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CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE The CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE The Cost of Truth in a World of PolitiCs: How Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya are Influenced by Qatar and Saudi Arabia A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts in Mass CommuniCation By Abdullah Alhendyani DeCember 2019 The graduate projeCt of Abdullah Alhendyani is approved: Dr. Yue Zheng Date Dr. Stephanie Bluestein Date Dr. José Luis Benavides, Chair Date California State University, Nothridge ii Table of Content Signature Page ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ii AbstraCt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iv Chapter 1. Introduction -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Research Questions --------------------------------------------------------- 3 Chapter 2. Literature Review ------------------------------------------------------- 4 HistoriCal Context ----------------------------------------------------------- 4 TheoretiCal Framework ---------------------------------------------------- 16 Propaganda Model --------------------------------------------------------- 16 The Five Filters ------------------------------------------------------------- 18 Other Concepts ------------------------------------------------------------- 24 Chapter 3. Methodology ----------------------------------------------------------- 26 Case Summary ------------------------------------------------------------- 27 Sampling -------------------------------------------------------------------- 32 CritiCal Language Study -------------------------------------------------- 34 Chapter 4. Findings ---------------------------------------------------------------- 37 Research Answer 1 -------------------------------------------------------- 37 Research Answer 2 -------------------------------------------------------- 45 Chapter 5. Conclusion ------------------------------------------------------------- 55 DisCussion ----------------------------------------------------------------- 57 Limitations & Future Research ----------------------------------------- 58 References -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 60 iii AbstraCt The Cost of Truth in a World of PolitiCs: How Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya are Influenced by Qatar and Saudi Arabia By Abdullah Alhendyani Master of Arts in Mass CommuniCation The case of the Jamal Khashoggi disappearance brought international uproar when it was revealed that Khashoggi was assassinated within the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Turkey. Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya news networks were quiCk to piCk up the story to control the narrative when news of Saudi Arabia’s involvement reaChed the surfaCe. Al-Jazeera, a Qatar-funded network, and Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-baCked network, took Contrasting stances on the issue. This research studies the differences found in the English websites of both networks and how their coverage of the case aligns with the ideologies of Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Findings confirm the propagandistiC role of news media organizations in terms of how both networks approaChed their coverages. Through the use of critical language study (CLS), this paper Concludes that the reporting of Al-Jazeera and Al- Arabiya correlates with the agendas of their respeCtive countries of ownership. iv Chapter 1 Introduction On the 2nd of OCtober 2018, Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey and never walked out. The case caused an international uproar as more evidence started piling up indiCating of a harsh outCome; Jamal Khashoggi was killed. The Turkish media were quiCk to point fingers at the involvement of the Saudi government in the attaCk, whiCh they denied initially (KirkpatriCk, 2018). By the time faCts of the story were breaking from the Turkish press, the evidence against Saudi Arabia’s involvement was growing in size and power. Under pressure and Constant counteraCt-measurement news leaks from the Turkish government, Saudi Arabia Came with the offiCial statement that Khashoggi was murdered by rogue agents within its Consulate on the 20th of OCtober (Hjelmgaard, 2018). The case garnered signifiCant media attention since its earliest days, espeCially from Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya. Al-Jazeera, a Qatari-funded news network, took the stance of the Turkish press in whiCh they assumed the direCt involvement from the Saudi government as soon as the news broke out. Al-Arabiya, funded by Saudi investors, pursued a defensive route in trying to extriCate Saudi Arabia from its involvement in the murder. Al-Jazeera and Al- Arabiya are considered among the two largest news networks in the Middle East region (Mellor, Ayish, Dajani, & Rinnawi, 2011). Research has shown that both networks assume the agendas of their respeCtive elites, even though they have constantly denied those allegations (Touzani, 2010; Al-Obaidi, 2011; El-Ebiary, 2011; Harb, 2011; MitChell, Brown, & Guskin, 2012; Zeng & Tahat, 2012; Samuel-Azran, 2013; Lo & FrkoviCh, 2013; Pourhamzavi & Pherguson, 2015; Al-Rawi, 2017). 1 The murder of Jamal Khashoggi was a perfeCt case for the rivalling news networks to fight against eaCh other in their never-ending cold war. For Al-Jazeera, it is within Qatar’s benefit to turn the world against Saudi Arabia’s government and to portray it as a villain (Beydoun & Baum, 2012). Al-Arabiya needed to control the narrative before it was out of hand in order to maintain the publiC image of Saudi Arabia (Mellor, Ayish, Dajani, & Rinnawi, 2011). The Khashoggi case provided Al-Jazeera with a mainstream story portraying Saudi Arabia in a bad light, while Al-Arabiya wanted to derail the bad publiCity away from its baCking country. This research examines the history between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and how their Clashes aCross the years have led to the creation of Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya news networks as tools of influence aCross the region. It also argues that both news networks pass through the five filters of the propaganda model (PM) proposed in the book Manufacturing Consent by Herman and Chomsky (1988). By understanding how both networks work for the agendas of their respeCtive Countries of ownership, this study argues that the coverage about Jamal Khashoggi was influenced by Qatar’s and Saudi Arabia’s agendas whiCh hindered the levels of journalistiC aCCuraCy expeCted from such news organizations. Through the analysis of how both news networks covered the Jamal Khashoggi assassination, this study will provide an understanding about how Al-Jazeera’s and Al- Arabiya’s reporting aligned with state, speCifiCally Qatar and Saudi Arabia, influences and agendas or were they aCCurate and neutral. Hence, this study aims to answer the following research questions. 2 RQ1: How do the agendas of Qatar and Saudi Arabia influence the news Coverage of state-owned media, Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, in terms of how both networks approaChed the Jamal Khashoggi case? RQ2: Where do Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya news networks fit within the five filters of news assembly taken from the propaganda model? Even though the Turkish media, and the Turkish government to an extent, played an important role in the leaks concerning Jamal Khashoggi, their role will not be disCussed deeply within this paper. Due to a laCk of resources to Turkish media outlets, or an understanding of the Turkish language, the researcher is not able to study the contents of the Turkish media thoroughly and aCCurately. With that being said, it should be emphasized that the Turkish media played the first and biggest role in leaking and breaking news about Jamal Khashoggi to other networks. Chapter one provides an introduction and outlines the goals of this research. Chapter two has two seCtions. The first seCtion outlines the historiCal context between Qatar and Saudi Arabia that led to the creation of Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya. The seCond seCtion revolves around understanding the propaganda model, its concepts, and the five filters proposed in it. Chapter three states the methodology used to study difference in Coverages between Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya about the case of Jamal Khashoggi. Chapter four provides the findings and answers the research questions proposed. Chapter five states the Conclusion, including avenues for future research and limitations. 3 Chapter 2 Literature Review This chapter reviews the historiCal context of the relationship between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and outlines the relationships with the two media networks (SeCtion 1), and then presents a literature review regarding the propaganda model for analysis of the politiCal-eConomiC influences on news production (seCtion 2). I. Historical Context. This segment refleCts upon the rise of Qatar and Saudi Arabia to power and how the source of confliCt between them is rooted in disagreements that have been culminating aCross the years. A majority of the disCussion revolves around some of the major issues between the two countries that eventually lead to the creation of Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya in their efforts to influence the region. Qatar's reCent powerful grip into the modern world is not only a thing of wonder, but a fasCination of many sCholars and aCademiCs who are still trying to fit the pieCes together as to how this small country in the Arabian Peninsula Catapulted itself into beComing a domestiC powerhouse and a global influencer of international relations (Kamrava, 2013). Qatar's overwhelming advancement into the mainstream spotlight has made the AmeriCan Central Intelligence
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