Reflections on media war coverage: dissonance, dilemmas and the need for improvement

Abstract

Media preference of war results from correlations of media psychology, culture, and interests with war. Such correlations encourage personal, professional and institutional dissonance, and provoke dilemmas of coverage adequacy. Efforts to curb these difficulties might succeed, with research and applied efforts aimed at updating the media culture of war coverage, helping identify media controls, encouraging gradual and cumulative reporting, and assisting journalists in resolving war coverage dilemmas.