Peace Journalism: A Tool Within Media Development?

"Throughout the decades, scholarly research spanning from the Rwandan genocide to audience responses towards (de)escalation-oriented coverage has contributed to the discussion concerning the use of media for conflict transformation."

This literature review seeks to determine whether peace journalism can be considered a tool for the field of media development and formulates some concrete recommendations for practitioners. Defining the core tenets of peace journalism, it discusses the ways in which journalists have been perceived as contributors to peace and the extent to which this notion has been both criticised and used in media development. The review points to future research to help deepen the understanding of this approach and the potential for its implementation.

The research review forms part of a series of publications initiated by Forum Media and Development (fome) and the MEDAS 21 post-graduate programme on international media development assistance and is designed to inform practitioners and researchers about key debates, evidence, and emerging issues in international media development. The series seeks to provide concise analyses of current research, both academic and non-academic, and to discuss its practical relevance for international media assistance.

The paper offers insights gained from a review of both scientific and grey literature. Through a review of scientific literature, the author defines war journalism and peace journalism, discusses the emergence of increased attention to peace journalism (triggered in part by the role the media played in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda), and looks at some of the critiques levelled at peace journalism and its related dimensions of human rights and conflict-sensitive reporting. The review of grey literature, which includes handbooks and media toolkits related to peace journalism and conflict-sensitive reporting, further highlights some of the different approaches to the topic. A final section of the paper features concrete examples of peace-oriented media projects in the field of media sector development, such as: Radio for Peacebuilding, Africa; Medios para la Paz in Columbia; and Studio Ijambo in Africa's Great Lakes Region.

Key findings, which include recommendations for media development practitioners, as outlined in the report are:

• The study of peace journalism emerged in the 1960s, drawing on the overlapping fields of conflict analysis and peace research. The seeds of this notion were first introduced in a paper authored by Johan Galtung and Mari Ruge in 1965. Their study was instrumental in the development of the theoretical perspectives called "peace/conflict journalism" on the one hand, and "war/violence journalism" on the other.
• Whereas war journalism is oriented towards war, violence, propaganda, elites, and victory, peace journalism attempts to make conflicts transparent and prevent violence by exploring the formation of conflicts and the parties involved in them. In short, peace journalism aims to provide more balanced news coverage, seeking alternative interpretations, focusing on context, humanising all sides in a conflict, exposing lies from several actors, and revealing the suffering, pain, and trauma of warfare.
• This concept, however, is not without its critics, who blame it for its advocacy role and "false morality". According to the critics, this notion cannot be imposed from the outside, and it can only evolve within a culture of peace in each society. Questions posed by scholars and practitioners have raised doubts as to whether the peace journalism approach can be implemented by journalists in their day-to-day reporting and if the circumstances of news production can be adjusted to the different contexts.
• Despite the growing interest and controversy surrounding the academic debate on the peace approach to journalism, some gaps are to be filled when it comes to empirical research of the media's role in conflict and peacebuilding. There has been a call from scholars and practitioners for the need of journalism to be more localised and context-based within media assistance projects. Future research is needed - particularly regarding the consequences and effects of the implementation of peace journalism on media development projects.
• For instance, research that explores the dynamics of the environment of disinformation and the factors that trigger hate speech should be undertaken. In addition, academic research that seeks to merge peace journalism with other relevant and pressing topics, such as the safety of journalists, the culture of impunity, the need to encourage the vulnerable groups to actively participate in the media, the fostering of a pluralistic media environment, and the promotion of media and information literacy, can inspire new solutions and best practices in conflict reporting.
• One challenge is to engage more professionals - individual reporters as well as those in leadership positions, such as editors. The idea is to equip media professionals with more critical and knowledge-based tools to enable more informed decision-making and effective execution of their respective tasks.
• Media development practitioners are usually forced to adjust to the funding realities involving the training of individual groups of journalists, limiting their work to what they get funded for. In most cases, practitioners do not get to penetrate the existing structures and exert influence within them. One practical approach would be to combine the training of reporters, editors, and professionals at higher levels of the leadership hierarchy.
• The label "peace journalism", or "conflict-sensitive journalism", is usually reflective of the practitioners' perception of what is more context-relevant and likely to be conducive to the engagement of the donors, the audience, and the public at large. Regardless of how it is framed, the underlying precept is that professionals are willing to question their own prejudices, opinions, and biases when striving to accurately present the various perspectives involved in a conflict.