The BDR mutiny in Bangladeshi media : from a "proletarian revolution" to a "brutal massacre"

Abstract

The article analyses the media coverage of the BDR mutiny in Bangladesh, February 2009. In examining journalistic processes and how the Bangladeshi media reported the violent conflict, the article looks at how the approaches of peace journalism can be used in actual conflict reporting. Through a combination of methods the article discusses the dominant trends in the news coverage of the mutiny. Studying three newspapers’ coverage in detail, it was found that nearly two-thirds of the news reports reduced conflicts to force and violence, while one-third had a ‘peace frame’. Interestingly all the editorials analyzed had a ‘peace frame’. Presenting excerpts from interviews with journalists and editors, the article talks to the discussion about how journalists and editors themselves interpret, accept or challenge the process of conflict reporting.