The news media can play a central role in the promotion of peace. They can emphasize the benefits that peace can bring, they can raise the legitimacy of groups or leaders working for peace, and they can help transform images of the enemy. But the media also can serve as destructive agents in a peace process. They can emphasize the risks and dangers associated with compromise, raise the legitimacy of those opposed to concessions, and reinforce negative stereotypes of the enemy. This report explains how and when the media take on each of these roles.

Gadi Wolfsfeld holds a joint appointment in political science and communication at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has served as chair of the department of communication at that institution and as director of the Smart Family Communication Institute. Professor Wolfsfeld was a senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace in 1998–99. His major field of research deals with the role of the news media in political conflicts and peace processes.