Coverage of terrorism on the perspectives of war and peace journalism: a case study of leading Pakistani and us newspapers

Abstract

This study examines the extent to which coverage on terrorism, particularly after the commencement of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, framed as war or peace journalism based on Johan Galtung’s classifications. The study analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively, 500 news stories from two leading newspapers, Dawn of Pakistan and The New York Times form USA. The study found that the war journalism frames dominated the overall coverage on terrorism. The salient war journalism indicators were difference oriented, elite oriented, two-party oriented and visible effects, which were found to be dominant in the coverage. Whereas, peace journalism frames dominant in the coverage were causes & consequences, solution oriented, people oriented and multi-party oriented. Overall, Dawn supported the narratives; endorsement of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, Pakistan’s terrorism control and framed Pakistan as friendly, whereas The New York Times did not support these narratives and framed Pakistan as foe. Coverage on terrorism and its framing have always been very crucial in inducing specific narratives and exploring gateways for media practitioners and researchers for further in-depth understanding of the issue.