News and Terrorism in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore

Researcher: Sonia Ambrosio de Nelson
Institution: National University of Singapore
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
The research looks on the print media in the three countries of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The terrorist bombings in Indonesia in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 were analysed.The media in the three countries are structured to contribute to nation-building and economic development.

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Information Management and the Media: Framing the War on Terrorism

Researcher: Cristina Archetti
Institution: Leeds University
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
The research explores the extent to which the U.S. government was able to affect international perceptions of the War on Terrorism in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 events. It relies on the application of framing theory and its view that issues can be constructed through the communication process by way of selecting information and/or making it more salient. I test the hypothesis by analysing political and media discourses in a range of international case studies including the US, Italy, France and Pakistan. What I attempt to do is assessing the effectiveness of the US government's information management strategies in relation to the War on Terrorism in a global context. From a theoretical point of view I am trying to find an explanatory model of
how frames develop at the international level.

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The Cypriot media, the resolution of conflict and the promotion of peace.

Researcher: Dr. Mashoed Bailie
Institution: Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
Current project explores the role of various media in both Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities during the initiation of peace processes, conflict resolution programs and bi-communal activities. This is a critical communication theory oriented project that highlights relations between both communication studies and areas of peace studies, peace media studies and conflict resolution.

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A International Comparisons of the Production Process of Mass Media Organisations

Researcher: Rena Bivens
Institution: University of Glasgow
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
My research is on the production of news within mainstream media organizations within the UK, Canada and the United States. I focus on the impact of new technologies on the production process and the complexities of reporting conflicts, specifically the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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A Comparative Analysis of the Television Representation of 9/11

Researcher: Gwen Bouvier
Institution: University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
Examining 24hours of output on BBC1 (BBC, UK) and TV1 (VRT, Belgium). My focus is on news production processes, newsroom practices, and editorial decisions that were made during the creation of the broadcast. My main aim is to place the text of the 9/11 coverage back into the context of the newsroom it was (mainly) created in.

For more information please go to Gwen's webpage

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Propaganda and Modern Conflicts: The Role of the Trans-Atlantic Relationship

Researcher: Emma Briant
Institution: Glasgow Caledonian University
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
This research is examining the impact of the trans-Atlantic relationship in determining the nature, evolution and implementation of British and American wartime propaganda strategy between 1998 and 2003. The research is examining 3 case-study conflicts (Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq) during which time propaganda strategy was transformed in both its perceived importance to foreign policy and also its application.

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Reality Bytes: Cyberterrorism and Terrorist Use of the Net

Researcher: Maura Conway
Institution: University of St. Andrews
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
No attempt has yet been made to uncouple cyberterrorism and terrorist use of the Net. Instead of treating cyberterrorism as the most important conjunction of terrorism and the Internet (as has been the tendency to date--even amongst those who doubt the efficacy of the cyberterrorist threat), my research illustrates how terrorist use of the Net is an everyday "reality? and one that ought to attract far more attention than it has yet received. A particular emphasis is placed on terrorist Web sites as the vehicles for terrorist publicity and propaganda, one of the most prominent terrorist uses of the Net. Given the paucity of previous research addressing these issues, this study cannot be anything other than preliminary. Nevertheless, the project's aim is to clarify what is meant by cyberterrorism, explain the origins of the current cyber-angst and, having accomplished these, shift the spotlight from the much-hyped cyberterrorism to an analysis of the Internet as a soft power tool employed by terrorists with increasing success.                

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Empowering rural community through community radio .

Researcher: Sudhamshu Dahal
Institution: Department of Media Sciences, Anna University, Chennai, India
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
The core objective of this Ph.D. research is to investigate the use and benefits of community radio stations as direct and more participatory medium in rural communities for attaining empowerment and fostering social inclusion by studying evolvement of Community Radio in Nepal. This study will also investigate on the role of Community Radio in conflict transformation during 11 years of armed conflict in Nepal. The research will examine community radio based information and communication networks often known as Listeners Clubs to understand empowerment and socio-economic inclusion in the rural areas of Nepal.

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War by Images: From Kosovo to Iraq.

Researcher: Chiara De Franco
Institution: European University Institute, Department of Social and Political Sciences, Italy
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
This research would produce a conceptualization of the power that international TV news networks have over foreign policy making during international conflicts, on the basis of the analysis of UK and the US policy making during Nato's intervention in Kosovo and during the "war against international terrorism".

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Propaganda vs. news: Terrorist use of media and the media coverage of terrorism

Researcher: Dinesh D Dodamgoda
Institution: St Andrews University. The Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV) under the supervision of Professor Alex P. Schmid and Professor Maxwell Taylor.
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
The proposed research aims to elucidate the 'symbiotic relationship‚ between the terrorists and the journalists by using three case studies, Al-Qaeda, LTTE and IRA, embedded with a wider theoretical framework relating to news values and freedom of information vs. freedom from intimidation and methods of damage control.

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News Coverage of Cyprus Conflict

Researcher: Metin Ersoy
Institution: Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
The basic aim of this study is to explore the Turkish/Greek Cypriot media coverage of each other to see how they frame the "other" in their coverage. This will help us in formulating a peace journalism approach for journalists in Cyprus

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Analysing media discourses, concerning the Iraqi conflicts 1990-1991 and 2003-2004: strategies and positionment of the journalists in France, UK and Greece.

Researcher: Isabella Stavroula Frangouli
Institution:La Sorbonne-Nouvelle, Paris 3, France
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
The research investigates the television network's coverage of the two Gulf wars (1990-1991 and 2003-2004, military operations' period), focusing on one private and one public television channel in three european countries: France, UK and Greece. The information is mainly gathered from the evening news programme, however, information is also taken from the press, in an attempt to cover the gaps in the research process (mostly from difficulties in the archives).

Main objectives of the research:
a) compare the media coverage within each european country (private vs public sector)
b) examine the globality of a medium's source in each country
c) analyse the media coverages between the three countries

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The Construction of a Social Imaginary on Terrorism by Newspapers in Montreal and Guadalajara.

Researcher: Gabriela Gomez
Institution: Universidad de Guadalajara (Ph.D at Concordia University, Montreal).
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
Since September 11, 2001, social imaginaries on terrorism have changed. The role of mass media is relevant in the ways in which it can determine what "we imagined" and "we interpreted" about terrorism since media itself proposes ways of reading social realities.

The social imaginary facilitates an exploration of the cultural appropriations of terrorism in societies such as the Québéqois and Mexican, and the relationship that these societies establish with their own nation, in particular the kind of representations they have about themselves with respect to terrorism and the ”others”.
This work is an exploratory study. By analyzing the discursive structures (interpretive repertoires) in newspapers and group discussions and its dynamics (by focus groups) we seek to ascertain the social imaginaries that mass media (newspapers) construct on terrorism in Montreal and Guadalajara, and the discursive engagement with these by their readers (subscribers).

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The Role of the Media in Peacebuilding in Post-conflict Societies, with special reference to Africa

Researcher: Linda Mitchell
Institution: Cardiff University
Status of Project: Ongoing

Research:
What is the impact of war and conflict reporting on communities once a ceasefire is agreed? In the vast majority of cases, foreign journalists leave once the more dramatic elements of battle are no longer present. They may only be interested in the peace agreement if or when it fails. It is left to the home community of journalists to pick up the pieces and make sense of what's happened. Often, the media infrastructure has been destroyed and journalists may be exiled, imprisoned or murdered. They may also bear the same psychological scars as their fellow citizens. Research questions: How to move forward in terms of recruitment, training, rebuilding infrastructure, establishing ethics and professional norms? What is the relationship between indigenous, traditional forms of communication and the news media? What might be the impact of
information and communication technology on peacebuilding?

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Toward a Theory of Mediatized Politics: Lessons from the Iraq Crisis 2002-2003

Researcher: Janne Halttu
Institution: CAMRI (Communication and Media Research Institute), University of Westminster
Status of Project: Ongoing

Research:
To develop an interdisciplinary theory of policy-media interplay in international relations by 1) identifying the shortcomings of theories of media-state relations, 2) discussing how IR scholars could contribute to creating a more comprehensive approach on the role of news media in world politics leading to a theoretical framework and by 3) testing this framework in both peace and wartime cases covering the diplomatic crisis over Iraq as well as the actual armed conflict. Emphasis is on how both media coverage and anticipated media coverage influence preference formation of the actors of the international system.

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Audiovisual Representation of War (1898-2003)

Researcher: Amaya Muruzábal
Institution:University of Navarra
Status of Project: Ongoing

Research:
War and Cinema. Veterans' experiences and other traumatic experiences represented in Hollywood films. Comparison of Second World War experiences and Vietnam experiences as they are remembered and represented. My contribution to this project is a PhD dissertation thesis focused on a comparison between two veteran movies: The Best Years of Our Lives (W. Wyler, 1946) and The Deer Hunter (M. Cimino, 1978). The main goal of this research is to highlight the resemblances and differences of these two representations of the so-called "coming home subgenre". Can we talk about a film subgenre or genre? Which are its features? What kind of relation this genre bears to History? Why the war is so important to the "narratives of memory"?

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News, memory and Identity: The Palestinians in Britain

Researcher: Dina Matar
Institution: London School of Economics
Status of Project: completed

Research:
This study uses an audience study approach to explore the meaning of news in the Palestinians lives. Because of the timing of the research and the context, the news of conflict figured highly in my thesis.

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Political Communication and War in the 21st Century. An Internet Perspective
Researcher: Paris Mavrommatis
Institution:National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Media Department
Status of Project: completed

Research:
Theoretical and Historical aspects of War and Propaganda on the 20th Century, emphasis on the "New Wars", empirical research of war political communication over the Internet. Key issues: -The social Construction of the term "War" -War and Technology -"New Wars" -"Revolution in Military Affairs (R.M.A.)" -Internet

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The changing role of the fixer in global television newsgathering and its consequences for international reporting
Researcher: Colleen Murrell
Institution:Deakin University, Melbourne
Status of Project: Ongoing

Research:
With the increased use of parachute journalism by international television news companies, this thesis will examine if the on-the-spot fixer is playing an ever more important part in the newsgathering process. This research will draw on existing research into crisis reporting; international news flows; changing work pratices; multi-skilling; digitisation and 24 hour news cycles. It will also explore the new media imperatives following 9/11 and the 'war on terrorism,' in order to see how the perceived increase in reporting danger is affecting the working practices of international television correspondents. Set against these macro-level debates about the global media and political scene, this study will take a professional practice approach to explore how these changes affect reporters' newsgathering techniques. This approach will build on the available theoretical research into the sociology of journalism. The methodological approach to charting change will involve in-depth interviews with senior journalists in Australia and Great Britain, as well as fixers, operating in areas of crisis.

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The Strategies of Containment and the strategies of resistance: representation[s] in contemporary Television & Television news.

Researcher: Chris Roberts
Institution: Roehampton University/Lancaster University
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
Prinicipally focused on an analysis of Television broadcast news. The ways in which TV news can produce particular sets of knowledges and particular intelligible acceptable identities. There are various conventional strategies of containment employed: namely the appropriation of the dramatic narrative, and the use of polarised characterisation[s] that attempt to effectively police audience reading positions. The high modality "genre" of Television news functions discursively. Drawing on the theories of amongst others, Foucault, Barthes, Hall and Edward Said, i attempt to show how "others" provide narrative functionality at particular 'newsworthy' moments in history. It is my contention that, editing, visual imagery, narrative & use of language precipitate & perpetuate a system that marginalize certain "others" whilst revering and venerating a distinct group of 'experts'.

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Reporting war: a diachronic, functional perspective

Researcher: Claire Scott
Institution: Centre for Language in Social Life, Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia)
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
The principle aim of the research (beginning February 2006) is to carry out a linguistic analysis of war reporting discourse over a period of almost one hundred years in Australia?s recent history. The analysis, using the tools of systemic functional grammar, and the ensuing interpretation of the patterns of meaning, is intended primarily to investigate the way war is and has been reported in Australia since the First World War. This research contributes to the overall body of work in CLSL analysing the discourse of social life, and in particular the current (2005-7) project 'Reporting war: mapping meaning and the potential for bias in the news' conducted by Dr Annabelle Lukin.

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Media, propaganda and war in the U.S. led Hierarchical International System (preliminary title)

Researcher: Tiina Seppälä
Institution: International Relations, Department of Social Studies, University of Lapland (Finland)
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
Studying the changing relationship between media(propaganda)and war in the U.S. led new hierarchical international system (after the Cold War), using the Gulf War (1990-91), the Kosovo War (1999) and the U.S. "war on terrorism" in Afghanistan (2001-02) and Iraq (2003- ) as case studies. the theoretical framework consists of three sets of theories - the first one studies the changing role of the U.S. in the international system, the second the changing role of the U.S. and the effectiveness of its (war) propaganda in the international media and information system and the third one considers the changing (media)strategies of "spectacle wars", "image wars" and "virtual wars".

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The Ultimate Public Relations Challenge: Legitimizing NATO and its Humanitarian Intervention in Kosovo

Researcher:Michele Schoenberger-Orgad
Institution: University of Waikato, New Zealand
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
This research examines the discourses of NATO during the war in Kosovo from a public relations perspective. The thesis argues that NATO used public relations strategies and tactics to discursively justify its use of military force against Yugoslavia in 1999, and thereby establish itself as a sustainable, viable organisation for the 21st century. Using critical discourse analysis, the research examines the discursive positioning of NATO in terms of its involvement in Kosovo and justification for existence in a post-Cold War world in Europe.

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The Use of Soft Power to Ameliorate Jihadist Ideology

Researcher:Steve Tatham
Institution: University of Southampton
Status of Project: ongoing

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Telling the truth about war? The role of the media in conflict

Researcher:Yennue Zarate
Institution:University of Westminster
Status of Project: ongoing

Research:
The objective is to study the Journalism within conflict particularly the Peace Journalism, their origins, philosophy, history, the critical reflections among journalists and academia, and the test the effects of this approach particularly if has influence in conflict resolution and on the building of peace.