Exploring Podcasting and Peace Journalism in Broadcast Media

Abstract

Disciplinary Discourse Analysis Broadcast journalism refers to the conveyance of news via non-traditional methods such as television, and radio rather than the standard print media (newspapers). Within the media field, there are constant changes and shapeshifting done daily. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is the explore the latest concepts in broadcast journalism “podcasting” and “peace journalism”. In previous years, podcasting was a concept that was overlooked but in 2021 has essentially become a phenomenon in media. Also, with more wars happening in the world journalists are always under constant threat of violence which prompts this essay to explore “peace journalism”. This essay will explore the development of ideas, research methods utilized, and writing techniques showcased in two articles extracted from the Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media Vol.19 no. 1(2021). Both articles were published within the last year introducing new media concepts. Firstly, in the article The role of Radio Journalism in Conflict Prevention by Fabìola Ortiz Dos Santos talked about the need for more peace journalism on the radio when discussing volatile subject matters that could potentially result in the negative behavioral reaction of the listening audience. The article basically highlighted the need for journalists to pay special attention to the way in which they convey stories about war and violence without infringing on their journalistic duties. However, the article did acknowledge the limitations that affect the way stories are reported based on factors such as gatekeeping, agenda-setting, and news values. Moreover, in Cory and Boothby’s “Sounds like ‘home’: The synchrony and dissonance of podcasting as boundary object” the article emphasized the importance of podcasting as a newfound informal communication tool in collaborating marginalized groups with similarities. Also, the authors noted that although podcasting is not as formal as radio it possesses the same intimate advantages. In fact, authors suggested it can have more advantages than radio in helping to facilitate healthy discourse between marginalized groups of people while also being useful in the process of research without unnecessary academic barriers. The two articles provided adequate discourse about new concepts in mass media. However, the ways in which they conveyed their discussions held some similarities as well as differences. Both, Ortiz Dos Santos and Cory and Boothby utilized a lot of citations in their articles to bolster their arguments. The main citation method displayed by the authors was APA style which was apparent in the way they formatted their reference pages and in-text citations. The different points of discussion in Ortiz Dos Santos’ article were separated by subheadings which started with an abstract and was followed by other topics upon which he elaborated. The same structural concept was applied by Cory and Boothby who started their article with an abstract and the keywords to be discussed in said article as well. At the beginning of the article “Sounds like ‘home’: The synchrony and dissonance of podcasting as boundary object” authors explained the definition of “boundary objects” and some of the impacts of podcasting on migrant communities. The introduction gave insight into what the focal point of the article was by providing an explanation. The first-person perspective was utilized in quite a few instances; however, that did not subtract from the overall serious, objective tone utilized by authors on the subject matter. Furthermore, the vocabulary and concepts employed in the podcasting article were not presented in layman’s terms. Therefore, some words in the article were accompanied by a definition from authors. For instance, it states “the global COVID-19 pandemic required the project’s conveners (the authors of this article) to rework its logistics” (Cory and Boothby, 2021). Despite the use of extensive vocabulary there was not a lot of journalism jargon so the article could be read and understood by people outside of the journalism field. The methodology used for this article was primarily observations and interviews. The authors sourced episodes of the Picturing Home podcast which was...