Debates In Peace Journalism

In Debates in Peace Journalism, Jake Lynch traces the major controversies in this emerging field - philosophical, pedagogical and professional - and links his own contributions to them with important new material. The book is intended for those wishing to immerse themselves in the main conceptual currents of peace journalism, and to navigate their own path around some of its rocks and shoals.

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.

The search for peace: why peace journalism is needed today -- Peace journalism: definition and history -- Peace journalism: theoretical approaches -- Populations affected by conflict -- Violence: the nature of contemporary warfare and media's -- Contribution to covering violence -- Journalists' work to include working with citizen journalists -- How to search for truth when there are lies, bias and propaganda -- Activism and social media -- How governments use media during conflict -- Action plan: teaching peace journalism -- The future: dialogue.

Introducing a compelling new series that offers leading international thinking on conflict and peacebuilding. Journalists control our access to news. By pitching stories from particular angles, the media decides the issues for public debate.

The First Amendment ideal of an independent press allows American journalists to present critical perspectives on government policies and actions; but are the media independent of government in practice? Here Jonathan Mermin demonstrates that when it comes to military intervention, journalists over the past two decades have let the government itself set the terms and boundaries of foreign policy debate in the news. Analyzing newspaper and television reporting of U.S. intervention in Grenada and Panama, the bombing of Libya, the Gulf War, and U.S. actions in Somalia and Haiti, he shows that if there is no debate over U.S. policy in Washington, there is no debate in the news. Journalists often criticize the execution of U.S. policy, but fail to offer critical analysis of the policy itself if actors inside the government have not challenged it. Mermin ultimately offers concrete evidence of outside-Washington perspectives that could have been reported in specific cases, and explains how the press could increase its independence of Washington in reporting foreign policy news. The author constructs a new framework for thinking about press-government relations, based on the observation that bipartisan support for U.S. intervention is often best interpreted as a political phenomenon, not as evidence of the wisdom of U.S. policy. Journalists should remember that domestic political factors often influence foreign policy debate. The media, Mermin argues, should not see a Washington consensus as justification for downplaying critical perspectives.

Long-time peace journalist Steven Youngblood presents the foundations of peace journalism in this exciting new textbook, offering readers the methods, approaches, and concepts required to use journalism as a tool for peace, reconciliation, and development. Guidance is offered on framing stories, ethical treatment of sensitive subjects, and avoiding polarizing stereotypes through a range of international examples and case studies spanning from the Iraq war to the recent unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. Youngblood teaches students to interrogate traditional media narratives about crime, race, politics, immigration, and civil unrest, and to illustrate where—and how—a peace journalism approach can lead to more responsible and constructive coverage, and even assist in the peace process itself.

Journalism a ‘Peacekeeping Agent’ at the Time of Conflict offers a critical analysis media’s role on peace-making and conflict-resolution.

The First Amendment ideal of an independent press allows American journalists to present critical perspectives on government policies and actions; but are the media independent of government in practice? Here Jonathan Mermin demonstrates that when it comes to military intervention, journalists over the past two decades have let the government itself set the terms and boundaries of foreign policy debate in the news. Analyzing newspaper and television reporting of U.S. intervention in Grenada and Panama, the bombing of Libya, the Gulf War, and U.S. actions in Somalia and Haiti, he shows that if there is no debate over U.S. policy in Washington, there is no debate in the news. Journalists often criticize the execution of U.S. policy, but fail to offer critical analysis of the policy itself if actors inside the government have not challenged it. Mermin ultimately offers concrete evidence of outside-Washington perspectives that could have been reported in specific cases, and explains how the press could increase its independence of Washington in reporting foreign policy news. The author constructs a new framework for thinking about press-government relations, based on the observation that bipartisan support for U.S. intervention is often best interpreted as a political phenomenon, not as evidence of the wisdom of U.S. policy. Journalists should remember that domestic political factors often influence foreign policy debate. The media, Mermin argues, should not see a Washington consensus as justification for downplaying critical perspectives.

Long-time peace journalist Steven Youngblood presents the foundations of peace journalism in this exciting new textbook, offering readers the methods, approaches, and concepts required to use journalism as a tool for peace, reconciliation, and development. Guidance is offered on framing stories, ethical treatment of sensitive subjects, and avoiding polarizing stereotypes through a range of international examples and case studies spanning from the Iraq war to the recent unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. Youngblood teaches students to interrogate traditional media narratives about crime, race, politics, immigration, and civil unrest, and to illustrate where—and how—a peace journalism approach can lead to more responsible and constructive coverage, and even assist in the peace process itself.