Global Media Coverage of the War in Syria

Running Head: GLOBAL MEDIA COVERAGE OF WAR IN SYRIA
Global Media Coverage of the War in Syria
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Author Note

1GLOBAL MEDIA COVERAGE OF WAR IN SYRIA
The Syrian War is an ongoing conflict in the country of Syria that is being waged
between the government and the local people. The ASSAD government is an autocratic
dictatorship that will not tolerate dissent in any form, and any attempt made on the part of the
civilian population in Syria to protest against the atrocities of the ASSAD government are being
brutally suppressed in the form of attacks against the masses. What has aggravated the Syrian
conflict is the presence of the ISIS terror group, which is wreaking havoc in the entire West
Asian region and MENA region by inflicting violence and terror in its most extreme forms
(Anderson 2015). This essay analyzes the role played by global media houses, both visual and
print media, in covering the war in Syria and concludes that the media has played the most
constructive role possible in justly exposing the terrors inflicted on the poor hapless people of the
country.
The war in Syria has been an ongoing one since in the early years of the 21st century but
took a turn for the worse in the second decade of the century. As a result of the terrible
crackdown on the part of the Assad regime on the civilians in the country, a crackdown support
by the Assad leadership’s close alliance with the Soviet Union and dictatorial forces in the
country of Turkey, millions of people have fled the country as a result of air strikes and land
mine bombings (Anderson 2015). The Syrian conflict has succeeded in claiming the lives of half
a million people, while the other half million and more have fled the country to seek refuge in
the countries of North Europe, the Mediterranean and North America. Indeed the Syrian refugee
crisis is one that has ended up generating the largest refugee exodus in the world today, with
hundreds and thousands of people running away from their homes in Syria to seek asylum in the
countries of the Global North, while the dictatorial regime in the country backed by extremist
forces and unholy alliances continue to wreak havoc and despair in the country and the region as

2GLOBAL MEDIA COVERAGE OF WAR IN SYRIA
a whole (Anderson 2015). It is imperative to note in this respect, the role that has been played by
the global media in portraying as well as in responding to the crisis. Most newspapers and
television channels of the global north including the BBC and the CNN have exposed the
extreme terror and agony that the locals in Syria were subjected to as a result of the repeated
bombings on their homes and other buildings in Syria. News channels have not only showcased
the extent of the damage caused by such bombings on physical structures, but have also shown
the terrible injuries and suffering that these bombings have inflicted on the local people, thus
revealing the cruel and inhuman consequences of the Syrian War in the most transparent of ways
(Orgeret Skare and Tayeebwa 2016).
There has been a lot of evidence of constructive journalism as far as the coverage of the
Syrian War by the global media is concerned (Harcup and O’Neill 2017). News channels like Al
Jazeera, BBC and CNN have not only focused on reporting the actual events and incidents of the
Syrian conflict but have also conducted sessions with academic and intelligence experts as to
how best the problem in Syria can be brought to a peaceful conclusion (Glydensted 2015). There
have been repeated debates and discussions on these news channels by war theorists, conflict
specialists and by politicians about the negative impact of the war, the possible causes or root
causes of the war in Syria and the immediate steps that need to be taken by the governments of
the Global North, international humanitarian agencies like the UNO and by the International
Court of Justice in particular to bring the perpetrators of the war to their knees (Nohrstedt and
Ottosen 2014). Hence what the global media has managed to do in its coverage of the Syrian
War, is not just focus on the negativity and violence that is so intrinsic to the war but also
showcase the possible solutions or methods by which the issues in Syria can be combated and
brought under control, even if it takes a long time to happen. Constructive journalism has most