Creating Cross-Fertilization in the Fields of Conflict Management and Journalism

Abstract: This novel session/roundtable is an interactive session focusing on these questions. (1) What is a potential theory and research agenda to better integrate journalism, conflict dynamics, and social change? (2) What impact could/should educational interventions and professional initiatives have on (a) increasing journalists’ understanding of conflict dynamics, (b) affecting their coverage of social and political conflicts, and (c) building support for non-mainstream journalism developments of community, citizen and solutions journalism. And, (3) what is the nature of journalism education globally and domestically that prepares journalists to understand conflict dynamics and what more can they be doing to cross-fertilize these fields? These questions should be significantly informed by conflict scholars in light of the increasing development of non-mainstream journalistic practices (i.e., community, citizen and solutions journalism) and the reality of social media and web 2.0 information sources as a mainstay of journalistic information.

Keywords: journalism, conflict agenda, media

Topic: COMM   |   Format: Novel Session