Peace and Journalism in Somalia : Ambition, struggle and striving for peace in a conflicted society
Sorvali, Iikka (2024)
2024
Master's Programme in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research
Yhteiskuntatieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Social Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2024-05-10
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202404173691
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202404173691
Tiivistelmä
This thesis investigates the role of Somali journalists in peace building in Somalia and is located in an intersection of peace and journalism research. Through the theoretical framework of peace journalism, this research unfolds the motivations and values of Somali journalists, and contrasts those with the obstacles and issues the interview participants have faced because of their work. This includes a consideration of the role of social media in the work of Somali journalists, with its benefits and issues.
The research questions are answered through seven semi-structured interviews with Somali journalists living and working in the country in different medias. The interviews were conducted in collaboration with the Finnish NGO VIKES, whose task was to find the research participants. The research questions and research design were decided independently from VIKES. The data analysis method used was reflexive thematic analysis, which aims to locate deeper meanings in the research data. The theoretical framework of the thesis is peace journalism, and this research aims to broaden the scholarship of the field by relaying voices from outside of Europe and North America.
This thesis broadens the scholarship of peace journalism by providing new findings on three main themes. The first are the values and motivations of Somali journalists. This includes idealistic reasons for working in journalism, like admiration for the work stemming from childhood, and practical reasons, like the lack of other employment. The second theme concerns the obstacles the participants had faced in or because of their work. These include experiences of violence, intimidation, and practical obstacles like poor job security. Violence and intimidation occurred from both al-Shabaab and state forces. Finally, the third theme considers the changing media landscape of Somalia, focusing on the benefits and problems of social media for media professionals and the public alike. This chapter includes information on a new method of online extortion based on the publication of fake news.
The research questions are answered through seven semi-structured interviews with Somali journalists living and working in the country in different medias. The interviews were conducted in collaboration with the Finnish NGO VIKES, whose task was to find the research participants. The research questions and research design were decided independently from VIKES. The data analysis method used was reflexive thematic analysis, which aims to locate deeper meanings in the research data. The theoretical framework of the thesis is peace journalism, and this research aims to broaden the scholarship of the field by relaying voices from outside of Europe and North America.
This thesis broadens the scholarship of peace journalism by providing new findings on three main themes. The first are the values and motivations of Somali journalists. This includes idealistic reasons for working in journalism, like admiration for the work stemming from childhood, and practical reasons, like the lack of other employment. The second theme concerns the obstacles the participants had faced in or because of their work. These include experiences of violence, intimidation, and practical obstacles like poor job security. Violence and intimidation occurred from both al-Shabaab and state forces. Finally, the third theme considers the changing media landscape of Somalia, focusing on the benefits and problems of social media for media professionals and the public alike. This chapter includes information on a new method of online extortion based on the publication of fake news.