Covering Libya: a framing analysis of Al Jazeera and BBC coverage of the 2011 Libyan Uprising and NATO intervention

Alnahed, Sumaya (2015) Covering Libya: a framing analysis of Al Jazeera and BBC coverage of the 2011 Libyan Uprising and NATO intervention. Middle East Critique, 24 (3). pp. 251-267. ISSN 1943-6149

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Abstract

This article examines the broadcast coverage by Al Jazeera and the BBC of the 2011 uprising in Libya and the ensuing NATO intervention in the country. Through a comparative analysis of Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English, BBC Arabic, and BBC World News, the article evaluates the impact of these two network’s political contexts on their coverage. Both Al Jazeera and the BBC are based in countries that were active participants in the 2011 NATO intervention, Al Jazeera in Qatar and the BBC in the UK. Thus, the 2011 Libyan uprising and NATO intervention presents a prime opportunity to evaluate how the political contexts of these two networks affected their coverage. The sample under study covered a period of roughly four weeks and was analysed by means of a framing analysis, whereby framing refers to the way a news story is packaged, organised, and narrated. Ultimately, the study found that the coverage of both these networks was aligned with the national and foreign policy interests of their home countries, making their political contexts the main influence on their news agendas. News frames across the sample reflected coverage that was largely supportive of the aims of opposition and the intervention.

Item Type: Article
Identifier: 10.1080/19436149.2015.1050784
Additional Information: © 2015 Taylor & Francis. This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Middle East Critique 24(3), available online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/19436149.2015.1050784.
Keywords: Al Jazeera, Arab uprisings, BBC, framing analysis, Humanitarian Intervention, Libya, Qadhdhafi, Qatar, UK
Subjects: Social sciences > Communication and culture
Depositing User: Sumaya Alnahed
Date Deposited: 21 Mar 2016 10:05
Last Modified: 06 Feb 2024 15:43
URI: https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1567

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