Framing of the 2011 uprising in egypt content analysis of the ethiopian herald and the reporter
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2014-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The Egyptian popular uprising which brought down the Mubarak regime, not only gripped the minds and hearts of the Egyptians, but also it captured the interest of the national and international media as well. Though Internet-based social networks took the leading role in the dissemination of information about the situation in Egypt, the newspapers significantly mediated the public in providing information.
The purpose of this study is to examine how the Ethiopian Herald and The Reporter have covered the uprising in Egypt and its aftermath from January to June 2011. It aims to point out some of differences and similarities in the coverage of the two papers, to answering questions related to the kind of frames employed in the papers and external factors that influence the coverage. Did the papers framed the issue in certain ways to gain readers attention and recognition just as professional journalists do? If they did, what seems to be the trend and what are their reasons? These are also some of the main questions that the study is trying to answer.
Content analysis was used to examine their coverage of the event along with mixed data collection methods and interviews. A sample of 46 news articles and feature pieces were thoroughly examined and taken using non-random sampling from the two papers. The study reveals that six frames (conflict, economic consequence, attribution of responsibility, diagnostic and prognostic) were used by the papers in light of the agenda and interest of their owners. The Reporter covered the event more frequently leaning
vii
more towards positive tone taking the side of protesters and depicting them positively. However, Herald adhered to down play the event and to abstain from providing detail analysis.
While interpreting the situation, the papers committed some biases in balancing the sources, placements, portraying and narrating the event towards the direction of their position and ideology, and providing emphasis on either causes or consequences to guide the readers, which the study considers unfair treatment of the story which emanated from the lack of editorial independence of the papers.
Description
Keywords
Framing of the 2011 uprising