Radio Okapi online newspapers: Between media framing, conflict and peacebuilding

Abstract

United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKOs) have incorporated a Public Information (PI) component to communicate with the public. This component has shifted from public outreach towards media reports on current events, including violent incidents. Few studies have assessed the contribution of the PI components of UN-led media. This article assesses the framing of Radio Okapi (RO) online newspaper articles to understand RO’s contribution to peacebuilding processes in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an ethnically highly polarized region where many sites are difficult to access. By analysing how RO reports on violent incidents in this region, the study identifies some shortfalls in RO’s PI role. Its framing of reporting can obscure the causes of conflict, for example, by equating ethnic communities with their armed actors and giving secondary importance to the direct victims of armed violence. Moreover, much RO reporting relies on uncorroborated and questionable sources of information, mostly provided by security services. Its framing is unlikely to contribute to sustainable peacebuilding processes and thus does not meet the PI aspirations of UNPKOs. This article suggests that journalists should be empowered with background skills and knowledge relevant to peace journalism, framing news reports in ways that help tackle the root causes and drivers of violent conflict.