Framing violence in times of peace talks : El Tiempo’s news coverage of massacres committed during the 1999–2002 Colombian government - FARC peace process

This thesis examines the news coverage of El Tiempo, Colombia’s largest and most influential newspaper, on the massacres committed by the FARC guerilla and the AUC paramilitary during the 1999 - 2002 peace process between the Colombian government and the FARC. The study confirmed some observations from previous research concerning the Colombian news ecosystem and the news coverage of the Colombian armed conflict by conducting a framing analysis of El Tiempo's news stories, front-page headlines, and standfirsts that were published within five days after the massacres occurred. It also identified problematic patterns in the news reporting of the massacres, such as the presence of victim-blaming accusations made by official sources and armed groups and the poor journalistic fact verification of the events. This thesis contributes to the communications and journalism studies in three ways. Firstly, it examines the news coverage of Colombia’s most important newspaper during a significant time period in Colombia’s history: the 1999-2002 peace process. Secondly, the study expands the comprehension of how news production in Colombia operates in times of crisis. Finally, it demonstrates the research capabilities of KH-Coder, a text analysis software, and promotes its use in communications and journalism studies.Arts, Faculty ofJournalism, School ofGraduat