The Threat To The World- Islamedia? - A Content Analysis

This research endeavours to explain, explore and identify the discourse, language and representation or misrepresentation of Muslims and Islam in the public sphere, using the genre of newspapers (non-fictional). In doing so the study will help identify how the media places Islam and British Muslims. This will be undertaken through content analysis, focused on the British press between a specific week. The research will undertake a statistical exploration of the data and explore the key ways in which Islam and Muslim's are represented. Previous academic studies have outlined that Islam and Muslims are represented in the media in very limited and constricted manner. ".In other words, the kinds of stories about Muslims which are told by the news media, and which seem to 'ring true' or to 'make sense' as news are fairly limited." (Moore, Mason and Lewis, 2008, pg. 6). This research has three aims: to illustrate how the UK newspaper media generally covered Islam and Muslims in a specific week; What are the prevailing discourses about Islam and Muslims that can be identified in major newspapers (non-fictional) and when the words Muslim or Islam are mentioned in the media, what is the context and what are the implications? The research concludes that between 4/4/2011 and 10/04/2011 the majority of the articles were grouped as 'Neutral'. However, even when articles were classified as positive, the content of the newspaper evolved around Muslims being marginalised and being discriminated against. Also, tabloids utilised more words when describing Muslims/Islam in a negative context when compared to the number of positive articles they wrote. The most common discourses about Muslims in British press associate Islam/Muslims as dangerous, backward or irrational and Muslims linked to the threat of terrorism. If we look at the prominence of these issues over the type of newspaper we can see that broadsheets had a more restrained reporting stance, writing about Muslims in a wider range of contexts, although their focus on world news resulted in them covering more stories at an international level. Moreover broadsheets offer more alternative world-views, understandings and opinions in comparisons to tabloids. This research demonstrates the continuing dominance of world affairs within this topic - coverage mainly focusing on putting Muslims or Islam in ongoing events in conflict areas. As a result, the representation of Muslims in the mainstream media illustrates a source of negative stereotyping that may impact upon levels of discrimination and exclusion faced by British Muslims.