Enemy of Enemies: Framing of Daesh in the UK and US Media
Ilkka, Ilmo (2020)
2020
Englannin kielen ja kirjallisuuden maisteriohjelma - Master's Programme in English Language and Literature
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2020-05-19
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202004304812
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202004304812
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this thesis was to identify the different frames that were constructed in four different Western media outlets, and the elements which constituted those frames when framing the terrorist organization known as Daesh or Islamic State between 2014 and 2016. Framing theory offers the researcher a way to analyze the methods that texts construe and construct the surrounding reality. This can be done either consciously by the writer or through the unconscious mental models that the writer has.
The data for this research consists of eighty-four articles from the editorial pages of four newspapers: The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. The decision to limit the data gathering to the editorial pages was due to the fact that on those pages, the newspapers make explicit their political stances on any given subject matter. Thus, the editorial pages act as the face of the newspaper.
The decision to research Daesh was made because of the wide-reaching notoriety, infamy and concrete actions that the organization has engaged in. The research contributes to the academic knowledge about the relationships between various media organizations, their political stances, and the ways through which the Western media constructs an image of an enemy that is Othered culturally, morally, and geopolitically.
The analysis identified four grand frames from the datasets: the clash of civilizations frame; the hapless Arab frame; the bombs and guns frame; and the deliberation frame. The constitutive elements of these frames included defining problematic effects/conditions, identifying causes/agents, endorsing remedies, and conveying moral judgments. The first three frames were present in all the datasets but the last one was found only in the dataset from The Guardian.
The data for this research consists of eighty-four articles from the editorial pages of four newspapers: The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. The decision to limit the data gathering to the editorial pages was due to the fact that on those pages, the newspapers make explicit their political stances on any given subject matter. Thus, the editorial pages act as the face of the newspaper.
The decision to research Daesh was made because of the wide-reaching notoriety, infamy and concrete actions that the organization has engaged in. The research contributes to the academic knowledge about the relationships between various media organizations, their political stances, and the ways through which the Western media constructs an image of an enemy that is Othered culturally, morally, and geopolitically.
The analysis identified four grand frames from the datasets: the clash of civilizations frame; the hapless Arab frame; the bombs and guns frame; and the deliberation frame. The constitutive elements of these frames included defining problematic effects/conditions, identifying causes/agents, endorsing remedies, and conveying moral judgments. The first three frames were present in all the datasets but the last one was found only in the dataset from The Guardian.