Rusijos ir Gruzijos informacinio karo atspindys Lietuvos ir Italijos žiniasklaidoje ; Russia - georgia information warfare reflection in lithuanian and italian mass media

Abstract

Master thesis Russia - Georgia information warfare reflection in Lithuanian and Italian mass media by Vilija Navickaite the student of Vilnius university Communication faculty the Institute of Journalism, aims to analyze the case study of Russia Georgia information warfare reflection in selected Lithuania and Italian mass media. Five day war between Russia and Georgia held in the summer of 2008 during the Olympic games in Beijing immediately concentrated the world's mass media attention and raised the public sphere discussions on the reasons and consequences of two states confrontation. This statement was fundamental for the research main question uplift: which position Lithuanian and Italian mass media took in the Russia Georgia conflict and what reasons did it determine. The paper claims to verify the hypothesis that Italian mass media was favourable to Russia's position considering official Italian Russian close relationship and the personal friendship of recent Italian prime minister and media magnate Silvio Berlusconi with Russia's ex president and recent prime minister Vladimir Putin. By the other hand Lithuanian mass media should have been fovourable to Georgia's position considering common historical experience and the official Lithuania's government support to this country advocating in European Union and NATO membership procedure. In order to verify the selected hypothesis the research was based on information warfare and communication security theoretical concepts by using quantitative and qualitative analyses in empirical research of publications in selected Lithuanian and Italian mass media. In order to evaluate the hypothesis and achieve the paper aim, which is to find if there is a reflection of Russia Georgia information warfare in Lithuanian and Italian mass media by holding the empirical analysis of the mass media publications, the objectives of the research are the following: • determine the consequences of information warfare to the nation security and the theories of international relations; • dispute the concept of communication security in information age; • explore the concept of information warfare; • determine the media input in war conflict coverage; • explore the Italian and Lithuanian mass media publications by selected criteria: o analyze the publications of Lithuania mass media by quantitative and qualitative analyses methods; o analyze the publications of Italian mass media by quantitative and qualitative analyses methods; • Nustatyti, kokią poziciją palaikė tiek Lietuvos, tiek Italijos žiniasklaidos priemonės Rusijos Gruzijos konflikto atžvilgiu ir paaiškinti, kas lėmė tokios pozicijos atsiradimą. • Measure whether position was take by Italian and Lithuanian mass media in Russia Georgia conflict and what were the reasons for such attitude. According to the empirical research the evidence of information warfare is clear. From the quantitative analyses of Lithuanian mass media it was determinate that Lithuanian mass media position was favourable to Georgia' because of the historical linkage and the official Lithuanian government position. The case of Italian mass media research by the same method outcome the data telling that Italian mass media has taken neutral position. Such outcome come evident because of the type of analyzed mass media which belongs to central left political parties recently placing in opposition and criticizing the S. Berlusconi decision to be favourable to Russia' s position. Therefore, the conflict between Russia and Georgia, according to the media researches, was the war of "theirs" and that's way Italian mass media has taken the position only to fulfill its function – inform the society of happening events. According to the written above it can be stated that the hypothesis was approved only partly.