KIJHUS Volume. 1, Issue 1 (2020)

Journalism of attachment; defined by its founder, Dr. Martin Bell as “journalism that knows and cares” (Bell, 1998, pp.63) is one of the subjective methods of war reporting. The elements of journalism of attachment are totally opposite of objectivity, truthfulness, accuracy, transparency and impartiality; aspects that are considered guiding principles of journalism as a profession. Despite this, journalism of attachment argues that it provides the “naked truth in warzones”, a characteristic that lacks in bystander journalism; as it is restricted by the code of ethics that govern it (Bell, 1998). Using qualitative research design, this study determined the paradigm shift in war reporting in line with the emergence of journalism of attachment. Content analysis was performed on all new reports of the Bosnia war of 1992 as reported by Dr. Bell. His interviews from 1992 to date as well as two of his books; “In Harm’s Way; Reflection of a war zone thug (1997)” and “Through Gates of Fire; A Journey into World Disorder (2003)”; were also analysed. The findings indicated that Dr. Bell’s use of journalism of attachment in the coverage of the Bosnia war steered debates among academics as well as professions in the journalism industry. It thus created a paradigm shift in subjective reporting based on the debates for and those against the practice of journalism of attachment in war reporting. The study therefore concluded that there is need for academics, critiques and professionals in the journalism industry to find a way to balance both aspects of subjective reporting (emotional/ passionate reporting) and professional reporting (objectivity, neutrality, impartiality, and fairness), in the coverage of wars and conflict.