THE STUDY OF NEWS FRAMING ONLINE
MEDIA OUTLETS ALJAZEERA AND BBC PORTERIAL IN THE FACE OF ETHIOPIA
/ Online
media outlets Aljazeera.net and BBC.CO.UK/
BAHIR DAR UNIVIRSTY
BAHIR DAR, ETHIOPIA
By +
AYELE ADDIS (Mr.)
FACULTY OF HUMANITY
Department of media and Communication
phone +251918718307
Table Content
Title
page
1.
CHAPTER I
1.1
INTRODUCTION
1.2
Statement of the problem
1.3
Objectives of the Studies
1.3.1 General objective
1.2.2 Specific objectives
1.4Significance of the Study
1.5 Scope of the study
1.6 The Research Design
1.6.1 The Research Method
1.6.2 Parameter of Research method sampling technique
1.6.3 Period of research study
1.6.4 Study population and
sampling
1.7
sampling techniques
1.7.1 Time frame
1.7.2 Story selection
1.8
data collection and analysis
1.9coding
process
1.10
hypothesis of the study
1.11
research question design
1.12limitations
of the study
1.13
rationality of media selection
1.14
coding unit of analysis
1.14.1 Contextual unit of analysis
1.14.2 Intra coder and inter code
reliability
1.14.3
Variables survey research
1.15
research question
1.16
coding sheet
1.17
content analysis parameter
1.18
coding guide
Bibliography
CHAPTER I
1.1 INTRODUCTION
We are living in
a world where millions of events are taking place simultaneously. Media
organizations and institutions have employed thousands of people to observe
those events and report them. The news media tell us which issues are important
and which ones are not. We have never seen the war situations of Afghanistan,
Iraq, Palestine and Kashmir with our own eyes. Even then we have pictures of
these disputed areas in our minds. The media’s daily reports inform us about
the latest events and changes taking place in the world beyond our reach. As a
result of this phenomenon, most of our perceptions about the world are a
second-hand reality created by the media organizations. There is no assurance
and no guarantee that this reality is an accurate picture of the world.
Media
organizations do not just passively broadcast information repeating the words
of the official sources or conveying exactly the incidents of an event. They
also do not select or reject the day’s news in proportion to reality. Through
their selection and display of the news stories, the reporters and the editors
focus their attention and influence the public’s perceptions of what are the
most important issues of the day. Our pictures of the world are shaped and
refined in the way journalists frame their news stories. This function of media
is called the agenda-setting function of media (McCombs 2002).
Frames are
powerful mechanisms that can help define and solve problems and shape public opinion(Knight,1999).Much of
the research on framing has focused on media frames in relation to public policy
issues, although framing research is also potentially useful for identifying
the strategic messages created by public relations practitioners (Hallahan,
1999).
Underlying
much contemporary discourse about international communication is the assumption
that mass media can contribute to people’s understanding or misunderstanding of
each other’s countries (McNelly and lzcaray, 1986, p.546). the face of
countries held by the people of other countries have long been of interest to
students of international affairs because they are generally acknowledged as
having an important influence on the political economic and cultural relations
between nations (McCracken,1987,p.183,also cited in Noshina,2000,p.1). Moreover,
the mass media plays vital role in shaping public perceptions about various
countries and event, soderlund maintained
That
public perception of the world events are influenced by mass media is indispuitable.perception
of reality are shaped not only by what we experience directly in our daily lives,
but by what we read, see and hear in serious mass communication channels. The
future away an event is removed from us. The greater he relative impact of mass
media vis-a-vis direct experience as a consequence, for most international cities,
we draw inferences and make judgments regarding what is happening who is
responsible and what the likely impact will be...(soderlund 2003,p.1539).
The
mass media tell about wars, disaster, famine, political crises, and elections
around the world, often within hours of an event. Millions of citizens turn to
the news media daily and ‘the media’ is a cornerstone institution in our
democracies. One influential way that the media may shape public opinion is by
framing events and issues in particular ways. Framing involves a communication
source presenting and defiening an issue. The notion of framing has gained
momentum in the communication disciplines, giving guidance to both investigations
of media content and to studies of the relationship between media and public
opinion significant inconsistency in the literature. Moreover, most previous
studies of framing have focused on either content (e.g., frames in news) or
framing effects.
This study
has been designed
to investigate a
detailed picture of
the Ethiopian portrayal by the BBC
and the Aljazeera of two-years each pre and post scenario
of the 2011/12.
Since the Ethiopian economy and transformation
incidents, the foreign
media have extensively
been covering the international
events. The study focuses on the nature and treatment of the Ethiopian portrayal. The
coverage of Ethiopia
in foreign media is
a topic of
considerable currency because of
the events following
different occasions happen. Contradictory perceptions of Ethiopian
possibly exist in the foreign public‘s mind. Such contradictions might also be
present in the foreign media. Wanta (2004) reported that the developing country
more participate in different issue demonstrated to policy makers, the mass
media, and the public, the need for a more global perspective in coverage of
international news (p. 365).
While
covering international events, researchers agree that media primarily regard the
national interest, Shoemaker et el. Chang’s
(1990) survey of foreign media editors found that the foreign media primary
cover their own interest.
Journalists
while working with the news frames can play powerful role in determining the
success or failure of social movements. One
of the major news framing in the eastern, eastern and Islamic world countries media
is by and large experienced either sensationalized or marginal the foreign
country coverage. This
study investigates frames
that used in
the foreign news media
are "Fundamentalists, "Militancy", Ethiopia
as "Friend" or
"Foe, and "Pejorative Description" frame.
The
present study is a content analysis of BBC and Aljazeera news frames found in 2010-2012
Ethiopian news coverage. A total of the issue under raise Ethiopia news stories
were analyzed to examine which of five news frames (Attribution of responsibility,
human interest, conflict, morality, and economic) were used by the media according
to News type. While the attribution of responsibility frame was the most predominantly
used event news coverage, the use of each of the five frames depended on news type.
The
study will be;
ü Trends in the Coverage of Ethiopia
between two foreign media outlets Aljazeera’ and BBC
ü Distribution of Ethiopian issue in the selected
media by type, theme, Prominence
and origin of the story (January 2010
– January 2012)
ü Main subjects of coverage between
two media
ü Frequency of the News Stories published on the
Issues
ü How much Ethiopian issue is cover the story,proportional of al-jazeera
and BBC
ü The style of reporting and framing of news
ü Why
this world big media are cover more political issue.
ü How
much stereotyped /biased reporting/ Ethiopia by foreign media
ü These
were counted in terms of The news story favorable, unfavorable and neutral themes
of story evaluate the three choice alternatives.
ü News
Stories elements, measure the characteristics of international agenda balance,
proximity, conflict…
1.2 Statement of the problem
Media have the power to influence
public opinion as well as social policy about significant social matters.
Ethiopia is one of the issues that require media’s attention and coverage to
reinforce change in attitude and policy. Carlyle et al (2008) note that how the
media cover issues that have economical, political, social... In addition to
the attention the issue receives from the media, how it is framed has
implications for both public perception and policy making. Goffman (cited in
Paterson 2006:295) describes frames as “internal cognitive structures
consisting of systems of classification and rules of interpretation that allow
us to locate, perceive, identify and label, the diverse phenomena we may
encounter throughout the course of our lives.”
How the image of
Ethiopia is represented in the media can certainly affect the public’s
perception of the issue. For example, the Ethiopian media have played a
significant role in minimizing stigma and discrimination against HIV-infected
people. Carlyle et al (2008: 171).”
Researchers conducted on the framing
of an issue or event are important in examining the roles of the media in
defining a problem, stating the cause, providing moral evaluation and
suggesting treatment. Even though several mass media studies were carried out
on face of Ethiopia and the media as a whole, As a result, this study is
believed to fill in the gap by studying how two international media frame
content or issue of Ethiopia. News media then, have a critical role in shaping
public opinion about who is responsible for causing or solving key social
problems (Iyengar&Kinder, 1987).
Thus,
this study aims to identify and examined how the previous five news frames are
used. Based on the above specific subject of the study, we asked the following
research questions:
RQ1.
Which of the five news frames have been used between two foreign media in
Ethiopian news story coverage?
RQ2.
How differently have the frames been used according to Ethiopian issue types?
RQ3.
How differently have the level of story frames been used in Ethiopian news
coverage according to framing types?
RQ4.
How differently have the five news frames been used according to angle of story?
The media frame stories of content of country
have been criticized for their little
attempt to reinforce change in policies regarding the issue. According to
Entman (cited in Powers and
Andsager, 1999: 553), frames occur when journalists “emphasize certain words and source of
information; the writings of the reporters then form thematic clusters.” How the media frame
stories of countries was scrutinized for failing to show the true danger of the problem. Other studies on media’s
coverage of contents have found out similar results that how the media
(Steeves, 1997:11)
1.3
Objectives of the Studies
1.3.1
General objective
The main
objective of this research is how doing news framing style media outlet BBC AND
ALJAZEERA image in the face of Ethiopia.
1.3.2 Specific
objectives
This
study has been designed to achieve the following specific objectives
Frequency of
the News Stories broadcast on the Issue Ethiopia
Distribution
of articles in selected media by type, time zone
and origin of the article (January
2010 – January 2012)
Trends
in the Coverage of Ethiopia between two Online media outlets
To
analyze the nature
and extent of Ethiopian faces
in the leading
medium BBC and Aljazeera.
To document the policy and sentiments of
the medium BBC and Aljazeera on the
Ethiopian’s
issues as specified.
To
investigate different frames
given by the medium
BBC and Aljazeera to the image
of Ethiopia
To
find out how
far publication of
the issues correlate
with the western policy towards Ethiopia
To assess the extent of the media coverage
of BBC and Aljazeera on Ethiopia in terms of number of articles and topics.
To identify themes of the stories and
sources who are quoted in the stories.
To analyze what frames are used in
reporting issue of Ethiopia
1.4Significance of the
Study
Ethiopia
and foreign world have closed ties particularly, in different issues in the
world. Being its significant
geographical location and leading role in the world specially horn of Africa. Ethiopia
is looking forward towards the world for having close ties particularly, in the
sphere of world politics, combating terrorism and global warming e.tc. the
world also share the head quarter of African union setting place for combating poverty,
educational and military development,
and rehabilitation works has
significant impact in changing people‘s
perception. This study
will have many
folds significance, specifically,
in understanding each
other sentiment in
the media coverage.
The results of
this study will be significant in examining how the international media frame
issues regarding ethiopa.Hence, the study was conducted in a belief that it
might give an idea on how the international media addresses relevantsocial,
political, econmical issues. The research will also benefit Online media
outlets analyzed BBC and aljazeera as it will point out both their strong sides
and limitations in the coverage and portrayal of Ethiopia.
The
study will find out the nature and treatment of the world leading broadcast
media portrayal of the Ethiopian‘s socio, political issues and the foreign
Media perception towards Ethiopia.
It
will offer some insight on what is covered and how to improve such coverage.
Findings of the
study will also be helpful for sectors outside the media that work on
Ethiopian issues
by providing them with data about the framing reporting in the Ethiopian agenda.
Finally, as the
study focuses on the foreign media, it will also serve as a reference for other
researchers who conduct their study on similar areas.
1.5
Scope of the study
The scope of the
study is limited to international broadcast media particular reference to online
media outlets BBC and Aljazeera. The study only assesses how the two
international broadcast media covered Ethiopian issue during the period of
January 2010 to January 20112. Hence, it should be noted that the study does
not examine coverage of Ethiopia in other media like television, radio,
internet, magazines or pamphlets.
Furthermore, as
the study only included broadcast media during the period of January 2010 to
January 2012, its horizon was limited to almost 24 months examination. In
addition, the study merely looks at how the media present issue; and does not
include reception analysis.
1.6
The Research Design
1.6.1
The Research Method
Content
analysis was adopted for this study. The
study is primarily
a content analysis,
which examined both
qualitatively and quantitatively the image of Ethiopia in BBC
and Aljazeera. for two year each
pre and post
of 2010-2012 events in the world
under the issue of Ethiopia. The study examined all
the stories during
the specified period
including hard news
and soft news. Classification of
all the stories
was based on
careful qualitative judgment
for identification of the key
words/terms as mentioned in the specified hypothesis. The study examined topic, slant,
frame, wordage, nature
of story and
byline story as
variables.
These
Frames were recognized in the entire story from the contextual point of view. To
measure these variables, the entire story was the context unit, while
headline and intro
was the coding
unit for identifying the topic.
Similarly, each paragraph was the recording unit for identifying slant in the
story. The entire story was the recording unit for identifying frames in the
story. The story was coded as neural when it
places no clear
emphasis on either
the favorable or
unfavorable aspects of the
topic. For example, when a story carried
12 paragraphs in which 6 carried favorable tones while the other 6 carried
unfavorable tones, such story was most likely coded as neutral. However,
in this case,
the story was
coded as favorable
or unfavorable if
the headline contains such slant.
In conducting
this study, the researcher employed a quantitative approach (content analysis)
as a main research method. The quantitative approach is selected as a major
research method because it is a frequently used and an appropriate approach for
studying media framing.
A quantitative
approach was used to collect data from the broadcast online archive media about
themes, sources, and frames used in stories of Ethiopia. Content analysis was
employed to gauge how Ethiopian issue is framed between two selected broadcast
media. As Berger (1998:23) points out, content analysis is an approach that
aims at measuring the extent of an issue “in a representative sampling of some
mass-mediated popular art form.” The qualitative method, on the other hand, was
utilized to supplement the information gathered through the content analysis.
The
study is primarily a content analysis, which will qualitatively and
quantitatively examine publication of
the specified news
categories in the
selected media; i.e., BBC
and Aljazeera. The period for this study is one year each
pre and post of 2010-2012 events in the world.
According
to Paisley, J. A. (1964) content
analysis is a process in which communication
message is recorded
through objective and
systematic application of categorization rules,
into data that
can be summarized
and compared. Danielson (1963)
defines content analysis as descriptive and inferential. While descriptive
content analysis more exploratory, while
inferential analysis generalizes
the result of
investigation on the whole population.
In other words it links events in the environment. According
to Berelson (1952)
"a research technique
for the objective,
systematic, and quantitative description
of the manifest
content of communication" (p.18).
Krippendorff (1980) explains content analysis is a research technique by
which researcher can make replicable and valid inference from data to their
context. Compared with other research techniques, Krippendorff
(1980) maintains that
content analysis has
four major distinctions:
(1) Content analysis is
an unobtrusive technique.
(2) Content analysis accepts
unstructured material. (3) Content analysis is context-sensitive and
thereby able to process symbolic forms. (4) Content analysis can cope with
large volumes of data.
Using
the content analysis techniques, this study will examine all the stories including
hard news and soft news. Although photo
image is important
in framing analysis,
this study will
not include photos,
because analyzing visual
image requires different operational definitions, Zheng (2006). All
items on Ethiopia in each issue will be coded in term of slant (favorable,
neutral and unfavorable) topics etc. Classification
of all the stories will
be based on
careful qualitative judgment
for identification of
the key words/terms as mentioned in the specified
hypothesis.
1.6.2 Parameter of Research
method sampling technique
Historically many framing studies have been
primarily composed of qualitative, content analyses that were subjective in
that the process revolved around the findings of one individual (Tankard 2001).
In an attempt to avoid subjectivity but still retain the richness of a textual
analysis, this study included both quantitative and qualitative methods of
research. This multi-method approach required the utilization of more than one
individual for the execution of the quantitative research, which was intended
to reduce the possibility of subjectivity within the findings.
After
selecting Aljazeera.net and BBC.CO.UK, parameters were set to the study
regarding the dates of the articles to be included for analysis. January 1,
2010, was chosen as the earliest parameter due to the fact that it is generally
accepted that the news Stories in Ethiopia began in January 2010; therefore,
selecting the prior month as the opening parameter ensured that no pertinent
articles were excluded. The closing parameter of January/December30, 2011, was
selected for pragmatic reasons as the study was being conducted during the
spring of 2012. These parameters resulted in a population of 169 news stories
for Aljazeera.net and 398 articles for the BBC.CO.UK. Systematic sampling was
then employed in order to reduce the size of the population. Specifically the
equal probability of selection method was utilized, which is designed so that
each member of a population has an equal chance of being selected into the
sample (Babbie 2004), This method also prevents conscious and unconscious
sampling bias in the selections of the study population. This method was operationalzed
through the systematic selection of every other article that was posted on the
medium’s website. Once the study population was selected, any articles that did
not address the situation in Ethiopia as the primary focus of the article were
excluded from the study. This process combined with the probability sampling
resulted in a final study population of 76 articles from Aljazeera and 175
articles from the BBC. At this point ten percent of the articles were coded by
the research team according to the formulated code book, and the results were
analyzed for coder reliability; the results showed intercoder reliability to be
over 90 percent. Once intercoder reliability was established, the remaining
articles were coded for content analysis purposes. These results will be
presented in a later section of this paper. Additionally, the qualitative
method of textual analysis was also employed by each member of the coding team
on an individual basis.
1.6.3 Period of
Research Study
The period
for this study
is one year
each pre and
post 2011/12 events. This period has
been chosen because
the world has
considerably changed after global
warming , ethio Eretria –Somalia war, development incidents in the country. The incident has globally divided
the world between the Muslim and Christianity.
Due to this divide a new phenomenon ‗Clash of Civilization’ is being
witnessed by the world. It has generally been observed that the Western media
are most likely portraying the third world countries in a negative sense. Since,
Ethiopia being an
ally in the Somalia war
against terror so portrayal
of Ethiopia of the foreign
media
may lead to
positive coverage like a bad news
is good news coverage style. The two-year
pre and post period was chosen in order to investigate differences in the
portrayal of Ethiopia image before and after the two years period of time
coverage. To see how much attitude of the foreign media changed particularly in
the slant and frames towards Ethiopia.
1.6.4 Study Population
and Sampling
The
population for this study will be all news stories related to Ethiopia posted in
BBC and ALJAZEERA WebPages, two years each pre and post 2010-2012 incidents in
the world. The news stories of BBC and Aljazeera
were retrieved from their own webpage. January 1, 2010 to January 1, 2012
and the one
year-post period was
specified as ― January 1, 2010 to January 1, 2012 .
The
time was entered first as delimiters. Then the key words "Ethiopia"
was input for Two-year pre 2011 incident, the database yielded 57 and 38
articles of the BBC and the Aljazeera respectively./it is an assumption number
of study news story sample/ Similarly,
for the two-year Post 2012 incident, the
database yielded 305
and 196 articles
of the BBC and Aljazeera
respectively.
1.7
Sampling Technique
Systematic sampling
method was deemed
appropriate and employed
for this study. As
a result, 153
articles from the BBC and
98 articles from the
Aljazeera of the post 2010/12 scenario were randomly selected by using a
skip interval of one to create a
sample that is
50% of the
population. According to
Krippendorff (1980), systematic
sampling is favored
when data come
from regularly appearing
publications.
Due to
few numbers of
articles on Ethiopian in
the pre- 2011 scenario
in both the
newspapers, it was decided to select the whole population as sample.
Thus, total number of articles 334 in both pre and post periods of 2011/12 were
selected from both the papers for measurement.
Interceder reliability will be measured by
using Holsti‘s coefficient, determined by the following formula: R = 2 M / {N1
+ N2}. Where M refers to the ―number of coding
decisions on which the coders agree, and N1 and N2 refer to ―the number
of coding decisions by the first and the
second coder, respectively, (Wimmer and Dominick, p. 151).
17.1
Time frame
The study intended to find out how Ethiopian
issue was framed by the foreign media (BBC and Aljazeera) within the period of January
2010 to January 2012. This time frame was chosen to look into recently used
frames in the broadcast media on the coverage of the issue.
1.7.2
Story selection
From the sample online
media outlets Aljazeera.net and BBC.CO.UK, all factual articles (news,
interviews, and features) were coded according to whether the story mentions Ethiopia
as part of the study.
1.8
Data Collection and Analysis
In conducting
this research, the researcher employed content analysis to collect and analyze
the necessary data. Content analysis was used because it is a commonly used
approach in the study of media framing. As it is defined by Zito (cited in
Berger, 1998:23), content analysis is “a methodology by which the researcher seeks
to determine the manifest content of written, spoken, or published
communications by systematic, objective, and quantitative analysis …”
In analyzing the
contents of the media, coding sheets were adopted from prior researches in
order to look into the types, locations, themes, and sources, frames, and media
functions of articles Ethiopian issue. The sheet was classified into five parts.
The first part consists of article description which in turn embraces article
type and location of article. Article type refers to whether the article was
news, feature or interview.
The second
category is theme. It refers to the main idea of the story. It includes Economy,
political, social...The third category is sources which are identified as the
name of individual, group or organization which are quoted directly or
indirectly in the story. The next part deals with the different kinds of frames
used in the media. They are diagnostic, prognostic, attribution of
responsibility, solution, empathy, morality, human interest, economic, conflict,
and educative/advocacy frame. Finally, the last category is about media
function which discusses the role of the Aljazeera and BBC in reporting the
issue. (See Appendix A)
Frames used in
the analyzed articles were measured adopting a series of questions to which the
coders had to answer ‘yes’ (1) or ‘no’ (0), which were developed by Semeketo and
Valkenburg (2000). Some minor changes were made on the questions to measure whether
frames of attribution, human interest, moral, conflict and economic were available
in the stories. Some other questions were also developed based on the review literature
to gauge the existence of frames of diagnostic, prognostic, solution, empathy, and
educative. The existence of frame was determined by dividing the number of
‘yes’ to the total number of questions under that frame. The coefficient of
frame existence varies from 0.0 to 1.0. It was assumed that a specific frame
existed if the coefficient was more than half (0.5).
Other ‘yes’ or
‘no’ questions were also developed to examine the functions the newspapers
carried out in reporting issue of Ethiopia. The questions were prepared to look
at four general media functions: defining the problem, stating causes,
providing moral evaluation and suggesting treatments.
1.9
Coding process
The coding
process was carried out by eight persons, for four female and four male, who
were trained on how to code articles. The training was given by the researcher.
The coders were provided with the coding sheet along with coding guides. (See
Appendix C) Then, they filled out the coding sheet by replying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to
the lists of questions that were developed from the literature and current
facts of different issues in Ethiopia.
Inter- coder
reliability was assessed through Holist’s formula where:
Reliability=2*M/
(N1+N2)
M represents the
number of coding decisions with which the two coders agree while N1 and N2 are
the total number of coding decisions by the first and the second coder respectively.
The inter-coder reliability across all categories ranges from 92% to 100% for
the 15% of the stories the eight coders coded.
The validity can
be assured from the categorizations of relevant issues on the coding sheet as
well. In addition, the objective of assessing the extent to which different
issues were covered in the foreign media and how it is framed would be
indicators of the validity as the most important points in each category were
reasonably developed and included.
1.10 Hypothesis of the
study
The results of this
study will be expected in examining how the international media frame issues
regarding Ethiopia. Hence, the study was conducted in a belief that it might
give an idea on how the international media addresses relevant social issues
like political and economical affair controversial. The research will also
benefit between two media analyzed as it will point out both their strong sides
and limitations in the coverage and portrayal of Ethiopia. In my hypothesis the
following points are also found in the study.
The
media which is al-jazeera and bbc news frame is conflict in the same issue.
In
the portrayal image of Ethiopia focuses on negativity than the positive story
Their
story rises from conflict, war, economic disregration and lose the reality
image of Ethiopia
How
much coverage of news Ethiopia is proportional and controversial on issues in
between two media?
Why
this world big media are cover more political issue.
How
much stereotyped /biased reporting/ Ethiopia by foreign media
Most
of news story coverage are more unfavorable than neutral and favourable once.
The
two media story focus on un fulifield balance, proximity, accuracy, fair,
objectivity
1.11 Research Questions
Design
This
study sought to discover the differences between the framing of the situation
in Ethiopia the online media outlets Aljazeera.net and BBC.CO.UK; correlations
with specific stages of the conflict were also included as part of the research
objective. More specifically, the following data questions were applied to the
articles that dated between January 2010 and January 2012: article size in
terms of words; author citation; news agency citation; visual prominence (i.e.
number of photos or graphics); type of article;word choice; focal frame; causes
cited; blame cited; remedies cited; quoted participants; and emotional
intensity. The study also sought to explain why Aljazeera and the BBC may have
framed the situation differently.
1.12 Limitations of the
study
The major
limitation that the study suffers from is time constraint during the collection
of data. As the coders were who have their own responsibilities, it took a
while before they finished the coding process. In addition, identifying some of
the journalists in the broadcast was difficult because names of the reporters
in some articles were left unmentioned.
1.13 Selection of the
media
BBC
and Aljazeera have
been selected for
this study because
they are the leading media in the world and
follower of online web browsers
widely across the country as
well as across
the world. High officials, critics, policy makers and
senior media practitioners in Ethiopia also follow these media for critical
insight of the world issues.
According to Merrill
(1980), both broadcast medias are knowledgeable, serious,
and independent. They
are financially stable,
with greater integrity,
social concern and professional sound media. They
emphasize on politics
and world consciousness, determined
to serve and
help extend well-educated, intellectual
readership at home
and abroad, processing
large, intelligent and
technically proficient staff.
According to Pool (1970) both
the media reflect more
are less government
point of view. BBC
and Aljazeera are major 24
hour daily broadcast media, coming closer
than any others in terms of being national media
stations, (Kim 1979).
1.14 Coding Unit of
Analysis
The paragraphs
of the news
stories were the
coding unit of
the content analysis.
These were counted in terms of favorable, unfavorable and neutral. For
example, the paragraphs
about the issue
of Ethiopia in favor
of the story were
considered as favorable.
The paragraphs of
the news story
about the same
issue against the Ethiopia were
considered as unfavorable. If the paragraph was having none of the favorable
or unfavorable image
or a mixed
image, the coding
unit was considered as neutral.
1.14.1 Contextual Unit
of Analysis
The
whole news story was the contextual unit of analysis in this study and
frames were measured
on the basis
of this unit.
Framing was measured through contextual units of analyses.
1.14.2 Intra-coder and
Inter-coder Reliability
For the
validity and reliability purpose, an
intra coder and
inter coder reliability tests
were conducted and
the results were
found as 95%
and 85 %
respectively. The tests provided
reliability to the findings of the content analysis.
1.14.3 Variables of
Survey Research
Salience:
The
measurement of the
salience assigned to
the issues under
study was the
most important variable
of this research
study. The salience
was measured by
giving a list
of the issues
of the study
to the correspondents and
asking them to
give them rank order according to their own perception.
Source
of Information:
The respondents were
asked to tell
the most important
source of information
for the formulation
of their opinion
about the salience
of the issues.
The options were
given among print
media, electronic media,
interpersonal channels and
any other source of information.
Formation
of Opinion:
Formation of opinion of the agendas’ readers
was also measured though a question and its results were correlated with the
slant of media coverage.This variable was included to strengthen the findings
of the study.
Discussions
with family and friends:
This
is our every
day experience that
we discuss the
important issues of
the day with our family members,
colleagues and friends. Usually, when we get some information about an issue,
we discuss it with our family and friends to strengthen our opinion and
perception. Hence it plays an important role in agenda setting. We can
call this process
as the second
level of agenda
setting. In the first level audience
receive information about
an issue from
media and then
in the second
phase they discuss
this issue with
their family and
friends. Hence agenda setting
works at its best.
5.
Theoretical Framework
Theory
of Agenda-setting was the focal point of this research. The whole research
revolves around this theory. How the print media influence public agenda and
how the media agenda becomes the public agenda?
These questions were addressed in this study.
6.
Problems faced
To
conduct a research
study in a
developing country like Ethiopia
is not an
easy job where
research culture does
not exist at
all. Except a
very few, people
are unaware of the importance
of the research
in a society.
To get the answers my study from website is very coasty.
All
of the content
analysis of this
study was done
manually from the online
data archive which was also a
very laborious task. Data is available about Ethiopia
coverage online. There is
no data bank in ethiopia like
Lexis and Nexus in the USA. It took several months to
complete the task.
1.5 Research Questions
This study
will examine the
coverage of Ethiopia
since 2010/12 in
leading medium BBC and
Aljazeera. The questions of interest to
this study are:
Ø Did
the amount of coverage given to Ethiopia BBC and Aljazeera differ between the
pre-and post 2011/12 period?
Ø How far did the amount of coverage of Ethiopia
differ in the two media for both the pre-and post 2011/12 period?
Ø What topics/themes were reflected in the
coverage of Ethiopia?
Ø How
much the news story frames measure will receive more favorable and less
unfavorable coverage in terms of number of stories
Ø News
stories type relations will receive more favorable and less unfavorable
coverage in terms of number of stories, and neutrality in the agenda of news
item.
Ø Proportional
value of news in the story.
.
1.16
coding sheet
Coding Sheet
Name of coder ___________________________
Name of channel
Aljazeera______________________________
BBC
______________________________
Date of
coverage________________________
Headline of the
article ____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
1. Article description
1.1 Article type
- News ________
- Feature
_______
-
Interview______
-other _______
1.2 broadcasting
time zones
- am ________
- pm________
1.3 news types
-hard ________
-soft________
2. Theme framing and style of reporting
2.1 Themes
- economy_____________
- Political
_____________
- social_____________
- entertemental___________
- If other
please specify ___________________________________________
3. Sources/ Attribution of responsibility frame/
- Government official’s
________
- Non-government
officials’ ________
- peoples________
- Experts (
social workers, psychologists, doctors, etc) _______
Associations
________
- Community
members ________
- Donors______
- Researches and
researchers _____
- International
organizations ______
- No specified
source _____
- If other
please specify _________________________________________
4. Frames
4.1 angle of Diagnostic/ Prognostic frames
-Does the news
provide social norms/beliefs as negative image of the country? Yes/ No
-Does the
article provide negative image of the country? Yes/ No
-Does the feature/
the news story/ state negative image of the country? Yes/ No
Is that favorable
_________
Unfavorable_________
Neutral_________
-Does the story appropriately
balance? Yes/ No -what element is lost
_________,which element are fulfill _________,_________,_________
-If other please
specify _________________________________________________
4.2Economic frame
-Does the story
mention financial implications of those who encountered development of Ethiopia?
Yes/ No
-Does the
article indicate economic consequences of the country?
Yes/ No
-If other please
specify __________________________________________________
4.3 Conflict Frame
-Does the story
reflect disagreement between individuals, groups and country? Yes/ No
-Does the story
refer to two sides or more than two sides? Yes/ No
-Does an
individual or group reproach another? Yes/ No
-If other please
specify __________________________________________________
4.10 Educative/advocacy frames
-Does the story
give information on how to get peoples life appropriate? Yes/ No
-Does the
article explain how to cope up with situations after the event? Yes/ No
-Does the
article suggest policy changes in the country regarding frame of story?
Yes/ No
-Does the story
state the need for societal change in attitude? Yes/ No
-If other please
specify _________________________________________________
5. Media Functions
5.1- Is the
issue of Ethiopia in the media? Yes/ No
How much proportion in weeks ,month__________
-Does the story
include all sides of the story (more than two sources)? Yes/ No
-Does the
article present the issue socially or medically? Yes/ No
-Does the
article present the issue as a negative? Yes/ No
5.2- Do other
groups contribute to the story to appear in the media like, sponsors,
NGOs, women
associations, health institutions, etc.? Yes/ No
5.3-Does the article
define the problem? Yes/ No
-Does the
article state causes and interpret the issue? Yes/ No
-Does the
article provide moral evaluation of the problem? Yes/ No
-Does the
article suggest treatments? Yes/ No
-Does the
article provide logical reasoning of why the problem happened? Yes/ No
-If
other please specify________________________________________________
1.17 Content Analysis Parameters
:
Content Analysis Parameters
I. The unit analysis on each
media should incorporate the following:‐
1.
Number of articles related to Ethiopia (Feature, News, Editorial, and Opinion)
2.
Type of articles: News, feature, editorial,
regular columns, photos, cartoons, info
graphics)
3.
Prominence of the story: Lead news, main editorial, special
commentary.
4.
Status of the story: Main event /Occasion
5.
Main sources: Researcher, Gov. NGO, UN sys, PLWHA
6.
Main subjects: Prevalence, prevention, awareness,
medical, costs, politics of AIDS,
treatment, misconceptions, reducing stigma,
workplace, issues.
7.
Quality of coverage:
Constructiveness:
* Very constructive
*
Constructive & informative * Average
*
Neither constructive nor informative
* Biased
& confusing
Balance:
* Very balanced
* Balanced
* Average
* Biased
* Very
biased
Technical
competency: * Very competent
*
Competent
*
Average quality
*
Incompetent
*
Very incompetent
1.18
coding guide
Coding Guide
1. Article description (Inter-coder reliability 100%)
1.1 Article Type
- shows the nature of the article (news, feature or interview).
1.2 time zone -
indicates where the article is placed (am,pm).
2.Theme (Inter –coder reliability 92%)
-Theme refers to
the main idea of the story.
economy_____________
- Political
_____________
-
social_____________
-
Entertemental_____________
.
2.2Types of framing news presentation mentioned mostly
-negative/positive
3. Sources – refers to as name(s) of a person,
group or organization that are quoted directly or indirectly in the story as
victims, officials, NGOs, etc.
4. Types of Framing
-Conflict frame
– when the story provides two or more opposing views or statements.
- Human interest
frame- when the story involves people and their testimonies about ethiopia.
-Attribution of
responsibility frame – when the story suggests individuals or an organization
should take actions on the issue.
-Diagnostic
frame -Prognostic frame – when the story provides the effects of issue on the individual
ass well as the country.
-Solution frame
– when the story states solutions for the problem.
-Morality frame
- when the story tells the readers to do or not to do something; or when the
story involves religious or human right perspectives.
-Educative/advocacy
frame – when the story relates the issue of Ethiopia with policy changes or
human rights.
-Economic frame
– when the story mentions the impact of development on an individual’s as well
as the country’s economy.
The story
identity favorable, unfavorable and neutral themes of story
five news frames
(Attribution of responsibility, human interest, conflict, morality, and economic
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