Communication and International Relations

What would it be like if violent conflict were not a normal part of our everyday lives? What if the media did more than portray war images and suffering? What if the media could help prevent violence?

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Internet Users as Political Catalysts
By Pete Day

According to a study conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in May 2003, 44% of internet users in the United States have contributed to the online world in the form of pictures, texts, music, and videos. "In this new-media culture," says Paul Saffo, a director for the Institute for the Future in California, "people no longer passively 'consume' media but actively participate in them."

In his U.S. Institute of Peace article, "The Media's Role in Preventing and Moderating Conflict," Robert Karl Manoff discusses the ways in which media could be involved in conflict management. Although the media's current role in conflict management is quite small and many believe that the media is incapable of such a task, Manoff offers examples of several different programs and interventions that have taken place. One attempt to reduce ethnic favoritism and biases in the news was the "Inter-Ethnic Team Reporting Project." This project united different ethnic news organizations who worked together to create collaborative stories, focusing on a specific country. According to Manoff, it proved to be a good experience for the journalists. This is just one of several specific examples that Manoff offers to support the idea that media could potentially manage, if not reduce, conflict between international communities.

Although there is no clear strategy that the media should pursue, Manoff does discuss many of the more general roles that the media could play in situations of conflict. Some of these roles include engaging in confidence building, identifying underlying interests of each party involved, establishing networks to circulate information on conflict prevention, and many others.

This article helps to show that media could possibly prevent conflict and promote peaceful resolutions. Although we are currently faced with constant violence and conflict in the media, Manoff helps to show that the media could do more than just report on violence and conflict if given the proper opportunity and support.