Wagging the Dog or Serving the Cause? Assessing ICTs and Intelligibility in Transnational War Coverage Broadcasting

Abstract

The enhanced synchronicity and ubiquity of war coverage broadcasting, brought about by the evolution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the last twenty years, has not increased the potential for critical war coverage. The role of technology appears permissive but not determinant, and a more accurate assessment of broadcasting's social impact should include the conceptual intelligibility of war narratives. The analysis of intelligibility investigates the way in which war is established and experienced as a social phenomenon by looking at the meanings that frame the understanding of news stories as narrative text. International media monitoring and re-evaluation of local broadcasting are some immediate practical steps to be taken in order to oppose the detrimental effects of war coverage in transnational broadcasting. In addition, local broadcasting should be re-evaluated as a tool for critical content analysis of transnational broadcasting and a priceless resource for training in critical multicultural broadcasting.