Professional paper
War and the Media – An Ethical Issue at the Turn of the Century
Branko Klun
Abstract
The article tries to analyse the relationship between a modern war and its presentation
by the media, referring mainly to relevant ethical issues. It is divided into two parts:
the first part deals with the empirical evidence (example) of the recent Kosovo conflict
and its coverage by the Western media, whereas the second part deals with interpretation
and evaluation. After presenting the main attributes of modern war reporting (live
coverage) and contemporary warfare (information war), the author engages in discussion
with French media critics such as Virilio and Baudrillard (second part). The major
criticism of today’s war reporting concerns the lack of a rational debate (in accordance
with Virilio’s thesis about live coverage, which favours emotions at the expense of
reason) and the transformation of war into a spectacle, where the distinction between
fiction and reality no longer exists (Baudrillard).
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
23375
URI
Publication date:
20.5.2000.
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