| dc.description.abstract | Summary This research is important, relevant for media scholars as well as scholars of peace building, because the idea of using media in peace building has not been emphasised as much as other subjective methods in journalism. This thesis contributes by providing a better understanding of how journalists in news media can affect the peace process through peace journalism, by focusing on peaceful solutions and in that way building peace. This thesis examines subjective sides in war journalism, and how news media and/or journalists can contribute in a peace process through a variety of peace journalism. For instance, peace journalism according to Jake Lynch, based on Johan Galtung’s work. Gadi Wolfsfeld (2004: 11) argues that news media can contribute in a variety of ways in a peace process. This thesis discusses subjective approaches to war journalism, focusing mainly on peace journalism, and in what way journalists and media channels can contribute to a peaceful solution rather than escalation of war after an attack like 9/11. The ideals of journalism are for the journalist to be objective, and for the media to be the fourth estate. However, there are many challenges along the way, as described in chapter 4 and 5, especially when the war is in the journalists’ homeland like the 11th September 2001 terror attack. Examples of such challenges are concerning the media’s job as society’s watchdog (fourth estate), the government role in wars like “the war on terror”, and the role of journalism in a changing technological world. A journalist’s subjective sides might also influence a peace process. After 9/11 American journalists faced challenges like lack of training and experience, dealing with non-knowledge, and dealing with attachment. Peace journalism according to Jake Lynch has a focus on media’s role in peace building, which makes the model important in this thesis reviewing U.S. media’s role in peace building after 9/11. As well as discussing how a journalist could, and might should, contribute. In the second part this thesis analyses in what way journalists in New York Times and New York Post contributed in peace and solutions according to Lynch’s method, rather than escalation of the conflict/war. Even though most of the Times’ coverage is balanced, they still have traces of propaganda and connection to the U.S. government’s agenda. Official sources are widely used, while sources from the opposition are rarely referenced. The Post, on the other hand, was even more biased, and there are plenty of examples of words and symbols used to build up an enemy picture. All together the newspapers in New York build up an enemy image of Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda network, and contribute in spreading fear among their readers. According to the analysis of the articles the first weeks after the 9/11-attacks, it is possible to say that the newspapers did not follow peace journalism as described by Lynch and McGoldrick (2005) and Galtung and Lynch (2010), nor made a huge contribution to a peace process. Instead the newspapers worked on team with the government in some occasions, like when promoting a war in Afghanistan (revenge) and by emphasising that the terror attack was a result of lack of funds needed by the intelligence agencies. The newspapers also contributed in creating hate to those behind the attack, beyond what is natural, without explaining in depth why such an attack did happen in the first place. Nevertheless, the coverage of both the Times and the Post was mainly unbiased, even though chapter 6 provides many examples of the opposite. After all, it is easier to point out all the mistakes, according to scholars of Peace Journalism or peace building, rather than emphasising all the good journalism preformed. Both newspapers provided a wide coverage of the events, and a certain background of the events that led to the war, even though some stories and angels were left out of various reasons. The newspaper mainly reported for New Yorkers, and secondly for Americans. Both newspapers informed their public about what had happened, and to a certain extend why. Still, the coverage described in this thesis also shows examples of journalism that can be improved – if the goal for journalists are to contribute to peaceful solutions. | eng |