War Journalism : An Experience of Northern Sri Lankan Tamil Daily Newspapers

Abstract

War journalism is an important part of journalism despite it is not appreciated by theorists. However, journalism during the war period is a different phenomenon. A career associated with huge amounts of danger and risks, war journalism started since the first war occurred in history and has grown in diverse forms. Before the start of modern wars, especially in the ancient wars, the poets used to travel with the kings to the battlefields and expressed the battlefield through poems and songs including the praise given to the kings. In this respect, the ancient poets can be considered as the first journalists of war journalism. The ongoing war in Sri Lanka for the last 24 years, not only a struggle of ethnicity for its freedom but also teaches a lesson to the world on how an ethnicity should strengthen itself in political, economic and social aspects. Sri Lankan journalism provided during the war period a new dimension to journalism by living in a crisis situation and using these crises for growth. Within the atrocities of war, the journalists worked with dedication, strength and untiring effort. This will seek special attention in the history of war journalism. It can be concluded that Sri Lankan war journalism would provide a space for the exploration of new concepts in war journalism as a whole.