Review of Journalism & Mass Communication

Ideology in the BBC and Press TV’s Coverage of Syria Unrest: A Schema-Based Approach
Ebrahim Khodadady, Hamed Khosravany

Abstract
The present paper investigates how far ideologies can be teased out in discourse by examining the schemata employed by two ideologically opposed news media, the BBC and Press TV, to cover the Syrian crisis during a period of nine months in 2011. By assuming that news is not a value-free construction of facts and drawing on micro structural approach of schema theory a comparative analysis of twenty six news texts posted by the two news agencies was conducted. Every attempt was made to choose the news posted by the agencies on the same topic on the same date. The analysis showed that the BBC and Press TV employed not only exclusive but also common schemata, which were significantly different in number hammering their contrasting perspectives in the minds of their viewers. The results are discussed from an educational perspective and suggestions are made for future research.

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