No Readership for Peace? American News Media Coverage of Transitional Justice in South Africa and Sierra Leone

Abstract

This thesis examines how the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angeles Times covered and represented the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Special Court for Sierra Leone in Sierra Leone. This work discusses the complexities of transitional justice, especially focusing on the role of amnesty and the question of effectiveness in each country's process. Literature analyzing Africa in the American media and the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the South African media is also considered in order to highlight how Africa has been covered in the media, and why this research—the first to look at African transitional justice in the American media—is unique. The methodology investigates the frequency of reporting on the processes in each newspaper, and how the coverage and characterization of peacebuilding differs between the two countries. The South African Commission received steady coverage in all three newspapers, while Sierra Leone's processes saw little reporting in comparison to the ongoing conflict in neighboring Liberia. How, and how often, these transitional justice processes were written about reveals that American media consumers receive information about peace and peacebuilding in African countries that is driven largely by a focus on crisis and high-profile figures, as well as a biased and stereotypical view of conflict in Africa.