Introduction
The media plays a key role in today’s wars and conflicts. It can either take one of two basic roles in a war or conflict situation. The media can decide to become actively involved in a war – which can be of help especially when finding a resolution to the conflict, or it can lead to escalation of the conflict.
The media can also decide to take the sidelines and let the conflicting parties battle it out until one of them emerges the winner, or a resolution is reached. The type of roles the media takes depend on a number of factors ranging from the association with actors in the war, to the amount of independence it has (Young, 1991). Whatever role the media takes in war or conflict situation has its impacts on the war and conflict.
In this paper, examples will be drawn from the war in Darfur and its coverage in the news media, as case in study. Over one hundred thousand Sudanese lives have been lost in war and civil conflict and almost two million others displaced by the unrest (Handrahan, 2004). The survivors do not escape the plight either; most of them have to suffer rape, hunger and assault as the war rages. However, despite the severity the atrocities in Darfur particularly, there has been poor international response. Could the news coverage of the war in Darfur have had an effect on the world’s reaction?
The role of the mass media in shaping our lives
The news media shape what the world sees and hears about conflict. The views of the reporters of events frame the story being told. The journalist has his/her opinion, belief, and perspective (Gilboa, 2002, p.4). The media owners also have their own interests – be it economical or political, which also affect the framing of the stories they report.
It also depends with the skill level of the journalist in collecting good and newsworthy information. Therefore, what people see or read on the news media is determined by several factors. Media owners and professionals decide what they think the public or some target audience wants to see and hear. A media house may choose to give a distorted perception of a conflict for its own interest (Young, 1991), because there are many factors at play during a war, especially national interest, and the need to capture the attention of the masses for commercial purposes.
The role of media in shaping conflict
The media performs several different roles in situations of conflict and war, which are going to be analyzed exhaustively in this research. The chief-most is to provide and interpret information. The media provides people with political, cultural, and social issues, news, and information that are beyond their physical realm and hence in times of war, it serves to pass information to the world.
For example, in the war in Darfur, the media has not continued to expose to the rest of the world massive cases of killings and displacement of local citizens. This already has reduced international attention to the conflict and so the pressure for action – arbitration between the two fighting parties (the government and the rebels) has been reduced.
The media has always been expected to take a role in ensuring the individual right to free expression; it provides a platform on which the public receives breaking news and information on an ongoing war and conflict and then discusses and debates it and other important issues that affect the society and conflicts. This serves as a big role in resolving conflicts since it helps to draw more attention to the situation and this will speed up the process of resolving the conflict and building peace.
Conclusion
A person’s experience forms the basis on which he or she will understand and interpret an event. The kind of reports, images, videos, and writings that are posted in mass media outlets set the basis on which the masses will interpret and understand future events (Goffman, 1974, p.10).
Therefore, the lack of a clear and concerted effort to resolve the crises in Darfur can partly be attributed to the kind of reporting that has been done on the conflict: viewers have been inundated with information that does not stir righteous anger and a sense of injustice in the masses.
In conclusion, the type of reporting done for the war in Darfur should change, because this is the only way that the massacre and death of the innocents still ongoing in the region will end: such is the role, and power, of the media.
Summary of sources and contribution to the paper
- Gilboa, E. (2002). The role of the individual journalist in shaping the perspective of war for his or her audience.
- Goffman, E. (1974). Understanding the concept of framing and its application to the topic of ‘Mass Media and War’.
- Young, C. (1991). Understanding the role of corporate media in framing the perceptions of the masses.
- Handrahan, L. (2004). Providing the statistical data on the war in Darfur.
References
Gilboa, E. (2002). Media and conflict: Framing issues, making Policy, shaping Opinions. Ardsley, New York, USA: Transnational Publishers Inc.
Goffman, E. (1974). Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. New York: Harper & Row.
Handrahan, L. (2004). Sudan: War and Rape in Darfur. The New York Times. Web.
Young, C. (1991). The role of media in International Conflict. Canadian Institute for Peace and Security, Working Paper no. 38. Web.