Paratextual (re)framing of media coverage of Christchurch Mosque Shootings: A translation-oriented study

Abstract

This study investigates the role of translation in (re)framing different narratives of the Christchurch Mosque Shootings. It focuses on how translators utilized the paratextual elements to re-frame this terror attack and circulate the ideological attitudes of the media outlets they work for. The research data consist of eleven pairs of Arabic and English articles that were collected from five media outlets, namely, The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Middle East Online (MEO), Aljazeera, Al-Manar, and Sputnik. Adopting Baker’s model of narrative theory, this study showed that the selected media outlets utilized four paratextual framing devices, namely, titles, images with captions, headings (intertitles), and introductions. Adding new headings was the most commonly used device by the selected media outlets, whereas adding new introductions was the least used device. Examining readers’ comments on MEMRI’s posts on social media exhibited the impact of this incident’s re-framing in tarnishing the image of Islam and Muslims. This study is of vital significance to media workers and owners, translators, and researchers in political communication.