In the name of security

When teaching news writing to journalism students, I always make a point of focusing on the areas of business, sports, and a toe in the finance aspects of weather reporting. Great subjects with a lot to learn and appreciate.

The reason for these fields is that it is not just about the price of fish, or winning a game, or whether or not there is a downpour, but about all of the angles that a story can have, including its profit focus. The same is true for war, conflicts, genocide, and attack reporting. These are lucrative businesses, and the longer a war or conflict lasts, the higher the profit.

Because of the social media approach to journalism, topics are treated in a trivial way. Opportunities for an informed opinion on any issue are barely provided. The social media approach does not engage its audience to think about why war or conflict exists.

The current humanitarian crisis in Ukraine which has killed thousands, displaced millions, and tossed effects around the globe is in the spotlight, but many conflicts only make footnotes, if that at all. Conflict and violence are currently on the rise, according to the UN. Enemies are fundamental. The International Crisis Group identified ten conflicts to monitor in 2022, but the list could be much longer if we look cautiously at situations in the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

The winners of the Ukraine attack and other conflicts are the weapons suppliers. From a drone attack to regional tensions, and threats, defence companies are benefiting from the chaos. The eyeing of upgrading security has already been reflected with stocks shooting up towards a special niche of companies dedicated to defence equipment, including research, development, management, training, engineering, cybersecurity, and a range of other services. Since the war, shares in some particular cases, have risen to 16 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively. Not just arms, but there are also apparatus such as styled uniforms for specific situations, boots, goggles, and other expensive defence gear.

A peek under the hood of the mechanism that drives war, armed conflict, or genocide, raises more questions than it does answers. It’s important to bring public attention to the production and transfer of armaments. It should also include the selling or smuggling of firearms to civilians and groups of mercenaries’ fighters. War is hell for many, but highly lucrative for a few.

The Conversation, an online publisher, had an article about the world’s defence giants quietly making billions from the war in Ukraine. That was eye-opening! Since February, the dominant media narrative has focused on the legitimate fear of a revived Russian empire ambition and the possibility of a new world war. Following the events in Ukraine, and possible threats from Russia’s offensive on other nations, European countries are looking up to modernise their forces. The exposure of conflicts of interest between the defence sector, beneficiaries, and decision-makers is scarce outside of specialised media.

On the other side of the business complexity, Russia has just announced that its unique Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles and a new naval doctrine of Russia’s maritime greatness are within months to roll out. Russia is the world’s second-largest arms exporter, behind the United States. Russia exports nearly 90 per cent of its arms to 10 countries. The US supplies arms to at least 100 nations, many in the Middle East.

It is time for the media to pay attention to the money-spinning performance of the defence industry, and the implications it has for the regular citizens. The media has a responsibility to report on these aspects in the same way it has to report on other social and economic issues.