Examining the role of peace journalism in news coverage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict: A study of Gulf News and Khaleej Times

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has gained significant international attention as one of the recent major military conflicts involving a major world power, Russia. However, the coverage in different countries and regions has been observed to vary significantly, with some news outlets focusing on military aspects and others emphasising the need for peace and peace-making. This issue has been a topic of significant debate among the news media since February 2022. This study seeks to gain a deeper understanding of how the conflict is being covered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a country with strong relations with both Russia and Western nations. Content analysis was conducted on two leading English-language daily newspapers in the UAE, Gulf News and Khaleej Times, for the first two weeks of the conflict coverage starting on February 25. We determine the extent to which the coverage focuses on "peace journalism" or "war journalism". Content analysis was employed to analyse news articles and photos as well as the main themes and frames present in the editorial content to determine the extent to which the coverage emphasises "peace journalism". The results indicate that the Gulf News and Khaleej Times leaned towards peace journalism in their coverage of the conflict. This is demonstrated by the presence of themes such as peaceful resolution, diplomatic efforts, humanitarian impact of war, and dialogue in their articles.