Media and Peace: The Situation

Participants take part in a human chain that formed a circle around the great pyramid of Chefren in Cairo, Egypt. More than 1,500 students, teachers and parents from 50 nationalities formed a circle that symbolized peace in the world, delivering a message that young people from different cultures and religions can live together peacefully. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Media and Public Understanding of Peace

This quarter the students of COM495/SIS490 The Media and Peace are investigating the complex relationships among the media, journalistic practice, and public understanding and pursuit of peace.

One thing we are discovering through our research is that there is a lot more scholarly attention to the media’s role in war, than in peace. Why is that?

This first issue attempts to characterize the current situation. In doing so we, of course, address the prevalence of war and violence in media content, but we also explore topics such as the nascent peace journalism movement, peace messages in popular culture, and innovations such as social media — whether Facebook or Twitter — as tools for peace.

We hope you enjoy our work.

Did you know...

Peace sign

Photo by Elena Hansen

Save the Date

By Elena Hansen

The International Day of Peace is celebrated on September 21. Established in 1982, the United Nations-sponsored event involves the entire global community. The U.N. highlights and honors various individuals and organizations for their exemplary actions of peace via telecasts over the radio, internet, and television from September 20-21. Perhaps most important, on Peace Day the U.N. asks all combatants around the world to lay down their weapons in a day of cease-fire.