Reporting Insurgencies in South Asia: A Peace Journalism Perspective
Abstract
This study investigates the reporting of insurgencies in the five South Asian countries including Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. One elite newspaper from each of these countries was selected for a period of five years—January 2013 to December 2017. The researcher applied content analysis technique by operationalizing war and peace journalism indicators as expounded by Johan Galtung and others. The researchers found that the five national insurgencies are predominantly reported in the war journalism approach. The selected press adopted nationalistic and elitist perspectives and ignored options that could promote peace and reconciliation. The findings of this study are quite in line with the existing scholarship that media remain jingoistic and support their governments when deviant groups challenge the security apparatus
Authors
Dr. Asmatullah Khan
Independent Researcher and Development Expert
Dr. Haseeb ur Rehman
Assistant Professor, Department Of Arts And Media, Foundation University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Dr. Fazal Rahim Khan
Professor/Dean, Department of Social Science, Foundation University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Keywords
South Asia War and Peace Journalism Balochistan Conflict, Naxal Insurgency Maoist Insurgency Tamil Insurgency