This paper will discuss the dominant political ideologies presented in news coverage regarding the Ukraine crisis. Tensions within Ukraine started escalating in November of 2013 when Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych rejected a European Union trade deal and accepted a loan offered by Russia to relieve Ukraine’s financial strain (Hepburn, 2014). Many Ukrainian’s want a European trade deal to strengthen European relations and eliminate their ties with the Russian government (Hepburn, 2014). Civilians protested Ukraine’s decision to reject the European trade deal in Kiev’s Maiden Square. February of 2014, protests became violent when Yanukovych permitted the military to shoot protesters (Duncan, 2014). Yanukovych was later deposed and fled to Russia, declaring a coup had taken the Ukraine (MacKinnon, 2014).
The deposal of Yanukovych led to Russian involvement in which pro-Russia gunmen seized government buildings in the Crimean capital. Russian President Vladimir Putin allowed the Russian military to advance, surrounding the autonomous Ukrainian republic of Crimea (MacKinnon, 2014). Mid-March, a referendum will allow Crimea to decide whether Crimea will remain with Ukraine or join Russia. Western countries and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, accuse Russia of declaring war and believe Russia does not have legitimate grounds to take Crimea (CBC, 2014).
The first article, “Putin digs in on Crimea as West moves to isolate Russia,” by Mark MacKinnon is a factual news article from The Globe and Mail that portrays a tory conservatism. The news article has a conservative ideology because the coverage justifies Putin’s military involvement using the concept of noblesse oblige. Putin believes a military mission in Ukraine would be ...
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... hardens tone as Ukraine weakens.” Windsor Star. Retrieved from http://www.windsorstar.com/search/search.html ?q=russia%20harden s%20tone.
Hepburn, Oksana B. (2014, January 27). “Ukraine needs Canada’s help.” National Post. Retrieved from http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/01/27/oksana-bashuk-hepburn- ukraine-needs- canadas-help/.
Johnston, Larry. (2013). Politics: An Introduction to the Modern Democratic State. Toronto: The University of Toronto Press.
MacKinnon, Mark. (2014, March 05). “Putin digs in on Crimea as West moves to isolate Russia.” The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/canadian news/docview/1504112397/9CABDF340C4343DCPQ/1?accountid=11233.
“Ukraine in crisis: Key facts, major developments.” (2014, March 13). The Canadian Broadcast Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/ukraine-dashboard/.
To begin with, it is very important to bring up media bias and the news representations of war. As some may know, "during times of war when the government puts pressure on the media to support its pro-war stance and help to mobilize public support in their readers, viewers, and listeners. (Edkins, Zehfuss 157, 158). This phrase is essentially explaining that the news media many of the times will present a biased opinion for their government during times of war, but in this case an escalated crisis within Ukraine, where the actions and risks are still being considered by all countries. Why this is important to bring up, is because this paper may contain several news articles sources from such countries that may present a biased opinion against Ukraine and Russia. However, this will not necessarily sway the momentum of the paper to provide an anti-Russian perspective. That is not the point of the paper. It is still very possible for the media to argue against the media bias of the...
[2] Weaver, Matthew. "Ukraine Crisis." The Guardian. N.p., 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 7 Mar. 2014. .
Historical precedents show that that Putin may be on a similar path as dictators in the past. Putin already has the propaganda machine necessary, and has even made many Eastern Ukrainian citizens in territory occupied by Russian separatists believe that their government is comprised of neo-Nazis who seek to massacre its people. According to The Independent, a British nespaper, Putin has even awarded the prestigious “Order of Service to the Fatherland” medal to more than 300 journalists for their “objective coverage” of the Crimea crisis, showing how Russian state propaganda is becoming more and more of a formalized proce...
The information war between the West and Russia had intensified once again and reached levels higher than the levels of Russo-Georgia war (2008). Russian media naturally is defending its annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol as a democratic referendum and justifying the military intervention as the protection of rights of the Russian population of Crimea. The referendum was very controversial since it had an unusually high voter turnout and the Pro-Russian vote has created speculations that the referendum has been falsified by the Russian government. The Western media condemns Russia for the anne...
has been aiming to demolish the Ukrainian nation and devour the country to rebuild the USSR
The big crisis in Ukraine is starting to get out of hand. The government cannot even figure out what to do, and is getting kicked out of office. There are street protests happening all over Ukraine especially at Kyiv’s Independence Square. There is civil unrest against Yanukovych because he did not do what the people wanted to have. After everything is starting to cool down, Russian troops start to enter the country. The crisis was getting so far out of hand that the US and the EU had to figure out how to help, so they got involved in the crisis. The Ukraine conflict was triggered by Yanukovych declining the EU deal, and when everything was getting settled down in Ukraine, Russia invades Ukraine.
Myers, Steven. “Russian Troops Mass at Border with Ukraine.” NY Times Website. March 13, 2014. Accessed May 15, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/world/europe/ukraine.html.
Woodruff, Judy. "Why Did Ukraine’s Yanukovych Give in to Russian Pressure on EU Deal?" PBS. PBS, 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
The current international crisis involving Russia and Ukraine developed in the aftermath of the 2014 revolution in Ukraine. As a result, Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovich was impeached and quickly fled the capital. An interim government formed around Oleksandr Turchynov as the acting president. Germany and the US quickly recognized this new government, while Russia did not. In late February, pro-Russian militias began taking control of Crimea, a part of eastern Ukraine. Gradually they dominated the peninsula and effectively took control of it. Soon after, the Crimeans held a referendum, and overwhelmingly decided to join Moscow. The West and interim Ukrainian government condemned this decision, as did the UN General Assembly. Nonetheless, Russia has effectively absorbed Crimea.
Jack Donnelly states that “Theories are beacons, lenses of filters that direct us to what, according to the theory, is essential for understanding some part of the world.” These various theories, or lenses for viewing the world help us understand the way in which countries interact and why things occur in the field of international relations. The two main schools of thought in the field are Realism and Liberalism. One must understand these theories in order to be able to understand what is happening in the world. Understanding the filters that are Liberalism and Realism, one can look to make some sort of understanding as to what is happening right now between the Ukraine and Russia. The subsequent annexation of the province of Crimea by Russia is of paramount importance to multi governmental organisations like the United Nations and the European Union who are looking to understand this event from the Realist perspective as well as the Liberal paradigm.
Being a diverse country comprising of multi ethic population its quiet natural to have diverse opinion. A state needs to be pluralistic and must heed attention to the voice of the people. The Ukrainian governemnt has failed in that account. Ukraine is on the verge of civil war and it must be avoided at all cost.
"Why Crimea Is so Dangerous." BBC News. N.p., 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2014. .
The Ukrainian crisis was a result of social upheaval against the former president, Mr. Yanukovich, who decided to pull out of the association with the European Union (BBC News, 2014). The upheaval that lasted for about two months resulted in more than 100 people killed (NY Times, 2014). In February 22 Mr. Yanukovich disappears and the opposition takes control over the government in Ukraine (BBC News, 2014). Upon learning that Mr. Yanukovich is currently residing in Kazakhstan, the new government of Ukraine requests from Kazakhstan the extradition of the overthrown president, who is accused of crime against the Ukrainian citizenry.
In this era of globalization, news reporting is no longer just a means of communications, but it has also developed into a tool for change. Prominent journalists like Julian Assange, Nick Davies, Sir Charles Wheeler and many more has changed the landscape and outcomes of information, war and news reporting itself. But Martin Bell has challenged the fundamentals of journalism that is to be balanced and impartial with what he calls ‘Journalism of Attachment’. He even coined the phrase, ‘bystanders’ journalism’ for continuing the tradition of being distant and detached (Bell 1997), which he criticizes “for focusing with the circumstances of violence, such as military formations, weapons, strategies, maneuvers and tactics” (Gilboa 2009, p. 99). Therefore it is the aim of this essay to explain whether it is ethical for reporters to practice what Martin Bell calls the Journalism of Attachment by evaluating its major points and its counterarguments, and assessing other notions of journalism such as peace journalism.
The conflict between the Ukraine and Russia is the Ukraine's most long-standing and deadly crisis; since its post-Soviet independence began as a protest against the government dropping plans to forge closer trade ties with the European Union. The conflict between Russia and the Ukraine stems from more than twenty years of weak governance, the government’s inability to promote a coherent executive branch policy, an economy dominated by oligarchs and rife with corruption, heavy reliance on Russia, and distinct differences between Ukraine's population from both Eastern and Western regions in terms of linguistics, religion and ethnicity (Lucas 2009).