Peace journalism in times of 'new wars': Opportunities and obstacles

The aim of this paper is to examine the possibilities for 'conflict-sensitive quality' in war reporting according to Nadine Bilke under the conditions of 'new wars' according to Herfried Münkler. 'New wars', including international terrorism, no longer have a clear beginning or end. Violence is exercised asymmetrically, combat zones and conquered territories are difficult to access, and the interests of the parties involved are unclear. This changes the possibilities for reporting. Bilke demands empathy, multi-perspectivity and knowledge of conflict theory from journalists who report in a conflict-sensitive manner. However, Bilke considers the effects of 'new wars' on reporting to be insufficient. This is not the only hurdle to 'conflict-sensitive quality': the pressure to be up to date, costs and time constraints already make the work of media professionals difficult, even without the criteria of conflict-sensitive reporting. The key point is that Bilke's concept has blind spots - in terms of financing 'conflict-sensitive quality' and its implementation under the conditions of 'new wars'.

Pagina's: 52, Paperback, Our Knowledge Publishing