The war next door: Peace journalism in US local and distant newspapers’ coverage of Mexico

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between proximity to a conflict and the tendency to use peace journalism rather than war journalism modes of reporting. In the context of the current drug war occurring in Mexico, articles from both local, border region US newspapers and distant US newspapers were coded according to their usage of war or peace journalism frames. Analyses revealed that local newspapers utilized more peace journalism frames overall, and presented a less pessimistic and negative view of the conflict and parties. Distant newspapers, however, were more likely to showcase complexity of the conflict and many parties and people involved.

Investigating the Use of Language in Islam-related News: Evidence from Selected Non-Western Online Newspapers

“…Misinterpretation of news content is mostly associated with misinformation, which can trigger human emotions, negative perception, and conflict (Ibrahim et al, 2011). Lacasse and Forster (2012) note that people rely seriously on the media to obtain information and understand issues across the globe, but the media might not disseminate the actual and complete picture of the issues.…”

The Syrian data glut: Rethinking the role of information in conflict

“…News of violence may be timely and accurate but it generates a particular narrative, and oftentimes hardens ideological divides. The potent role that news media can play in furthering tensions, especially in times of conflict, is discussed in great detail in the peace journalism literature, arguing that journalists should shift their approach to covering conflict-oriented news (see, for example, Galtung and Fischer, 2013;Lacasse and Forster, 2012;Lynch and McGoldrick, 2005;Ottosen, 2010;Ozohu-Suleiman, 2014;Powers and el-Nawawy, 2009). …”

Uprising to Proxy War: How Time and Newsweek Framed the Syrian Conflict (2011-2016) from War versus Peace Journalism Perspectives

“…This suggests that it is not always the journalistic conscience that adopts peace journalism. Lacasse and Forster 62 found that in comparison with news sources distant from the U.S.-Mexico border (The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Plain Dealer, Chicago Sun-Times), sources in close proximity to the conflict zone (Houston Chronicle, The Arizona Republic, The San Diego Union-Tribune and The Los Angeles Times) utilize more peace journalism frames, and present a less pessimistic and negative view of the fighting parties in the drug war in Mexico. In examining the war and peace framework in the context of the Iraq war, Maslog et al 63 found that in spite of no involvement in the conflict, media in Muslim nations were less supportive of the war and of the British/American invasion of Iraq as compared to non-Muslim nations which were more supportive of Western powers and less supportive of Iraq.…”

“…58 Sri Lankan journalists confirmed an emphasis on peace journalism to fulfill their moralistic responsibility rather than to echo the shift of its government policies towards peace negotiations with LTTE. 59 Factors such as proximity to the war, 60 sources, religion and non-involvement in the conflict 61 also influence the preference of journalists for peace frames. This suggests that it is not always the journalistic conscience that adopts peace journalism.…”