CONFLICTS AND DEMOCRACY IN ETHNICALLY COMPLEX SOCIETIES AND ROLE OF MEDIA: THE CASE OF YUGOSLAVIA IN 1999

Intervention, victims and stereotypes

  • Slobodan M. Penezić JP Službeni glasnik RS
  • Milija Ž. Cvijović Serbian Chamber of Commerce
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5937/nabepo25-25498
Keywords: Yugoslavia, NATO bombing, media reporting, journalism ethics, the Balkans, interethnic conflicts

Abstract


The text herein is inspired by Hans Magnus Enzensberger and his writings about "nucleated" civil wars initiated by interethnic differences. Placing his thoughts in context of media, he sees those wars as a spectacle which makes the audience perceive it as a moral problem. The paradigm for interpreting these conclusions may also be the influence of media on perception of events in Yugoslavia in 1999. The starting questions are, therefore, directed towards analysing the validity of such conclusions, which we try to do by explaining the nature of relationship between wars and media influence, as well as the origin of stereotypes about the Balkans - their multiplication with start of conflict and influence of the media on it. In doing so, we can also notice the misconceptions and the effects they produced; with parallel analysis of the essential principles of journalistic reporting, but also a clear disregard for them, with the aim to show their causes too. This makes it possible to deduce what was the effect of reporting and how much it led to problem-solving and transformation of Balkan societies, or it caused new stereotyping and problems. In this way, all the pointlessness of the conflict and NATO's interventions as well are demonstrated, and the conclusion of analysis become a confirmation for Enzensberger's thinking.

Author Biography

Slobodan M. Penezić, JP Službeni glasnik RS
  • Undergraduate/Bachelor studies: Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade (Department for Journalism and Communication)
  • Title of qualification awarded: Bachelor of Journalism - Political Science direction
  • Thesis: The Media System of Italy
  • Mentor: Branimir Stojković, PhD
  • Master Studies and Specialist-Academic Studies : Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade (Department for Cultural and Gender Studies)
  • Exams: Philosophy of Culture, Culture and Social Structure, Cultural Policy, Cultural Anthropology, History of Civilization I and II, Balkan Studies, Cultural Studies and Modern Cultural Phenomenon
  • Title of qualification awarded: MA in Theory of Culture and Gender Studies
  • Thesis: Sport as a phenomenon of contemporary culture
  • Mentor: Jelena Đorđević, PhD
  • Postgraduate Studies: University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, United States (College for Journalism, Strategic Communication and Media Arts)
  • The Broadcasting Board of Governors and Voice of America Scholarship /PDY Fellowship
  • Courses: Media Management, Media Advertising, PR Research, Communication in Political campaigns, Crisis Communications, Politics in Western Europe, Politics in America, In-depth Journalism, Broadcast Journalism, Mass Communication Theory, Advanced Qualitative Research Methods
  • PhD studies: Faculty of Political Sciences, University in Belgrade (Department for Culture and Media Studies)
  • Exams: Cultural and Media studies; Picture of the world in European culture and intercultural studies of values; Political anthropology, historical heritage and modernization of the Balkans; The media, the public sphere and media policy and regulation; Theory of journalistic genres and public discourse; Theory and politics of gender; The theory of communication and cross-cultural communication; Modern theories of the state and democracy in ethnically complex societies; Methodological research seminar; Doctoral seminar; Preparation and defense of thesis drafts.
  • Title of qualification awarded: PhD in Political Sciences - Culture and Media Studies direction
  • Thesis: Relationship between Media editing and Media business management in the Light of the „Media Crisis“
  • Mentor: Veselin Kljajić, PhD
  • The focus of my academic interest is in the fields of media and cultural studies; more specifically: theory of communications, media philosophy& media studies, the relationship between culture and society, and the methods for the implementation of scientific research in these areas.

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Published
2020/06/02
Issue
Vol. 25 No. 1 (2020)
Section
Original Scientific Papers