The Role of the Media in Reporting in Crisis Situations

Abstract

Although many authors define the media as a means of information, they have long since become a means of influencing and manipulating public opinion. Although they contain many positive elements, technological progress and the convergence of media have brought the possibility of fast and efficient spread of fake news and propaganda. Such influence of the media, unfortunately, is most often visible when reporting on crisis situations, wars, “reality” programs, black chronicles, or when reporting on negative social phenomena. Through manipulative, unverified, inaccurate reporting, except for the fact that they try to achieve greater viewership or readership, they create a negative impression of many events, which affects the behavior and awareness of the public. Wars are crisis situations and phenomena that leave negative effects on the population. This is also the case with the current war taking place on the territory of Ukraine.

This paper will present the way of reporting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine through the examples of the Bosnian portals, as well as the research of international organizations on this topic. The aim of this paper is to point out the importance of objective and accurate information to the public in crisis situations.