Critical research is about credibility and causing change. It focusses on abuses of power, dominance, discrimination, inequality, resistance and struggle. It looks at who gains and who loses. As it avoids falling into the trap of reciting narrative, its impact is far better. The understanding that binds this research expectation is the cosmopolitan context of global justice. It sees society as a global community where everybody is equally important and worthy of protection, and human rights violations is a concern to all of the people in this global community regardless of where and who they are.

Critical research thus imposes a moral obligation on media to consider human rights without discrimination, and to distribute justice for human rights violations irrespective of borders, races, ages, genders and classes. This underlines the research importance of the media’s role in globally advocating just causes, building just peace, and conflict prevention.