Building Narratives: A Study of Terrorism Framing by Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya TV Networks

Abstract

Years after the 9/11 attacks, news sources still devote considerable attention to terrorism and terrorist related activity. US national news networks broadcast more than 5,000 stories concerning terrorism in the years 2002-2006.[i] Much attention from media scholars in recent years has therefore understandably turned to investigating the representation of terrorism.[ii] Still, most of this work has focused on Western media framing of terrorism. This study attempted to analyze selected news stories from Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya TV networks based on framing theory. Using content analysis, the study examined data on how the two networks framed their reporting of terrorist-related activity. Based on the existing literature, eight framing devices were considered: types of news frames, framing perspectives, geographical location of terrorism coverage, sources used, perpetrators, victims, episodic versus thematic framing, and responsibility.