conflict & communication online, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2014
www.cco.regener-online.de
ISSN 1618-0747

Shabbir Hussain
Reporting on terror: Why are the voices of peace unheard?

This study combines critical textual analysis with field observations to investigate how Pakistani media have covered the ongoing conflict with the Taliban in the North-West of the country. Using framing theory as its theoretical basis, the study found that the Pakistani Taliban are portrayed as chiefly responsible for the ongoing violence in the country, by placing them within the frame of an enemy image. The victims in the conflict were found to be dismissive of the media's tendency to show greater interest in 'bleeding faces', to quote a tribesman, rather than in portraying the unfolding of a major humanitarian crisis. The peace journalism model is limited by the prevailing media emphasis on the security aspect of this conflict and their tendency to ignore popular perspectives.

The author:
Shabbir Hussain comes from the tribal areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, where this war on terror is being fought. He started his professional career as a newspaper reporter and then joined the country's main public sector television station. After working as a documentary producer for five years, he went into university teaching, and at present he is an Assistant Professor at Riphah University, Islamabad. He recently defended his PhD dissertation on "Conflicts and Media in Pakistan". His main research areas are: conflict communication, peace through visual media and philosophy of communication. Shabbir Hussain is the first to have introduced conflict communication as a topic in Pakistan and has organized more than a dozen seminars and workshops for media theorists and practitioners in this regard.

Address: Riphah International University, Al Mizan Campus, Peshawar Road, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
eMail: shabbir.hussain@riphah.edu.pk, shasain2@gmail.com
URL: http://www.riphah.edu.pk/faculties/media-studies