Media Ethics and Conflict Coverage

Previous studies have noted the dominance of official sources within the news process and their unique ability to shape media narratives. This research addresses the role and implications of news sources in contributing to the overwhelmingly positive portrayal of the anti-Mubarak opposition protesters within British and American newspaper coverage of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Furthermore, this paper will assess how the position of global political elites towards the protests in Egypt possibly opened up the editorial space within the news coverage of the revolution for the anti-Mubarak opposition movement to emerge as the dominant voice within the reporting.

THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE study by Russians of their own national news media’s coverage of the war in Chechnya gives high marks to a newspaper and a television service for balance, and criticizes others for taking sides and showing too much raw violence.

El objetivo de la presente comunicación es explorar el proceso de producción de las noticias sobre violencia contra las mujeres en las televisiones generalistas del estado español. Se han
realizado once entrevistas en profundidad a once periodistas de las principales televisiones generalistas del Estado español —Televisión Española, Telecinco, Antena3, Cuatro y la Sexta— que habitualmente seleccionan las piezas, deciden su encuadre y las redactan. Las principales conclusiones apuntan a un cambio en el criterio periodístico en la selección de los temas que dificulta la consolidación de la violencia de género como un tema noticiable, reduciéndolo a sus expresiones más espectaculares. Así también, su representación en los medios se resentirá de la posición del tema en las agendas políticas
actuales, en las que ha dejado de ser un tema prioritario. Por último, la complejidad de la violencia contra las mujeres como concepto genera discursos ambivalentes por parte de los y las periodistas, la delimitación conceptual de los cuales abarca posiciones ideológicas enfrentadas, también en el campo periodístico.

Filipino journalists covering the graveyard shift were the first recorders of violence and brutality under Philippine President Duterte’s anti- illegal drugs campaign. The first phase in 2016, called Oplan Tokhang, was executed ruthlessly and relentlessly. This study aims to explore how graveyard- shift TV journalists experienced covering Oplan Tokhang. The intention is to get a deeper understanding of how the experience impacted on the way they reported on the Oplan Tokhang stories. To get the essence of the Oplan Tokhang coverage experience, the study used a phenomenological research approach. Four graveyard-shift TV journalists agreed to face-to-face in-depth interviews. The participants came from major TV networks in the Philippines. Analysis of the results was framed within the lens of symbolic interactionism and discussions of past literature. The study presented constructed realities of four television journalists who described their nightly struggles to perform their duties, surrounded by a climate of death and suffering, in the violent world of Oplan Tokhang. Four themes emerged describing the experience: a) A ‘horror fest’ of violence, brutality and suffering; b) A constrained and controlled coverage; c) Objectivity and the truth; and d) Post-mortem: Falling short of fulfilling journalistic duties. These themes revealed ethical dilemmas encountered by the television journalists. They faced realities of intimida- tion and threat, resorting to self-censorship. Repeated exposure to violence desensitised the television journalists. The rush to meet nightly deadlines resulted in simplified treatment of stories, missing the context of the issue. In reflection, the TV journalists realised they fell short in fulfilling the journal- ist’s obligation to search for the truth and to report it.

The paper seeks to find out the manifestations of racism in the Nigerian press with a view to know how they are involved in racial discrimination of the different regions in the country. In doing this, the paper relied on framing/content analysis for data collection and grounded in the theoretical explanations from Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony. It was found that just as the mass media in Europe, America strengthen the age-long stereotypes of black and other forms of racism in their climes, the Nigerian press are also doing same. Different stereotypical racial frames are used to represent the north and south regions of the country by newspapers from both regions as evident in the case of Daily Trust and The Sun respectively, in their treatment of the Ese Oruru/Yunusa issue and the IPOB agitation. This is done for hegemonic interests and for satisfying ownership regional interests which both newspapers seem to serve in both cases under consideration.

Key Terms: Racism, Press, Nigeria, Framing, Hegemony, Daily Trust, The Sun

Post-1990 Nepal is remarkable, not only for democratic political change but also for its mushrooming media industry; media companies have been influential actors in conflicts. To analyse their role and motives as private business actors in conflicts, this article explores the dynamics of media engagement, the implications of media companies’ actions and needs, and their motives as corporate actors. The authors focus on two conflicts – the anti-monarchy movement and the internal labour disputes in media companies – and the companies’ response to different conflict situations. Using a qualitative case study approach, the article concludes that media companies in conflict situations have inevitable social as well as commercial obligations. Balancing these two interests and maintaining political neutrality become challenges to media in conflict contexts. Evidence shows that media companies can either manipulate situations or be manipulated themselves by various actors’ interests, leading to unintended and sometimes undesirable conflicts.

ABSTRACT – 49.04.00
Peace and the Underlying Logic of Innate Human Goodness provides a logical proof that supports the statement that humans are innately good by relying on only two premises: 1) Values always underlie all decisions; 2) Our species has existed for over 200,000 years. 

As “goodness” is a moral judgment, the topic of this paper lies within a much larger context of ethics and morality:  Ethics deals with the conditions of relationships.  Morality deals with the conditions of life and living.  The values that are innate to humans for over 200,000 years provide the logical foundation for moral and ethical decision-making to demonstrate human goodness.  These are illustrated on page 13. 

The Logic Underlying Innate Human Goodness will surely cause a certain amount of cognitive dissonance for readers.  The traditional morality and ethics we were raised with have never been questioned as to whether they are rational enough to support 21st century democratic societies. 

That dissonance becomes pronounced when the reader learns that the 4,000 years traditional ethics and morality that we were raised with do not have an internal system of logic.  That dissonance becomes far more pronounced when the traditional ethics and morality are confronted with the proactive and logical system of ethics and morality described here.  Until now, traditional morality and ethics have been simply taken for granted and assumed to be the best. 

The central problem with the traditional ethic and morality is that no one has ever identified the arguable premise(s) or underlying values that support them for moral and ethical decision-making. 

For example, if you decide to be ethically “fair,” which is a traditional ethical principle, what values underlie your decision to be “fair”? 

Using the proactive ethic and morality described here, you would know those underlying values beforehand. 

The problem is made larger because the traditional morality and ethic are reactive rather than being proactive.  This always puts you, and the courts, in the weaker moral position. 

The solution to similar problems is to know the values for ethical and moral decision-making beforehand, then you will have taken the higher ground of a proactive ethical and moral leadership position.  And, it would make ethics and compliance a whole lot easier to formulate and regulate, for example.