Not As One Might Expect

The media and international news channels in particular are repeatedly accused of biased and tendentious reporting. To what extent does this accusation apply to the English-language branch of the leading Arab news channel Al Jazeera?

Susan Schenk: I am familiar with these allegations because the "mother channel" in particular, Al Jazeera Arabic, is repeatedly confronted with these assumptions. There are rarely any empirically valid results. Having completed my study, I cannot say that Al Jazeera English's news coverage is biased or tendentious.

My research shows that it fits in very well into the media landscape of international television channels. If you tune in to watch the news on Al Jazeera, the only difference between it and western news channels – purely in terms of form – is the logo.

In your new study "The image of Islam in international television", you examined the image of Islam projected by international channels like CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera. What conclusions did you reach?

Schenk: I compared a total of 707 news bulletins broadcast by BBC World, CNN International, and Al Jazeera English and discovered that there is hardly any difference in the image of Islam projected by these channels. I must also add that I didn't just analyse reports about Islam, but also reports about Muslim countries and Muslims. There were hardly any features, reports or brief news items that focussed exclusively on religion.

On the other hand, we analysed a lot of reports about wars and crises in Islamic countries. This is not surprising because international news channels focus on the main events of the day, and negative events are always considered more newsworthy than positive ones.

If there was a link to Islam in a report, it was generally embedded in political issues. Ethical normative principles or interreligious views were not highlighted – although these are potentially valuable for intercultural understanding.

We "Westerners" often have an image of Islam and our Muslim fellow citizens that is shaped by the media because we have no experiences of dealing with Muslims. According to my study, this media image of Muslims reduces highly complex issues to the notion of political Islam.

Most reports relate to the regions in the Middle East; South-east Asian countries, where most Muslims live, are a very low-profile media topic. In this regard too, Al Jazeera's news agenda is no different.

Does that mean that there are actually no differences between the image of Islam projected by Al Jazeera English and that projected by other international channels?

Schenk: The image of Islam projected by Al Jazeera English is indeed very similar to that of CNN International and BBC World. However, there are also significant differences too. On the one hand, Al Jazeera English reports longer on issues that relate to Islam. In a 30-minute news bulletin, Al Jazeera devotes an average 11 minutes to issues from Islamic countries, or about Muslims and/or their culture. That's about one-third of the entire bulletin.

Both western "counterparts", on the other hand, devote an average of 5 to 7 minutes to such themes. In this regard, Al Jazeera's thematic focus is stronger. My study also showed that Muslims get to voice their opinions directly more often on Al Jazeera, thereby giving them a greater presence in the news.

On CNN International and BBC World, on the other hand, non-Muslim standpoints, opinions, and expressions are more prevalent. Most of the comments on events that relate to religion are, therefore made by non-Muslims. This is different on Al Jazeera.

However, I must say that of the 50 variables analysed, there were only considerable differences in three. But these three differences are significant.

Can we assume, therefore, that the first Arab news channel for a Western audience doesn't offer a better or more balanced view of the Islamic world?

Schenk: No, it doesn't necessarily mean that; because I only analysed the main news bulletins, I can only speak about them. Nor can I speak to other programme focuses. It is quite possible that Al Jazeera differs from the others in terms of its overall thematic focus and, in so doing, offers a more balanced view of the Islamic world. Personally, I can well imagine that this could be the case.

This is quite surprising, especially when one considers that the Al Jazeera network claims to have broken Western media dominance and to be making an important contribution to an understanding of the ethical fundamentals of Islam. Did you find an explanation for this?

Schenk: You are right. Al Jazeera's claim that it is "setting the news agenda" would appear to be a direct challenge to break dominant Western views and the global Western media presence. This is why the result is surprising.

However, much is explained by the staff structure at Al Jazeera. The team at Al Jazeera is very international. The majority of the journalists in Qatar are "Western" and some of them have already worked for other "Western" media. They seem to be working to Western journalistic standards and methods. This is, of course, reflected in the broadcasts.

Can one interpret the results of your comparative study as evidence of the fact that the news coverage of international channels is melting and merging into an indifferent, global media culture?

Schenk: I believe that there is a global dominance of Western media and news agencies, which Al Jazeera English also uses for orientation. Nevertheless, I would not speak of a global media culture that spans the world like a homogenous band. I think that the cultural differences in the countries can indeed be seen in the media on offer, both in terms of national news and entertainment programmes.

To what extent do these results also apply to the Arabic mother channel?

Schenk: These results cannot be applied to the Arabic mother channel because the two channels have different goals and completely different audiences.

Al Jazeera Arabic has a different international audience and its programme is, therefore, different from that of Al Jazeera English. The journalists too are different. With the help of an Arab colleague, I am currently trying to establish whether and to what extent the channels' programmes differ.

We are focussing on and analysing the news coverage of the Iranian election campaign in 2009. I hope that the results will provide an answer to your question.

Interview conducted by Loay Mudhoon

© Qantara.de 2009

Susan Schenk is a communications scientist at the University of Dresden. She studied communication studies, Romance studies and sociology in Dresden and Valenciennes (France). The main focus of her research is on international and intercultural communication. She is currently examining the integrative function of mass media. The book 'The Image of Islam in international television' is based on her Masters' dissertation.

Translated from the German by Aingeal Flanagan

Qantara.de

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