Framing the news: from political conflict to peace. How the Framing Theory and Political Context Model can enhance the peace journalism model.

Authors

  • María Teresa Nicolás Gavilán Universidad Panamericana

Keywords:

Covering Conflict, peace journalism, Framing theory

Abstract

The aim of the peace journalism model is to offer a “peace oriented” way to cover conflicts. A research of the subject indicates that the focus of peace journalism has been about the benefits and details of how the model can be implemented, but without serious academic or theoretical background. This paper deals with this problem. After a brief analysis of current peace journalism theory and its limits, the article uses two theories to provide solid theoretical grounding for the peace journalism model. In first place, the ‘framing theory’ of Robert Entman demonstrates that this model could be considered a frame and also an exercise of framing. However, once the Entman theory provides light on framing, what kind of frame and how it is constructed, it is necessary to review the model peace journalism and analyze it with a focus on conflict coverage. So, in second place it will be studied the ‘politic context model’ of Gadi Wolfsfeld to include some interesting aspects of the political conflict environment. Key words: Peace journalism, Conflict, Framing theory, Political Context. Submission date: 2011-03-27 Acceptance date: 2011-11-24 

Author Biography

María Teresa Nicolás Gavilán, Universidad Panamericana

María Teresa Nicolás a lawyer with a PhD in Communications from Navarre University, Spain. She is the Graduate Studies Director, and professor of International Communication, Communications Ethics and Current Social Affairs in the Panamerican University, Mexico City.  A Visitor Researcher at Hebrew University of Jerusalem she experienced in site Israeli- Palestinian conflicts and analized the Spanish Foreign Reporters and their work covering the conflict. Her publications vary from Intercultural Communications to Peace Journalism, published in Comunicación y sociedad (2010), Cuaderno de Periodistas (2009); as well as chapters in La comunicación en situaciones de Crisis: del 11-m al 14-m (Vara, A., Virgili, J.R. Giménez, etc. eds., Pamplona, 2006), Propuestas para una comunicación de calidad (Carcelén García, S., Rodríguez Wangüemert, C., y Villagra García, N., eds., Madrid 2006) and Educación ético-ciudadana. Investigaciones y buenas prácticas, (Robles Vilches, M. C., Fuentes Esparrell, J. A., Romero Barriga J. F., etc, eds., UNESCO Granada: 2008). Speaker at Cammro's 5th Annual Conference:  ‘Media coverage of the war on Gaza: Propaganda, public opinion and foreign policy’ London 2009.

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Published

2011-02-23

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 2 (2011): Public Policies and Democratization of Communication

Section

Articles