Coverage of American Muslims gets worse: Muslims framed mostly as criminals

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Julianna Byrd
5 years ago
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1 Coverage of American Muslims gets worse: Muslims framed mostly as criminals News Analysis of U.S. TV news and international business papers Coverage of Islam dropped after Tonality deteriorated and reached a new low in Islam is primarily shown as source of violence - US TV worse than BBC or other international Networks

2 What you know of Pisa 2

3 And what is really there 3

4 Where would you say is this building located? 4

5 Yes exactly at Time Square in NY on Nov

6 Islam on U.S. TV: The long-term view Islam on U.S. TV.: Details 2013 Islam in international business papers 2012/2013 6

7 Islam on U.S. TV news 4/ /2013 Visibility of Islam on ABC, CBS and NBC news Islam less prominent on U.S. TV screens but more negative % % % % -40% -50% -60% % % % Number of reports about Muslims, Muslim religious leaders and Muslim organizations Tone of coverage of Muslims, Muslim religious leaders and Muslim organizations Over the last three years coverage of Islam, Muslims and Islamic organizations has decreased notably, as U.S. troops have left Iraq and the retreat from Afghanistan has as well led to a lower level of involvement. Basis: 6,985 reports (at least 5 lines) on ABC, CBS and NBC news 7

8 Islam on U.S. TV news 4/ /2013 Salience of the U.S. as location of reports about Islam on ABC, CBS and NBC news / Tone of coverage Coverage of American Muslims gets worse and worse 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Share of all reports about Muslims, Muslim religious leaders and Muslim organizations focusing on the U.S. 0% -10% -20% -30% -40% -50% -60% -70% -80% Tone of coverage of Muslims, Muslim religious leaders and Muslim organizations Even more striking is the decreasing trend concerning the coverage of American Muslims. The Boston bombings thus did not generate more coverage of Islam in the U.S. on ABC, CBS and NBC news. Basis: 6,985 reports (at least 5 lines) on ABC, CBS and NBC news 8

9 Islam on international TV news, Tone of coverage of Islam in domestic coverage: U.S., UK, Germany, Switzerland Far away from balanced news Swiss Muslims don t show up 0% 0% -10% -20% -30% Tone of coverage of Muslims, Muslim religious leaders and Muslim organizations -10% -20% -30% -40% -40% -50% -50% -60% -60% -70% -70% -80% -80% -90% -90% -100% 0% % 0% % -10% -20% -20% -30% -30% -40% -40% -50% -50% -60% -60% -70% -70% -80% -80% -90% -90% -100% % Basis: 921 / 2,517 / 1,750 / 637 reports 9

10 Islam on U.S. TV: The long-term view Islam on U.S. TV.: Details 2013 Islam in international business papers 2012/

11 Islam on U.S. TV news 1-10/2013 Visibility and tone of coverage of religions on CBS, NBC and FOX news More coverage of Christianity than usual Judaism 1% other 2% Christianity Islam Christianity 47% Islam 50% Judaism other 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% negative no clear tone positive The change at the helm of the Catholic Church drove coverage of Christianity in But Islam nevertheless continued to dominate coverage of religion on U.S. TV news. There were barely any positive news about Muslims at all. Basis: 43,873 reports (at least 5 lines) about protagonists on CBS, NBC and FOX news / 1,443 about religious protagonists 11

12 Islam on U.S. TV news 1-10/2013 Visibility and tone of coverage of Islam on CBS, NBC and FOX news FOX took a less negative stance than the networks FOX FOX CBS CBS NBC Number of reports about Muslims, Muslim religious leaders and Muslim organizations NBC 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% negative no clear tone positive The comparison of the three programs of FOX, CBS and NBC is skewed by the different duration of the shows. Nevertheless, FOX news showed a less marked focus on bad news about Muslims than CBS and NBC. Basis: 722 reports (at least 5 lines) about Muslim protagonists on CBS, NBC and FOX news 12

13 Islam on U.S. TV news 1-10/2013 Visibility and tone of coverage of Islam on CBS, NBC and FOX news: Topics and protagonists Terrorists shape the image of Islam International terrorism International conflicts Political unrest Domestic terrorism Civil war Role in organization Religious terrorism Scandals Social unrest Rel. w. state Court cases Air strikes Domestic security Rel. w. society Domestic policy Al-Qaeda Morsy Muslim Brotherhood Taliban Islamic Armed Groups Muslims in general Islam in general Islamic fundamentalists Shias Sunnis Islamic organizations in general Al-Nusra negative no clear tone positive negative no clear tone positive For years Islam has been portrayed as a security risk in the first line. Religious life, Islamic holidays or the social role of Muslims did not rank among the top issues in the news about Islam. Basis: 722 reports (at least 5 lines) about Muslim protagonists on CBS, NBC and FOX news 13

14 Islam on U.S. TV news 1-10/2013 Visibility and tone of coverage of Islam on CBS, NBC and FOX news: Critical sources / Countries Administration and politicians stress Islamic threat Demonstrators Barack Obama Governments CIA Bashir al-assad Lindsey Graham Experts Thomas Joscelyn Christians State Dept. Hamid Karzai John Kerry John Brennan Mohammed Morsi Vladimir Putin Michael Leiter Military Muslim Brothers Hillary Clinton 0% 2% 4% 6% Share of negative reports Egypt Syria Afghanistan U.S. several countries Libya Mali Jemen Algeria Pakistan Iraq Africa in general Turkey Middle East in general no country Iran Lebanon UK Vatican negative no clear tone positive Three quarters of all reports about Muslim protagonists originated primarily from the journalists. Among the quoted sources that were negatively on Islam, President Obama ranked even before President Assad. Basis: 722 reports (at least 5 lines) about Muslim protagonists on CBS, NBC and FOX news 14

15 Islam on U.S. TV news 1-10/2013 Sources of the coverage of Islam on CBS, NBC and FOX news: Topics and protagonists Muslim clerics and experts on Islam don t get a hearing Mohammed Mursi Ayman al-zawahiri Nidal Malik Hasan Dzokhar Tsarnaev other 13% Politicians 13% Experts 1% Gehad el-haddad Dina Zakaria Michael Meunier Journalists 73% Number of reports Experts Journalists other Politicians Muslims cannot speak with their own voice to the public in the U.S. Among those Muslims that were quoted at all, religious terrorists accounted for the majority. Muslim clerics did not show up among the main sources of the reports at all. Basis: 722 reports (at least 5 lines) about Muslim protagonists on CBS, NBC and FOX news 15

16 Islam on U.S. TV: The long-term view Islam on U.S. TV.: Details 2013 Islam in international business papers 2012/

17 Islam in FT, WSJ and Les Echos, 7/2012-6/2013 Visibility and tone of coverage of religions Business papers show a more balanced attitude towards Islam Judaism 1% other 4% Christianity Christianity 29% Islam Judaism Islam 66% other 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% negative no clear tone positive Three leading business papers from the UK, the U.S. and France focused even more strongly on Islam the TV news although the elections of Pope Francis took place during the period of analysis. Basis: 359,729 reports (at least 5 lines) about protagonists / 3,002 about religious protagonists 17

18 Islam in FT, WSJ and Les Echos, 7/2012-6/2013 Visibility and tone of coverage of Islam in comparison WSJ has a much stronger focus on Islam than other papers WSJ WSJ FT Number of reports about Muslims, Muslim religious leaders and Muslim organizations FT Les Echos Les Echos 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% negative no clear tone positive While FT and Les Echos devoted only limited coverage to Muslims and Islam, the WSJ covered Islam in more depth. Although negativity was not as marked as on TV, coverage of Islam was characterized by a lack of good news as well. Basis: reports (at least 5 lines) about Muslim protagonists 18

19 Islam in FT, WSJ and Les Echos, 7/2012-6/2013 Visibility and tone of coverage of Islam in comparison Egyptian crisis drove reporting in Number of reports about Muslims, Muslim religious leaders and Muslim organizations 0% -5% Tone of coverage of Muslims, Muslim religious leaders and Muslim organizations -10% % % % -30% 50-35% 0 Jul-12 Sep-12 Nov-12 Jan-13 Mar-13 May-13-40% Jul-12 Sep-12 Nov-12 Jan-13 Mar-13 May-13 Reporting about Islam soared since the beginning of 2013 when the events in Egypt became more critical. The disappointment about the end of the Arab Spring and rising fears about a jihadist involvement in Syria shaped reporting. Basis: reports (at least 5 lines) about Muslim protagonists 19

20 Islam in FT, WSJ and Les Echos, 7/2012-6/2013 Visibility and tone of coverage of Islam in comparison: Topics and protagonists Religious and social life widely absent from the reports Terrorism International conflicts Organizations: Operations PR/Image Research Rel. W. other religions Assassinations International terrorism Finances Organizations: Research Civil war Rel. W. politicians Domestic policy Political unrest Pol. Parties: Internal affairs Religion in general Religious terrorism Role in organization Al-Qaeda Taliban Morsy Muslim Brotherhood Muslims in general Shias Sunnis Sunni groups Muslim organisations in general Al-Nusra Shia groups Boko Haram Fundamentalists Islam in general Salafist Jihadists negative no clear tone positive negative no clear tone positive While the WSJ offers at least some space to the views of Islamic organizations, overall coverage of the Muslim World has been determined by the security perspective as well. The business papers reported Al-Qaeda and the Taliban as a resurging force. Basis: reports (at least 5 lines) about Muslim protagonists 20

21 How to overcome stereotype driven News-Selections? work with media interested in constructive News 21

Professor Shibley Telhami,, Principal Investigator

2008 Annual Arab Public Opinion Poll Survey of the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland (with Zogby International) Professor Shibley Telhami,, Principal Investigator