This thesis analyzes specific challenges concerning 'truth-telling' war reporters face when reporting on international conflict. For this purpose truth is examined in accordance with journalistic principles outlined in codes of ethics, with a focus on objectivity and fairness. The aim is to discover ways to improve the application of principles, in order to battle epistemic errors and the effects they entail: polarization, reductionism, and superficiality. The study concludes that providing context and nuance is crucial, but that codes - although essential - are insufficient in helping journalists decide what is relevant and what is not. An approach in virtue ethics is recommended where phronesis (or practical wisdom) can inspire responsible journalists to comply with the spirit, rather than the letter of the principles.

Through historical and content analyses of war coverage, this study qualitatively addresses emotional quality, use of sources, and implied use of technology to better understand the tension between Vietnam and Afghanistan war correspondents and their military counterparts. Early American democracy aspired to give total freedom to its people. But the American military, in its quest to uphold the ideas of democracy, has often challenged the freedom of press clause set forth by the United States Constitution. Since the Vietnam era, the relationship between the military and the media has been plagued by questions of censorship, assertions of falsehood, and threats to national security. But it is the technological advancements in both reporting and combat techniques that have caused a disappearance of the nostalgic war coverage that American correspondents once prospered from. The possibility of returning to journalists' vision of unrestricted press access is all but lost due to such advancements.

Thesis "Selected aspects of the war news in Czech daily newspapers on the example of the war in Croatia" analyze approach Czech printed media to reporting on the war in Croatia. This work verifies the existence of selected journalistic routines, using by journalists when they reporting on military conflicts, that was emerged from the study of foreign research, through quantitative analysis of the front pages of Mladá fronta Dnes and Rudé právo from the years 1991 to 1995. The theoretical part of this thesis is devoted to news reporting, with an emphasis on the sociology of sources, then composes the theory of framing and finally assesses the role of the media in military conflicts. The practical part is a research project based on foreign research that evaluates the use of sources in war reporting and processes the anchoring of themes of conflict in Croatia with the use of quantitative analytical methods. The aim of the research is to obtain results related to the issue of informing the Czech media about the war, and their subsequent comparison with results of foreign researches on the issue of reporting on wars. Qualitative analysis complete the findings of quantitative research closer insight into the conflict, through the evaluation of using of specific frameworks within individual texts in...

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be classified as an isolated conflict. Today’s clashes were not triggered by a single event, but rather are as a result of thousands of years of violent and at times restrained disagreements about the rights of Jews, Muslims and other ethnic groups to the disputed land known collectively today as Israel and the Palestinian Territories. This study examines the media coverage of one event during the conflict, i.e. the withdrawal by Israeli settlers from the Gaza area. The study tracks coverage over ten weeks in the South African media context, specifically the Mail & Guardian, Cape Times and the Sunday Times – a media setting in itself highly diverse and compelling. Using a qualitative framing analysis as the central methodology, the study focused on six core frames in analysing all articles/reports relating to the Gaza withdrawal. In addition, the editors of the respective newspapers were interviewed to complement the textual analysis. The methodological approach addressed how each story was packaged and presented, and then questioned why certain frames dominated and others did not. The study found that conflict (a combination of violent and non-violent) was the dominant frame chosen. Consequences and Attribution of Responsibility were the next two most prominent frames. Both these frames were found to apportion blame to a particular side in presenting the news reports and when providing comment. Whilst all three newspapers argued that they practiced a balanced coverage, it was this perceived “balance” in using several different frames of presentation that neglected a key “historical” frame. This lack of historical context was one of the key results of the other frames being so dominant. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die konflik tussen Israel en Palestina kan nie gesien word as ’n geïsoleerde konflik nie. Die huidige konflik is nie veroorsaak deur ’n enkele gebeurtenis nie, maar spruit uit die voortslepende geweld tussen Jode, Moslems en ander etniese groepe wat reeds duisende jare lank duur, as gevolg van betwiste aansprake op die grondgebied gesamentlik bekend as Israel en die Palestynse grondgebied. Dié studie ondersoek die mediadekking van een gebeurtenis in die konflik, naamlik die onttrekking van Israeli setlaars in die Gaza-gebied. Die studie volg mediadekking oor tien weke deur drie Suid-Afrikaanse publikasies, Mail & Guardian, Cape Times en Sunday Times. Met behulp van kwalitatiewe raming-analise as die sentrale metodologie, konsentreer dié studie op ses rame in die analise van artikels, wat verband hou met die onttrekking uit die Gasastrook. Die navorsing word aangevul met onderhoude met die redakteurs van die koerante. Die metodologie is toegespits op die manier waarop die stories verpak en aangebied word, en bevraagteken waarom sekere raamwerke oorheers en ander van minder belang is. Die studie bevind dat Konflik (’n samestelling van geweldadige en nie-geweldadige konflik) die oorheersende raam was waarbinne artikels in dié tydperk aangebied is. Die Gevolge- en Toeskrywing van Verantwoordelikheid-rame kom ná konflik die meeste voor. By albei raamwerke word bevind dat skuld aan die een of ander kant toegeskryf word in die aanbiedeing van nuusverslae en wanneer kommentaar gelewer word. Hoewel al drie koerante volhou dat hulle gebalanseerde dekking aanbied, word ’n belangrike “historiese” raam in dié aanbieding verontagsaam as gevolg van die gebruik van verskeie rame om balans te bewerkstellig. Die gebrek aan ’n historiese konteks is een van die vernaamste gevolge van die oorheersing van die ander rame.

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The function of a journalist is not only to inform but also to investigate. Since the public has a right to information, jurists need to protect journalists that report from dangerous war-torn regions in order to keep the world informed. As the primary reliable source and often eyewitness to humanitarian atrocities a journalist has a duty to report such atrocities. There has for several decades now been uncertainty regarding the fact whether journalists should be granted special protection or not. On the one hand it is argued that journalists should be protected in terms of humanitarian law due to their humanitarian function, the service that they render in facilitating the free flow of information to the world and the role that journalists play in society. On the other hand, some argue that the protection of journalists is not the responsibility of the international community but rather their individual national governments or local news organisations. / Jurisprudence / LL.M.

Thesis (MPhil (Journalism))--Stellenbosch University, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: During Gulf War II, the American government implemented new media policies which, due to their potentially manipulative impact, became a subject of concern to academics, social commentators and the media alike. Key to these policies was the Department of Defense's Embedded Media Program which allowed hundreds of selected reporters to accompany US forces to the war front. The US openly tried to win international support for the war, and critics felt that this policy was designed to saturate the media with reports supporting the American point of view. This study examines these policies, the history of war reporting as a separate news genre, as well as the fluctuating relations between the US military and the media. Because of the US media policies, the fact that only one South African newspaper reporter was in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom phase of the war and South African newspapers' consequent reliance on foreign news sources, there was a real possibility that the American position would be propagated in the local press. To test whether this was the case, the way the war was reported on in four leading South African newspapers is examined in terms of gatekeeping, agendasetting and framing. Using an adapted version op Propp's fairytale analysis as a standard, it compares the slant and content of the South African coverage to the way four senior US government officials presented the war. Also, the coverage of the newspapers is compared to one another. The analyses indicate that while most of the information published by the newspapers came from American sources, the news reports generally did not mirror the US standpoint, but instead criticised President Bush and the war on Iraq. Neither the frequency of the newspapers, nor its cultural background showed any correlation with the way the war was depicted by the different newspapers. It is therefore concluded that while the US might have been successful in their attempt to "occupy the media territory" in terms of sources cited, they were not able to sway the opinion of the South African press in their favour. However, the US is aware of these failures and plans to rectify the mistakes made in Gulf War II by means of proactive global operations started in times of peace. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Tydens die Tweede Golfoorlog het die Amerikaanse regering 'n nuwe mediabeleid ingestel wat weens die potensieel manipulerende impak daarvan ’n bron van kommer vir akademici, sosiale kommentators en die media self geword het. Sentraal tot hierdie nuwe beleid was die Departement van Verdediging se sogenaamde "Embedded Media Program" wat honderde uitgesoekte joernaliste toegelaat het om Amerikaanse magte na die oorlogsfront te vergesel. Die VSA het openlik probeer om internasionale steun vir die oorlog te werf en kritici het gevoel dat dié beleid ontwerp is om die media met nuusberigte wat die Amerikaanse standpunt steun, te versadig. Hierdie studie ondersoek dié beleid, die geskiedenis van oorlogsverslaggewing as afsonderlike nuus-genre, asook die wisselvallige verhouding tussen die Amerikaanse weermag en die media. Weens die Amerikaanse mediabeleid, die feit dat slegs een Suid-Afrikaanse koerantverslaggewer tydens die Operation Iraqi Freedom fase van die oorlog in Irak was en Suid-Afrikaanse koerante gevolglik van buitelandse nuusbronne afhanklik was, was daar 'n werklike moontlikheid dat die Amerikaanse posisie deur die plaaslike pers gepropageer kon word. Om te toets of dit die geval was, is die manier waarop in vier vooraanstaande Suid-Afrikaanse koerante oor die oorlog berig is, ondersoek in terme van hekwagterskap, agendastelling en raamskepping. Deur 'n aangepaste weergawe van Propp se feëverhaalanalise as maatstaf te gebruik, is die neiging en inhoud van die Suid- Afrikaanse dekking vergelyk met die manier waarop vier senior Amerikaanse amptenare die oorlog voorgehou het. Die koerante se dekking is ook met mekaar vergelyk. Die analises wys dat hoewel die meeste van die inligting wat deur die koerante gepubliseer is van Amerikaanse bronne kom, die nuusberigte oor die algemeen nie die Amerikaanse standpunt weerspieël nie, maar eerder krities teenoor President Bush en die oorlog teen Irak is. Nie die frekwensie van die koerante of die kulturele agtergrond daarvan het enige korrelasie getoon met die manier waarop die oorlog deur die verskillende koerante uitgebeeld is nie. Die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat hoewel die VSA moontlik daarin geslaag het om die "mediaterrein te okkupeer" in terme van aangehaalde bronne, het hulle nie daarin geslaag om die Suid-Afrikaanse pers se opinie in hul guns te swaai nie. Die VSA is egter bewus van die foute wat tydens die Tweede Golfoorlog gemaak is en beplan om dit deur middel van proaktiewe globale operasies in vredestyd reg te stel.

The thesis Framing of News Photography in the Czech Press on the Example of the Civil War in Libya explores the visual coverage of the conflict by Czech print media. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with the theory of framing. It also focuses on the role of media in armed conflicts, visual behavior of media, the specifics of war photography and its framing. Furthermore the thesis explores the important relationship between image and text. The research draws on extensive literature on media framing as well as foreign research and combines quantitative and qualitative analysis. The practical part is based on the theory of Johan Galtung and his concepts of war and peace journalism, which can be seen as two competing frames. One of the first visual quantitative analysis to apply Galtung's theory was carried out by Shahira Fahmy and Rico Neumann. This study was used as a basis for the thesis. The aim of the research was to determine what visual frames are used to cover the war in the Czech press. Quantitative research focused on three sets of characteristics - picture position and sources, content and formal elements and framing. The most important part of the analysis was to determine the roles of the individuals in the images. The roles were essential for determining of the frames. The purpose...

This study addressed the question: “Does Western media framing of different actors in ethnic conflict influence the likelihood of intervention being advocated in the media?” In order to answer this question, this study used a content analysis of USA, UK and Australian print media, and explored the media framing of conflicts in Rwanda, Kosovo, and East Timor. The study examined newspaper articles prior to intervention and, using Piers Robinson’s media framing model (2000), measured the quantity of “empathetic” and “distancing” coverage in relation to suggestions for intervention. The results of this study show that simplified representations of these complex conflicts often lead to a dangerous polarisation in Western media. Ethnic conflicts are discussed either within a “barbaric” frame, where readers are presented with well-defined heroes, victims and villains and are encouraged to support intervention; or with a “native” narrative, where the situation is reported as a distant problem between “squabbling tribes”, and the media consumer is encouraged to support non-intervention.

The function of a journalist is not only to inform but also to investigate. Since the public has a right to information, jurists need to protect journalists that report from dangerous war-torn regions in order to keep the world informed. As the primary reliable source and often eyewitness to humanitarian atrocities a journalist has a duty to report such atrocities. There has for several decades now been uncertainty regarding the fact whether journalists should be granted special protection or not. On the one hand it is argued that journalists should be protected in terms of humanitarian law due to their humanitarian function, the service that they render in facilitating the free flow of information to the world and the role that journalists play in society. On the other hand, some argue that the protection of journalists is not the responsibility of the international community but rather their individual national governments or local news organisations. / Jurisprudence / LL.M.