Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This research investigated portrayals of Muslims in the media, drawing upon an analysis of articles appearing in the Times of London, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The Detroit Free Press from 1988 to 1992. The research examined the types of stories that were written about Muslims, how Muslims were characterized, and the overall tone of stories. The study yielded results that partially supported initial expectations. Media coverage of Muslims, as expected, centered mainly on events, groups and individuals from the Middle East, in response to crises, war and conflict. Findings lend some support for the expectation that most press coverage of Muslims would be negative in tone and that stories would fail to distinguish Muslims by nationality or ethnicity, and more importantly by general branch of Islam (e.g., Shiite, Sunni, Nation of Islam etc....). The findings generally do not support strong conclusions of negative media bias in reporting about Muslims. Far from establishing any long-term trend about media coverage of Islam, these findings suggest that particular international events, depending on whether they are viewed positively or negatively, will determine the tone of news stories about Muslims.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Al-Zahrani, A.A. (1988). U.S. Television and Press Coverage of Islam and Muslims. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Oklahoma, USA.

The American Muslim Council (1992). The AMC Report. Washington, D.C.: The American Muslim Council, Vol. 2, No. 2.

Asi, M.O. (1981). Arabs, Israelis and U.S. Television Networks: A Content Analysis of How ABC, CBS, and NBC, Reported the News Between 1970-1979 . Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University , USA.

Budd, R.W. , Thorp, R.K. and Donohew, L. (1967). Content Analysis of Communications. New York: The Macmillan Company.

Ghandour, N.H. (1984). Coverage of the Arab World and Israel in American News Magazines Between 1975 and 1981: A Comparative Content Analysis. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Teachers College of Columbia University, USA.

Ghareeb, E. (Ed.) (1983). Split Vision: The Portrayal of Arabs in the American News Media. Washington, D.C.: American-Arab Affairs Council.

Graber, D.A. (1989). Mass Media and American Politics. 3rd edition. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc.

Husseini, S. and Naureckas, J. (1993). "Guilt by Religion," in The Detroit News, 28 March, sec. B, 1,4.

Mishra, V.M. (1978). "News from the Middle East in five U.S. media outlets," Journalism Quarterly, 56: 374-78.

10.

Mousa, I.S. (1984). The Arab Image in the U.S. Press. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc.

11.

Said, E. (1981). Covering Islam. New York: Pantheon Books.

12.

Said, E. (1978). Orientalism New York: Pantheon Books.

13.

Scott, W.A. (1955). "Reliability of content analysis: The case of nominal scale coding," Public Opinion Quarterly, 19:321-25.

14.

Stempel III, G.H. (1952). "Sample size for classifying subject matter in dailies," Journalism Quarterly, 29(3): 333-34.

15.

Suleiman, M.W. (1983). "The effect of American perceptions of Arabs on Middle East issues." In E. Ghareeb (Ed.) Split Vision: The Portrayal of Arabs in the American News Media . Washington, D.C.: American-Arab Affairs Council.

16.

Suleiman, M.W. (1988). The Arabs in the Mind of America. Brattleboro Vermont: Amana Books.

17.

Terry, J.J. (1971). "A Content Analysis of American Newspapers." In A.J. and J.J. Terry (Eds.) The Arab World From Nationalism to Revolution. Willmette, Illinois : The Medina University Press, International.

18.

Terry, J.J. (1975). "The Western Press and the October War: A Content Analysis." In B. Abu-Laban and F.T. Zeady (Eds.) Arabs in America: Myths and Realities. Willmette, Illinois: The Medina University Press, International.

19.

Terry, J.J. (1985). Mistaken Identity: Arab Stereotypes in Popular Writing. Washington, D.C.: American-Arab Affairs Council.

Press Treatment of Islam: What Kind of Picture Do the Media Paint?

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References