Claudia Kozman and Jad Melki, of Lebanese American University, study news media uses during war. They explore what types of media channels fulfilled which needs and gratifications, and what media sources people prioritized during time of war. The article applies the uses and gratifications (U&G) theoretical framework to a war and conflict situation.

Survey with 2192 Syrian nationals living in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan was conducted.

The findings show that use of TV, radio, and the internet motivated maintaining high morale and surviving, escaping the reality of war, and staying informed about the war. The use of newspapers and mobile media motivated maintaining high morale and staying informed about the war, and escaping the reality of war and surviving.

The article “News Media Uses During War: The case of the Syrian conflict” was published online by Journalism Studies. The article is available here.

Picture: TV by Felipe Ernesto, licence: CC BY 2.0