Children and Media in Times of War and Conflict

Children and Media at Times of Conflict and War is a collection of articles that explores the role the media have in children's lives at times of conflict and war. In an increasingly global world, even crises and catastrophes that take place in countries thousands of miles away become part of children’s daily lives through media exposure.

The 15 chapters of the book offer, for the first time, a unique and diverse picture of the most current academic work in this area. Among the key questions addressed in this book are: How do the media influence children's knowledge and understanding of crucial existential events? What effects do coverage of war and conflict have on their well-being? What roles do producers of media for children take upon themselves at such times? The editors provide both an integrative introduction and a critical summary of the book

Part 1: Children’s Perceptions of War and Conflict: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Emotions
Here, the authors relate to different aspects of children's reactions to media coverage of the war in Iraq in their countries: Maya Götz in Germany; Ellen Seiter in the USA; Dafna Lemish in Israel; Juliette H. Walma van der Molen and Elly A. Konijn in the Netherlands; Peter Nikken in the Netherlands; and Cynthia Carter in the UK.

Part 2: Producing Television for Children at a Time of War
Petra Strohmaier summarizes an international survey on producers' work during the war; Maire Messenger-Davies discusses children's news in several countries; Peter Nikken and Juliette Walma van der Molen compare children's news in Germany and the Netherlands; Dafna Lemish examines children's television preparing for a war in Israel; and Peter Lemish analyzes quality programs for children from around the world that address conflict resolution.

Part 3: Efforts of Coping and Intervention
Megan Pincus Kajitani analyzes US children in the Iraq War news coverage; Emily Moyer-Guse and Stacy L. Smith discuss parents' coping strategies to reduce children's fear reactions; Alaina Brenick, Jennie Lee-Kim, Melanie Killen, Nathan Fox, Amiram Raviv, and Lewis Leavitt provide an overview of interventions in the Middle East by Sesame Workshop; and Yael Warshel analyzes Israeli children's reactions to a joint Jewish-Arabic Sesame Street intervention.

Dafna Lemish is Professor of Communication at Tel Aviv University and editor of the Journal of Children and Media and Maya Götz is Head of the International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television (IZI) of the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation in Munich and Head of the Prix Jeunesse International.

Children and Media in Times of War and Conflict; Edited by Dafna Lemish and Maya Götz
Hampton Press 2007. 384 pages. ISBN: 1-57273-748-4 cloth ISBN: 1-57273-749-2 paper