ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the function of news within the political transition which became commonly referred to as the peace process. It concerns how the national television news media has covered the Northern Ireland peace process and its role within the politics of that process. The book examines how news constructed the peace process during the formative years of peace negotiations and how politicians tried to use news as a mechanism for contesting and promoting the shape of peace. It outlines how the peace process emerged and represented a new phase of political relations in Northern Ireland. The book focuses on interviews with eleven journalists who reported the peace process on national television news. It presents a case study of how news reported and covered the Provisional IRA ceasefire of August 1994.
