FRAMING TELEVISION NEWS: PROJECTION OF INTERRELIGIOUS TENSIONS IN SRI LANKA

• Published in: Revista română de studii eurasiatice Vol. 18; no. 1-2; pp. 245 - 280
• Main Author: Weerasinghe, Pradeep N'
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Constanta Ovidius University Press 2022; Centrul de Studii Eurasiatice/Eurasian Studies Center (CSEA)
• Subjects: Consciousness; Ethics; Ethnic Minorities Studies; Extremism; False information; Human rights; Journalism; Journalists; Media studies; Methodology and research technology; Minority & ethnic groups; Minority & ethnic violence; Muslims; Religion; Society; Television news; Television stations; Sri Lanka; Easter Sunday Attack; Religious Tensions; Sri Lanka; Television' News Narrative
• ISSN: 1841-477X; 2247-4536

The impact of the shock waves of thought sent by mass media through society, on the consciousness, mind, feelings and behavior of individuals has been argued. The division in the island state of Sri Lanka between the Sinhala majority and Tamil and Muslim minority has already taken a heavy toll. The role of the mass media within the ethnic and religious tensions is something which has not been identified. On Easter Sunday 21 April 2019, a local Muslim extremist group inspired by ISIL carried out a series of suicide bombings, killing over 250 people and injuring over 500 at six churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. It was followed by violent incidents targeting at minority Muslims, their religious beliefs and symbols emerge in the post war context in Sri Lanka. The aim of this study was to examine the behavior of television broadcasters in the context of religious unrest in 2019 in Sri Lanka. The study employed content analysis techniques as its basis of study design. Thus, television channels tend to create their own version of villains and heroes, to suit their agendas when covering the news and current affairs programming and reading of daily newspaper headlines. Such behavior may be acceptable in novels or movies, but such myth making is not suited for the news and current affairs programs. By manipulating the news and current affairs programmes, the television stations provided certain individuals and groups the opportunity to dominate the scene.