Krig och fred -080808 : Freds-, krigsjournalistik och propaganda i mediernas rapportering om Georgienkriget: en komparativ studie av Sveriges, Rysslands och USA:s press

Abstract Title: Krig och fred - 080808. Freds-, krigsjournalistik och propaganda i mediernas rapportering om Georgienkriget: en komparativ studie av Sveriges, Rysslands och USA:s press. (War and peace – 080808. Peace Journalism, War Journalism and Propaganda in the Media´s Reporting on the Georgia War: a Comparative Study of the Swedish, Russian and American Press.) Authors: Daniel Lövgren & Tatiana Makarova Tutor: Anna Roosvall Course: Bachelor Thesis: Media and Communication, PR Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to compare how the press in Sweden, Russia and the USA reported on the war in Georgia 2008. Focus is put on identifying the extent to which the reporting is governed by war journalism or peace journalism and, to which degree propaganda, that is one of the aspects of war journalism, is present in the different countries press. Methodology: Quantitative content analysis and critical discourse analysis Theoretical perspectives: The essay leans on the theoretical foundation of peace journalism and war journalism proposed by the Norwegian peace researcher Johan Galtung, further elaborated by the journalists Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick. This essay also uses a theoretical framework on propaganda, among other the “Propaganda model” by Herman and Chomsky, the research of Kempf and Loustarinen and journalistic observations of Lynch and McGoldrick. Conclusions: The study reveals both similarities and differences between the reporting on the Georgia war in the analyzed countries. The quantitative content analysis of 600 articles in nine different newspapers (three in each country) shows that it is the war journalistic framework that is dominating in all the three countries. The results also show that there is a difference between the support given to the parties involved in the war. In the USA and Sweden the majority of the articles are pro-Georgian and in Russia the majority of the articles take pro-South Ossetian/Russian stance. The critical discourse analysis of eight articles have shown similarities and differences in scale, design, content and the presence of propaganda. Indicators of propaganda in the analyzed material include a breakdown of the actors in the war to two opposing parties, a polarization between “us” and “them” where the first is humanized and the later demonized, a wide use of elite sources. Keywords: Peace journalism, war journalism, propaganda, Georgia war, South Ossetia, Swedish press, Russian press, American pressThe Caucasus Projec