conflict & communication online, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2017
www.cco.regener-online.de
ISSN 1618-0747

Kimberly Kelling & Beverly Horvit
The viability of peace journalism in Western media environments

Conversations in peace journalism literature often argue for or against its feasibility in media environments, providing ample evidence of both peace and war journalism practices (Lee & Maslog, 2005; Lee, Maslog, & Kim, 2006; Maslog, Lee, & Kim, 2006). Although Hackett (2006) acknowledges challenges to peace journalism through three theoretical lenses – the hierarchy of influences model, the propaganda model, and the journalistic field model – we argue that peace journalism opportunities do exist and are employed in Western media environments despite those challenges. This theoretical paper consolidates Lee and Maslog’s (2005) peace and war characteristics into a modified peace journalism framework that collapses Galtung’s (2000) orientations into peace/war, people/elite, and solution/victory orientations.

The authors:
Kimberly Kelling is a doctoral student at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. With a bachelor of journalism and bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Missouri, she pursued a master ’s degree in communication from Northwestern University. After working as a marketing director in the financial industry for four years, she returned to the University of Missouri School of Journalism for doctoral work in media ethics. Pulling from moral development, philosophical, and organizational theories, her research interest focuses on norms, routines, and ethical considerations in international reporting, as well as roles and responsibilities of the international journalist.
Address: University of Missouri, 220 Reynolds Journalism Institute, Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, MO 65211, U.S.A.
eMail: kaf7bf@mail.missouri.edu

Beverly Horvit is an assistant professor in the Missouri School of Journalism. After her earning her bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University, she worked for several Texas newspapers, including The Houston Post. She then earned master’s and doctoral degrees from the Missouri School of Journalism, where she was a faculty news editor at the Columbia Missourian. Her research on international news coverage and foreign policy has been published in the Newspaper Research Journal, International Communication Gazette and the International Journal of Press/Politics. Horvit returned to the School after teaching at Winthrop University, the University of Texas-Arlington and Texas Christian University.
Address: University of Missouri, 203 Neff Hall, Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, MO 65211, U.S.A.
eMail: horvitb@missouri.edu