Issue April 2009: Table of Contents

Andrew Hoskins, Barry Richards, and Philip Seib
Editors' note

Media and peacebuilding: the new army stability doctrine and media sector development
Sheldon Himelfarb
Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding, United States Institute of Peace, shimelfarb@usip.org

In October 2008, the US Army released Field Manual 3-07 laying out its dramatically revised doctrine for peace and stability operations. At the heart of the new doctrine is a comprehensive approach to stability operations in fragile states that integrates the work of the military with that of international partners, humanitarian organizations and the private sector. Within this framework, the manual recognizes the important role media plays in successful stability operations. However, it stops short of recommending concrete steps for integrating media sector development with the full spectrum of reconstruction and stabilization activities. This article reviews what the new doctrine says about media sector development, what the gaps are in its treatment of media development, and provides six guidelines for closing these gaps.

Key Words: fragile states • information operations • media development • stability operations • strategic communication

Operation Iraqi Freedom strategic communication analysis and assessment
Thomas M. Cioppa
Colonel, US Army, Thomas.Cioppa@us.army.mil

In support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Joint Campaign Plan describing purpose and objectives was revised in mid-2007 and designated strategic communication as an important enabler of operations. A flexible and responsive methodological approach was needed to monitor, measure, analyze, and assess strategic communication to ensure desired effects were being achieved. This article details the real-world application of strategic communication analysis by the Multi-National Force — Iraq (MNF—I) Communication Division to support MNF—I and United States Mission — Iraq (USM—I) senior leadership situational awareness and decision making. The seven critical methods used included an understanding of the Iraqi and Pan-Arab media; media penetration of key themes; alignment of key messages; understanding Iraqi perceptions; prevalence of misinformation and disinformation in media stories; resonance of press conferences and key themes and messages; and effect of embedded reporters. The goal was to assess the alignment among facts on the ground, media framing of events, and Iraqi perceptions, and to provide actionable recommendations to improve the alignment.

Key Words: media •military • operations research • strategic communication • war

How embedded journalists in Iraq viewed the arrest of Al-Jazeera reporter Taysir Alouni
Shahira Fahmy
School of Journalism, University of Arizona, USA, sfahmy@email.arizona.edu

Thomas J. Johnson
College of Mass Communications, Texas Tech University, USA, t.johnson@ttu.edu

Studies suggest that US reporters, who enjoy the protection of the First Amendment, are strong supporters of freedom of the press. However, studies also suggest that the press rarely challenges the positions of government elites, unless those elites do not agree on a course of action. What happens when attitudes toward free press and government policy collide? This study relies on a survey of embedded journalists conducted soon after the conviction of Al-Jazeera's most prominent reporter, Taysir Alouni, on charges that he collaborated with terrorist organizations. The survey was designed to discover whether embeds believe the arrest sets a dangerous precedent. The study also examines the degree to which attitudes about whether the arrest sets a dangerous precedent are correlated with attitudes about press freedom and amount of censorship in Iraq. Respondents were more likely than not to believe that the arrest would set a dangerous precedent, but the plurality did not take a position on the issue. Those who believed reporters should have maximum access to the war and those who believed that the government engaged in censorship were more likely to argue that Alouni's arrest may have a chilling effect on journalism.

Key Words: Al-Jazeera • embedded journalists • freedom of press • Taysir Alouni

National interest or business interest: coverage of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo in The Australian newspaper
Virgil Hawkins
Global Collaboration Center, Osaka University, Japan, Hawkins@glocol.osaka-u.ac.jp

Most of the world's mass media have largely ignored the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), despite the fact that it is by far the deadliest conflict in the world today. Other much smaller conflicts are instead chosen to be the subject of intense focus and attention, ostensibly on grounds of relevance to national interest and humanitarian concern. But neither of these rationales holds up to scrutiny. The Australian newspaper is no exception in this sense. This article quantitatively and qualitatively examines coverage of conflict in the DRC in The Australian, comparing it with that of other conflicts and crises, primarily Israel—Palestine, Darfur and Zimbabwe. It concludes that some subjective and narrow perceptions of national interest as well as business interests (producing news that `sells' and following international news flows) serve to explain the DRC's marginalization in The Australian .

Key Words: The Australian • business interest • conflict • Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) • media • national interest

Book Reviews

Nancy Snow Book review
Guy Westwell War Cinema: Hollywood on the Front Line London: Wallflower Press (Short Cuts Series), 2006. 133 pp. ISBN 1 904764 54 1 (pbk)
Tony Shaw Hollywood's Cold War Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007. 342 pp. ISBN 978 0 7486 2523 9 (hbk); ISBN 978 0 7486 2524 6 (pbk)

Peter Shields Book review
Myriam Dunn Cavelty, Victor Mauer and Sai Felicia Krishna-Hensel (eds) Power and Security in the Information Age: Investigating the Role of the State in Cyberspace Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007. 167 pp. ISBN 978 0 7546 7088 9 (hbk)

Kenneth R. Donow Book review
Marda Dunsky Pens and Swords: How the American Mainstream Media Report the Israeli— Palestinian Conflict New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. 456 pp. ISBN 978 0 23113348 7 (hbk); ISBN 978 0 231 13349 4 (pbk)

Nathan Roger Book review
Nicholas Mirzoeff Watching Babylon: The War in Iraq and Global Visual Culture New York: Routledge, 2005. vi + 196 pp. ISBN 978 0 415 34309 1 (hbk); ISBN 978 0 415 34310 7 (pbk)

Heloiza G. Herscovitz Book review:
Martin Löffelholz and David Weaver (eds) Global Journalism Research: Theories, Methods, Findings, Future Oxford: Blackwell, 2008. 304 pp. ISBN 978 4051 5331 7

Valerie Priscilla Goby Book review
Tugrul Ilter, Nurten Kara, Melek Atabay, Yetin Arslan and Muge Orun (eds) Communication in Peace/Conflict in Communication (Proceedings of the Second International Conference in Communication and Media Studies, 2—4 May 2007, Faculty of Media and Communication Studies, Eastern Mediterranean University, Turkish Republic of North Cyprus) Famagusta, Turkish Republic of North Cyprus: Eastern Mediterranean Press, 2008. x + 306 pp. ISBN 978 975 8401 61 1

Editors:
Andrew Hoskins
University of Warwick, UK
Barry Richards
Bournemouth University, UK
Philip Seib
University of Southern California,

Reviews Editor:
Ben O'Loughlin
Royal Holloway, University of London