Shaping public opinion about conflict: The role of mass media in conflict

The following study explores the role of the mass media in conflict, through a case study of the print news media in Chile, a society with deep-rooted political divisions. This study employs Johan Galtung's theories of structural and cultural violence, the social psychological theory of Herbert C. Kelman, the conceptual framework for peace building of John Paul Lederach, the model of media analysis developed by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman, and discourse analysis of newspaper articles published at the time of ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet Ugarte's return to Chile after being released from house arrest in London, England. This analysis demonstrates how the media shapes public opinion about conflict and how that may be used in the conflict resolution process.