Al-Jazeera English

Al-Jazeera English: the Opinion and the Other Opinion A comparison between ideologies in CNN International and Al-Jazeera English concerning the withdrawal of the Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip in August 2005 Name: Jonas Joris de Graaf Student number: 0255378 Master thesis ‘Communicatiestudies’ University of Utrecht First supervisor: Robert Maier Second supervisor: Jan ten Thije Al-Jazeera English: the Opinion and the Other Opinion A comparison between ideologies in CNN International and Al-Jazeera English concerning the withdrawal of the Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip in August 2005 Most journalism is not about facts but about the interpretation of what seem to be facts Walter Lippman (1922) Journalists are professional storytellers of our age. The fairy tail starts: “Once upon a time.” The news story begins: “Fifteen people were injured today when a bus plunged…” Allan Bell in the Language of News Media 1 Al-Jazeera English: the Opinion and the Other Opinion Abstract Elite groups struggle to maintain existing power structures, and research reveals that the news media play an active role in maintaining these dominant ideologies. In the globalizing world, or the so-called ‘global village’, world mediascapes are mainly dominated by the West with large press agencies such as Associated Press (AP), Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Reuters; and international news networks like CNN (International), BBC (World) and France 24. Al-Jazeera, the Arabic version, started to oppose this hegemony from Qatar with the satellite station Al-Jazeera English in September 2006. The open (and many-facetted) question whether Al-Jazeera English produces a counter-ideology to oppose the dominated Western worldview in news was the main cause of this research. A comparative analysis between CNN International and Al-Jazeera English was undertaken. The news coverage concerning the withdrawal of the Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip in August, 2005, of both network stations was subjected to CDA and it was, in addition, compared. Both CNN International and Al-Jazeera English were examined on lexicalization, predicational strategy, topicalization, intertextuality and framing. The result may not be surprising: the examined news coverage by Al-Jazeera English contains counter-ideological elements vis-à-vis the reporting by CNN International. Nonetheless, research shows very well in which linguistic structures this respectively dominant ideology and counter-ideology can be found. Some of these structures exhibit very explicitly the dominant ideology, such as the word ‘terrorism’ in CNN International, or the word ‘resistance’ in Al-Jazeera English. It appeared that both network stations have ingroup – outgroup polarization characteristics. In Al-Jazeera English’s news coverage, the ingroup is the Palestinian side and the outgroup is the Israeli side. The reverse is seen in CNN International, where the ingroup is the Israeli side and the outgroup, the Palestinian side. By using different strategies, both network stations represent the ingroup positively and the outgroups negatively. Moreover, CNN International often refers to the war on terrorism discourse of United States President Bush by framing the Palestinian side as consisting of terrorists. Indications are found that Al-Jazeera English attempts to ‘re-contextualize’ this discourse, i.e. the discourse of terrorism is moved to practices concerning Israeli violence and to Israel’s extreme political stance in the Middle East conflict. Keywords: Media; Ideology; Al-Jazeera English; CNN International; Critical Discourse Analysis J.J. de Graaf 2 Al-Jazeera English: the Opinion and the Other Opinion Index Abstract ___________________________________________________ 2 1. Introduction and Research Questions ________________________ 5 1.1 Why Research Al-Jazeera? ...................................................................5 1.2 Phrasing of the Research Questions.......................................................6 1.3 Concluding Remarks............................................................................8 2. Ideology and Power _____________________________________ 9 2.1 Ideology ............................................................................................9 2.2 Ingroup and Outgroup ....................................................................... 10 2.3 Power.............................................................................................. 11 2.4 Hegemony ....................................................................................... 12 2.5 Domination ...................................................................................... 13 2.6 The Mediatization of Power................................................................. 13 2.7 CNN International and Al-Jazeera English............................................. 14 2.8 Returning to the Research Question .................................................... 15 3. Critical Discourse Analysis _______________________________ 16 3.1 Why Critical Discourse Analysis? ......................................................... 16 3.2 Discourse and Discourse Analysis........................................................ 17 3.3 A Critical Analysis ............................................................................. 17 3.4 A Three-dimensional Framework for CDA ............................................. 18 3.5 Textual Analysis................................................................................ 19 3.6 Discursive Practices........................................................................... 20 3.7 Social Practices................................................................................. 21 3.8 Being Critical about CDA .................................................................... 21 3.9 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 22 4. Model of Analysis ______________________________________ 23 4.1 Topics ............................................................................................. 24 4.2 Lexicalization and Predicational Strategy.............................................. 25 4.3 Verbal Processes............................................................................... 25 4.4 Narrative: Intertextuality and Framing ................................................ 26 4.5 Research Questions........................................................................... 28 5. The Network Stations: Al-Jazeera English and CNN International__ 29 5.1 Data................................................................................................ 29 5.2 Choice of CNN International ............................................................... 30 5.3 Al-Jazeera (English) .......................................................................... 30 5.4 Propaganda or Not?........................................................................... 32 5.5 CNN International ............................................................................. 32 5.6 Is CNN Biased? ................................................................................. 33 6. The Event: the Disengagement Plan ________________________ 35 6.1 The Disengagement Plan.................................................................... 35 6.2 The Disengagement .......................................................................... 36 6.3 The Aftermath .................................................................................. 37 J.J. de Graaf 3 Al-Jazeera English: the Opinion and the Other Opinion 7. Analysis of Topicalization ________________________________ 38 7.1 Al-Jazeera English: Critical Background Information .............................. 38 7.2 Al-Jazeera English: Focusing on the Palestinian Side ............................. 39 7.3 Al-Jazeera English: Referring to Human Rights and International Law...... 40 7.4 CNN International: the Role of the United States .................................. 41 7.5 CNN International: the Experience of the Soldiers ................................. 41 7.6 CNN International: Militant Violence in Gaza......................................... 42 7.7 Ingroup and Outgroup ....................................................................... 43 8. Analyses of Lexicalization and Predicational Strategy___________ 45 8.1 Occupation or Disputed Territory ........................................................ 45 8.2 Terrorism or Resistance ..................................................................... 47 8.3 Settlers: extremists or families ? ......................................................... 51 8.4 Palestinians: A Cheering Crowd or Abdullah Maani ................................ 53 8.5 Naming the Plan ............................................................................... 55 8.6 Ingroup and Outgroup ....................................................................... 56 9. Analysis of Intertextuality________________________________ 58 9.1 Including and Excluding Voices ........................................................... 58 9.2 Critical Voices................................................................................... 59 9.3 Framing of Voices ............................................................................. 61 9.3.1 Example 1: Quoting of Sources and the Context................................ 62 9.3.2 Example 2: Formulations of Reported Clauses ................................... 63 9.3.3 Example 3: Use of Authorial

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