The role of media in conflict resolution, culture of conciliation and peacebuilding

Media and communication tools influence society's attitudes, values and ways of thinking towards individuals, events and socio-cultural relationships. Communication tools have a great importance on the shaping the public agenda and to create a social influence thanks to intense interest shown to the visual media. Therefore, from this point of view, it is unlikely to think of media and its components separately from social conflicts. On the contrary, the media plays a major role in the transfer of information and formation of public opinion, continuity of democracy, shaping of conflicts and construction of peace. To explore such phenomena, the concept of Peace Journalism which was first introduced in 1960 by the Norwegian scholar Prof. Johan Galtung will be used in this thesis. Peace Journalism was mainly developed in the 1990s but as an approach, it has in fact, a much longer history. The best example of this is the 1936 International Convention on Radio Broadcasts in Geneva, which, after the end of World War I, used the radios as a model of mass communication as an example of peacebuilding practice, and the media's responsibility for broadcasting for peace. Even if the basics go so far, it is argued that the media, which is described as the fourth force today, fully fulfils its mandate in Peace Journalism. With this context in mind, this study examines the effects of the media on the society by first considering all related concepts individually while questioning their role in shaping social conflicts. While referring to the concepts of Conflict, Peace, and Conflict Resolution, it also highlights the importance of the Story Telling in Conflict Resolution. As journalists talk about real stories, and the importance of transferring them to the society objectivly, this study questions the narrator's values, approaches, and teachings as ways of conveying the event and making an impact on the public opinion formation. How much awareness is there on such matters from media workers, journalists and communicators? What do they think about Peace Journalism? Do they realise that they can be parties to conflicts and peace processes with the news they report, so they have a responsibility in the way they take shape one way or another? Is Peace Journalism widely applied today and is it possible to teach the conceptualisations of Peace Journalism in the improvement of current practice of journalism? In this study, which was prepared to understand the role of the media in conflict resolution and peace settlement, and to find answers to the above questions, an extensive literature review was undertaken and two conflict contexts that Turkey involved were used as case studies - Kardak and Cyprus. An archival research was undertaken for data gathering in which the tendency of the media in the case studies concerned were questioned Moreover, interviews with a significant number of journalists were carried out through a questionnaire survey in order to enrich discussions on journalistic values and approaches to Peace Journalism. Finally, the thesis presents a number of recommendations to different stakeholders for the use of Peace Journalism in the contemporary Turkish media. Keywords: Peace Journalism, Conflict, Conflict Resolution, Storytelling, Mass Media