What makes the application of peace journalism in Indo-Pak conflicts a Challenging task?

Abstract

Building on the existing literature, this critical review of peace journalism scholarship — based on
various research studies from 2002 to 2017— observed that application of peace journalism in
reporting Pakistan-India relations, particularly conflicts, has become a challenging task due to various
media tendencies. The prominent among these tendencies are the nationalistic, jingoistic and
ethnocentric approaches in media coverage, wherein the media look into the issues from these
particular lenses. The inclination of media to become party in conflicts, instead of adhering to the
universal journalistic principles of impartiality and objectivity, led to biased coverage, and resultantly
peace journalism was the victim. “Us versus Them” or “Our side and Other side” media inclinations are
also taking the application of peace journalism away from the practice. While reliance on official
sources for information and the structural constraints of news media, are the other factors that keep
media away from reporting the conflicts from a peace perspective.