Media for peace building and social cohesion in Nepal

Author: Sahayog Ranjit

Peace Journalism

In the present context, one can see an increase in social disintegration in society all over the world. Violence, crimes, and conflicts are growing, and populism is becoming a major threat to world security. Also, climate change, expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cyber war have challenged security concerns all over the world. In such a situation, peace journalism is necessary to support endeavors of peace building and social cohesion. John Vincent Galtung founded the concept of peace journalism. He believes that the media exhibits biases towards conflict and violence by covering negative events. Galtung termed polarization of news as ‘war journalism.’ But the job of the media is not only to cover war, conflict and bad news but to equally prioritize peace initiatives and opportunities with solutions. To counter war journalism, he prioritized the concept and practice of ‘peace journalism’ as media platforms can be used as such a space that can be for all to discuss and foster communal harmony. ‘War journalism’ newsrooms have more orientation to violence, propaganda and opinion of elites. So Galtung argues to establish ‘peace journalism’ newsrooms that find solutions to conflict and be the voice of the victims of war (Gavilan, 2011). Also, peace journalism encourages to anticipate later conflicts and work for reconciliation. While talking about the newsroom let us not forget the quote from Matthew Arnold as he describes journalism as ‘literature in a hurry.’ Newsrooms have deadlines and journalists have pressure to break the news. So, high-tech newsrooms are always in a hurry to upload news without fact checking which sometimes may lead to social conflict and mistrust. So that despite how hurried a newsroom can be, one should not forget that people are watching the content.

Do Nepali newsrooms follow Peace Journalism?

Nepal is going through a complex political transition since 2006 after the Comprehensive Peace Accord between then government and Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). Media scholars argue that media not only facilitated dialogue among conflicting parties at that time, but it also tried to reduce conflict within them for sustainable peace. Though, media were targeted in 10-yearlong insurgency, after the CPA, media continues to work on building peace. Community radio witnessed the violent conflict between 1996 and 2006 at the frontlines. After that, they worked on the sole objective of peace and reconciliation for social harmony, equity and political justice (Aryal, 2020). Same goes to Televisions and newspaper but, with the change of time, partisan approach of journalist and political ideology of media has hindered the Nepali media sector. This undermines the social duty of journalists and threatens social structure. Today, there are thousands of media registered by the rule of law and hundreds are regularly updating news and information. However, only a few newspapers adhere to peace journalism. The rest of the newsrooms in the nation want only one thing – “Break the news”! We can see that in current times, Nepali media is more focused on war newsroom rather than peace. For example, since a few years, the reporting of crimes has increased in the Kathmandu valley. If we see the data of Nepal Police, many involved in such cases seem very young. Media which should be critical and sensitive on such issues post what police share with them, sometimes even disclosing the names of the minors. Due to such activities the media is facing harsh criticism. So that rather than posting hard news updates, the media should prioritize the detailed solution-oriented stories and should be accountable and responsible in reporting sensitive topics. For example, if the media finds out why many youngsters are currently involved in crime and what can be the solution to stop that tendency, it will certainly help the social reformation. Similarly, every year Nepali media reports on ethnic clashes between groups in the Terai region but, the media hardly reports on public oriented and problem-solving news stories. Likewise, political leanings and syndicated news from few media houses has decreased people’s trust in media as the fourth estate. We can see the negative response towards media in social media nowadays, it is the reality media is facing, and they cannot run away from that. Likewise, many times the news media disseminate fake or misleading news which has affected social unity. Therefore, questions are raised about the institution that carried the responsibility of gate keeping of the society. Currently, Nepali journalism is struggling with the advancement of technology and trying to cope with economic problems. Along with it, the prevalence of fake news and information has also challenged the media, lacking in-depth reports on major events. Journalists are not writing interpretative and investigative stories that draw public interest. With the growing use of social media and rise of populism within society, news media are also losing public credibility. People are trusting fake posts in social media more than the information circulated by the news media. Such a situation damage peace in society.

Ways forward

In the age of digital journalism, the role of mainstream media is questioned all over the world. Whether it be regarding Ukraine-Russia war or Hamas-Israel war, or it be the case of catastrophic situation in Sudan, the role media is playing is questionable. Rather than being peace oriented, major media house tends to speak what the regime wants. In Nepal too, the media lacks accountability, which is harmful for the country that upholds peace. Thus, journalists should avoid individualistic journalism and unprofessionalism, and media houses should prioritize investigative and solution-oriented news stories to increase awareness in public, promote empathy in society and empower the community by giving proper training to journalists. With media literacy for both journalists and the public, peace building and social cohesion can be achieved.

References

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