political media system. Legacy media consisting of
established mass media institutions that predate the Internet, such as newspapers, radio shows,
and television news programs, coexist with new media that are the outgrowth of technological
innovation. While legacy media maintain relatively stable formats, the litany of new media, which
includes websites, blogs, video-sharing platforms, digital apps, and social media, are continually
expanding in innovative ways. Mass media designed to deliver general interest news to broad
audiences have been joined by niche sources that narrowcast to discrete users (Stroud, 2011).
New media can relay information directly to individuals without the intervention of editorial or
institutional gatekeepers, which are intrinsic to legacy forms. Thus, new media have introduced
an increased level of instability and unpredictability into the political communication process.
The relationship between legacy media and new media is symbiotic. Legacy media have
incorporated new media into their reporting strategies. They distribute material across an array
of old and new communication platforms. They rely on new media sources to meet the
ever-increasing demand for content. Despite competition from new media, the audiences for
traditional media remain robust, even if they are not as formidable as in the past. Readers of the
print edition of The New York Times and viewers of the nightly network news programs far
outnumber those accessing the most popular political news websites (Wired Staff, 2017). Cable
and network television news remain the primary sources of political information for people over
the age of thirty (Mitchell and Holcomb, 2016). Consequently, new media rely on their legacy
counterparts to gain legitimacy and popularize their content.
Ideally, the media serve several essential roles in a democratic society. Their primary purpose is
to inform the public, providing citizens with the information needed to make thoughtful decisions
about leadership and policy. The media act as watchdogs checking government actions. They
set the agenda for public discussion of issues, and provide a forum for political expression. They
also facilitate community building by helping people to find common causes, identify civic
groups, and work toward solutions to societal problems
New media have the potential to satisfy these textbook functions. They provide unprecedented
access to information, and can reach even disinterested audience members through
personalized, peer-to-peer channels, like Facebook. As average people join forces with the
established press to perform the watchdog role, public officials are subject to greater scrutiny.
Issues and events that might be outside the purview of mainstream journalists can be brought
into prominence by ordinary citizens. New media can foster community building that transcends
physical boundaries through their extensive networking capabilities. Although legacy media
coverage of political events correlates with increased political engagement among the mass
public, mainstream journalists do not believe that encouraging participation is their responsibility
(Hayes and Lawless, 2016). However, new media explicitly seek to directly engage the public in
political activities, such as voting, contacting public officials, volunteering in their communities,
and taking part in protest movements.
At the same time, the new media era has acerbated trends that undercut the ideal aims of a
democratic press. The media disseminate a tremendous amount of political content, but much
of the material is trivial, unreliable, and polarizing. The watchdog role pre-new media had been
performed largely by trained journalists who, under the best of circumstances, focused on
uncovering the facts surrounding serious political transgressions. Washington Post reporters
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein inspired a generation of investigative journalists after
revealing President Richard Nixon’s role in the break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters at
the Watergate Hotel, forcing his resignation (Shepard, 2012). Much news in the new media era
is defined by coverage of a never-ending barrage of sensational scandals—be they real,
exaggerated, or entirely fabricated—that often are only tangentially related to governing.
This chapter begins by briefly addressing the evolution of new media in the United States to
establish the core characteristics of the current political media system. We then will focus on the
role of media in providing information in a democratic polity, and will examine the ways in which
new media have impacted this role. The diversity of content disseminated by new media has
created opportunities, such as the ability for more voices to be heard. However, the
questionable quality of much of this information raises serious issues for democratic discourse.
Next, we will discuss how the new media are integral to political coverage in a post-truth society,
where falsehoods infused with tidbits of fact pass as news. Finally, we will contemplate the ways
in which the watchdog press is being
overshadowed by the mouthpiece press which serves as a publicity machine for politicians.
Sports Media.
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Entertainment & Media
The media and entertainment industry consists of film, print, radio, and television - more
specifically movies, TV shows, radio shows, news, music, podcasts, newspapers, magazines,
graphic novels, comics and books.
In general, media and entertainment jobs include reporters, correspondents, and broadcast
news analysts; writers and authors; editors; photographers; graphic designers; translators; film
and video editors and camera operators; broadcast and sound engineering technicians;
announcers; producers and directors; and performere from actors to musicians and composers.
The workers who are behind the scenes and focused on the business side are public relations
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Civic affairs
ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE roles for the citizen journalist is civic reporting. It provides an
independent voice between local government and citizens that is potentially more informative
and nuanced than communications filtered through a council’s communications department.
It isn’t possible for voluntary civic journalists to provide the consistency and depth that the paid
staff of a newspaper can offer. Nonetheless, civic reporting can provide the public with useful
information and clarification, especially when council is considering a controversial
development.
The citizen journalist covering the civic round will attend council meetings and get comment
from councillors and council itself. It also pays to cultivate cordial relations with council
communications staff. They might be reticent at first, either resenting your intrusion into council
affairs or fearing you might be someone out to get council. Over time, reasonable and fair
reporting may overcome this reticence.
Reporting will often be about controversial development proposals or changes in the local
government area. It is then that you see the worst in people.
The civic reporter
In civic reporting, remember that that issues are more complex than they appear or the
protagonists make them out to be. There may well be councillor or staff agendas at work —
financial, ideological, religious, political. These may be deliberately hidden.
How do citizen journalists approach stories in circumstances where there is a division of opinion
in communities and with councils? Here, we can step out of the old reporting paradigm in which
journalists merely reported an event. We are free to offer solutions to the impasse councils and
citizens groups might find themselves in.
We can get comment form all participants in a controversy. Ask them about their interests in the
issue, hidden or otherwise. Don’t accuse. Just say that comments or allegations are circulating
and need to be cleared up. If they are business people, for example, ask if they stand to gain
financially from a development, and how. If they are religious people such as a church, ask if
their religious beliefs are getting in the way of inclusive, fair and rational decision making and
whether their proposal would disadvantage secular people or other religions. Identifying the
motivation of protagonists is important. A choice made by a person, group or organisation can
disadvantage others.
