The Representation of Muslims in the British Press 1998-2009 Paul Baker
Objectives How do news stories construct Islam? Have there been any (recent) changes over time? Are there differences between reporting on Islam (as a religion) and Muslims (as a people)? Are there any differences/similarities between tabloids and broadsheets How can corpus-based methods be used alongside CDA or moral panic theory?
Data 150 million words of British news Broadsheets: The Business, The Guardian, The Independent & Independent on Sunday, The Observer, The Times & Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph & Sunday Telegraph Tabloids: The Daily Express & Sunday Express, The Daily Mail & Mail on Sunday, Daily Mirror & Sunday Mirror, The People, Daily Star & Sunday Star, The Sun
Search term Alah OR Allah OR ayatolah OR burka! OR burqa! OR chador! OR fatwa! OR hejab! OR imam! OR islam! OR Koran OR Mecca OR Medina OR Mohammedan! OR Moslem! OR Muslim! OR mosque OR mufti! OR mujaheddin! OR mujahedin! OR mullah! OR muslim! OR Prophet Mohammed OR Q'uran OR rupoush OR rupush OR sharia OR shari'a OR shia! OR shi-ite! OR Shi'ite! OR sunni! OR the Prophet OR wahabi OR yashmak! AND NOT Islamabad AND NOT shiatsu AND NOT sunnily
Sketch Engine Online corpus analysis software All words are grammatically and semantically tagged Word-sketches show salient grammatical patterns
R1 collocates of Muslim All word # 1 community 6652 2 world 5081 3 council 3728 4 women 3325 5 leaders 2682 6 countries 2145 7 cleric 2055 8 country 1872 9 men 1835 10 communities 1646
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1 community community community world world world 2 world world rebels community community community 3 holy cleric world countries countries cleric 4 schools women holy leaders country countries 5 countries countries population women men country 6 leader population women country cleric women 7 women country cleric men council population 8 leaders council men council women association 9 country extremists country cleric population leaders 10 woman leaders fighters clerics leaders woman 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 1 community community community community community world 2 world council world world world community 3 council world women council women women 4 leaders leaders council women communities council 5 cleric women leaders communities men men 6 women communities countries leaders council country 7 countries brotherhood communities men countries woman 8 population men brotherhood country country communities 9 communities countries men woman population population 10 country schools population countries brotherhood countries
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1 community community community world world world 2 world world rebels community community community 3 holy cleric world countries countries cleric 4 schools women holy leaders country countries 5 countries countries population women men country 6 leader population women country cleric women 7 women country cleric men council population 8 leaders council men council women association 9 country extremists country cleric population leaders 10 woman leaders fighters clerics leaders woman 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 1 community community community community community world 2 world council world world world community 3 council world women council women women 4 leaders leaders council women communities council 5 cleric women leaders communities men men 6 women communities countries leaders council country 7 countries brotherhood communities men countries woman 8 population men brotherhood country country communities 9 communities countries men woman population population 10 country schools population countries brotherhood countries
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1 community community community world world world 2 world world rebels community community community 3 holy cleric world countries countries cleric 4 schools women holy leaders country countries 5 countries countries population women men country 6 leader population women country cleric women 7 women country cleric men council population 8 leaders council men council women association 9 country extremists country cleric population leaders 10 woman leaders fighters clerics leaders woman 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 1 community community community community community world 2 world council world world world community 3 council world women council women women 4 leaders leaders council women communities council 5 cleric women leaders communities men men 6 women communities countries leaders council country 7 countries brotherhood communities men countries woman 8 population men brotherhood country country communities 9 communities countries men woman population population 10 country schools population countries brotherhood countries
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1 holy religious country world world cleric 2 fanatics country community community country world 3 country holy hindu leaders cleric community 4 ceremony MP marriage extremists extremists country 5 women extremists taliban countries men council 6 extremists council women country community leaders 7 woman community festival holy fanatics fanatics 8 terrorists leader extremists council countries extremists 9 missionaries world faith states group countries 10 fanatic countries communities fanatics militants woman 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 1 cleric community community community community community 2 council council women council men extremists 3 community leaders council women convert world 4 leaders cleric leaders extremists extremists women 5 world extremists world woman council woman 6 extremists women extremists leaders women fanatics 7 fanatics world cleric soldier country convert 8 men clerics woman patients fanatics council 9 women men country world communities population 10 countries communities countries country countries countries
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1 holy religious country world world cleric 2 fanatics country community community country world 3 country holy hindu leaders cleric community 4 ceremony MP marriage extremists extremists country 5 women extremists taliban countries men council 6 extremists council women country community leaders 7 woman community festival holy fanatics fanatics 8 terrorists leader extremists council countries extremists 9 missionaries world faith states group countries 10 fanatic countries communities fanatics militants woman 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 1 cleric community community community community community 2 council council women council men extremists 3 community leaders council women convert world 4 leaders cleric leaders extremists extremists women 5 world extremists world woman council woman 6 extremists women extremists leaders women fanatics 7 fanatics world cleric soldier country convert 8 men clerics woman patients fanatics council 9 women men country world communities population 10 countries communities countries country countries countries
Broadsheets - positions
Tabloid - positions
The Sun September 2001 Muslim fanatics can freely spout anti- British propaganda on our street corners, but proudly wave a British flag and you're in danger of being branded a racist. Well, no more.
Conclusion Shift from focus on Muslim community to Muslim world in aftermath of 9.11 More marked focus on Muslim women (except in aftermath of 9.11) Strong focus on Muslims with extreme positions. Tabloids more foccussed on fanatics and associated terms (brainwashing, crazed)