Date of Award
5-11-2025
Date Published
June 2025
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Media Studies
Advisor(s)
Srividya Ramasubramanian
Subject Categories
Communication | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
The Israel-Gaza War, which officially started on October 7, 2023, caused immense loss in the Middle East and attracted the international media's eyes. This study discusses the media’s framing in its reporting on the Israel-Gaza War, particularly as disseminated on two prominent global news providers’ online websites: CNN and Al Jazeera. The research explores the differences and similarities in framing the war using framing theory. The study examines how these news outlets covered these current events online in a period ranging from October 7, 2023, to April 7, 2024, using quantitative content analysis. It investigates the main framing of news from the coverage to holistically capture the overall importance of the articles featuring news about the war. The findings indicate CNN predominantly employs conflict frames with a pro-Israel perspective, while Al Jazeera frequently uses human interest and morality frames from a pro-Palestinian standpoint. Both outlets similarly and infrequently use economic frames. The research findings will contribute to the general debate on media accountability and digital platform influence on the public perception of global wars. This study explores these underlying trends to enhance media literacy while recommending how to improve objectivity and the quality of war reporting.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Alajmi, Fuhaid, "The Media Coverage of the Israel and Gaza War: A Comparative Study of CNN and Al Jazeera" (2025). Theses - ALL. 935.
https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/935
