Bosnia’s Open Broadcast Network: A Brief But Illustrative Foray into Peace Journalism Practice

This study examines whether the news media can play a role in transformation of conflict, exploring the discourse known under the umbrella term “peace journalism.” Through a case study of the Open Broadcast Network (OBN) coverage of the Bosnian conflict, the study analyses the initial lessons learned from an implementation of peace journalism precepts in violent conflict.

According to the document: "[P]eace journalism is part of a major worldwide media reform movement growing out of the strong critique of dominant mainstream media practices. The well-documented elite domination, ethnocentrism, nationalism, and conflict escalation of the media are particular points of concern within the field.While significant distinctions divide various proponents of peace journalism, peace journalism participants seek generally to change journalistic practices that too stringently control and limit access to the media and too narrowly define information that is worthy of broad dissemination. Hence the emerging field of peace journalism lies at the nexus of concerns about the rights to communicate and to receive information regardless of race, ethnicity, class, gender, or nationality."


As stated here, the case of OBN is presented to highlight both the successes and limitations of this early initiative toward peace journalism. The research on OBN included the following methods: interviews with the local experts, journalists, and practitioners; text analysis of the related news accounts; and secondary analysis of audience survey research. Lessons and observations from the research include the following:


1) The theory of peace journalism is in its infancy, and it requires further elaboration.
2) "While the dominant discourse... rests in the domain of Western practices, values, and theories, a prominent lesson of the OBN experiment is the need for flexibility to adjust to local preferences and realities. Issues of regionalization and localization with regard to the development, structure, and ownership of existing media, with regard to citizen access, uses, and dependency on such media, and with regard to economic and political sustainability must become the domain of peace journalism research and application."
3) "The low ratings of OBN, compared to the ethnic broadcasters, might be said to confirm fears of the low initial audience appeal of peace news especially in contrast to war journalism....OBN’s modeling of responsible practice neither erased nor altered pre-existing conflict-oriented journalism. The hoped-for rapid, broad, and permanent diffusion of the new values and practices did not occur, and further study is needed to help identify reasonable expectations for adoption and transfer of peace journalism as an innovation."
4) Financial strategy for sustainability must be addressed at the outset of future peace journalism media projects.
5) "OBN became the terrain of wavering commitment and uncertain standards of journalistic engagement in conflict resolution. Yet OBN also suggests that the quest for the appropriate method of peace journalism may be simpler than it appears. OBN journalists and editors demonstrated that as long as primary emphasis is placed on pursuit of the most responsible approach to news, an absolute consensus on the unifying approach may be unnecessary." However, as stated here, "[t]he normative assumptions and myths that guide the everyday routines of journalism would benefit from close evaluation and revision." The structure for “unpacking and repacking” journalistic practice in the midst of a conflict needs further processing.


In conclusion, the authors state that: "The OBN experience suggests the very real potential for professional journalists to expand their narrative vision to challenge acculturated story lines and to reflect a reality in which difference is not inherently threatening, conflict is not inevitable, and violence is not the logical and necessary means to resolve difference. The commercial viability of such a project remains to be seen, and the future of peace journalism remains to be written."