Humans are always in the habit of exploring and adapting to the physical and social realities around them. Such adaptations are basic steps to development and survival. Social institutions are often necessitated by social occurrences, the need for socialization, social services and roles. The media are part of the social institutions established by modern civilization to furnish a vital check on other social agents as well as to monitor the various facets of society against negative occurrences like conflicts. Unfortunately, conflicts are happening at a very fast pace, and reporters are struggling to cope. The present position paper explores the role of the media in early warning and early response systems towards anticipating and stemming conflicts. It underscores the need for the media to extend traditional reporting role to anticipating and issuing early signals to avoid conflicts or to manage them. At no other time than in this era of technologies and increasing conflicts is this necessary.
Vol. 2, No 1, pp. 1-9.