Symbols and labels in war reporting: a study on the nature of prejudice from the perspectives of general semantics / Mohd Rajib Ab. Ghani and Faridah Ibrahim

The September 11th incident has further reinforced the already existing
two-value perception between the Western and the Muslim world. Violence,
atrocities, uncivilised and cruelties have been equated with the Muslim world.
After the incident, Muslims are labelled as terrorists. These ill-conceived and
misconstrued meanings of Islam are due to the prejudiced nature of human
beings. What is prejudice? A prejudiced mind is inclined to do everything in its
power to prevent its world from changing. The prejudiced soul is unwilling to
consider any viewpoint other than its own. It is the nature of prejudice that has
led many nations engaged in labels and using symbols to associate meanings.
Such is the case of the Muslim and the Western societies where prejudiced words
are rampantly used to accuse one another. Central to these accusations is the
media that used words to impart information and meanings. These meanings
are often distorted at the level of reader’s sub-conscious mind. This article tries
to explore the nature of prejudice which is manifested in the daily news content
particularly war and terrorism news. Issues on the use and misuse of words
that are prejudice in nature and have ethical implications on the journalistic
practice will also be addressed. In summary, the article will provide insights
on alternatives to view the nature of prejudice that are reflected in the use of
language, symbols and terms that sometimes dominate most news stories, from
the perspectives of general semantics and philosophy of ethics.