Civil war and genocide in Darfur: comparing english.aljazeera.net and news.bbc.co.uk Kelly Kinner and Katherine Osos School of Journalism and Mass Communication CU-Boulder

Why compare Al Jazeera and BBC internet sites Are there differences in the coverage of Darfur because of the different national/regional interests of the UK and the Middle East/Qatar? Are there differences because of differences in who owns and operates the two sites?

Differences in national interest: -UK: former colonial power in Sudan -Qatar: an Arab country and member of the Arab League (like Sudan) which has done nothing to speak out against the genocide

Differences in ownership, operations, financing -BBC: established under British constitution, regulated by Foreign Office and Crown- appointed governors, financed by a tax on TV set ownership, operates in the Briitsh national interest -reputed to be the best public broadcasting org in the world, criticizes its own government consistently, upholds freedom of expression and fights state interference openly

Differences in ownership, operations, financing -Al Jazeera: financed by Emir of Qatar, criticizes Middle Eastern and Western governments, upholds freedom of media from state interference, founded as a result of a dissolved BBC/Saudi Arabian network

When did coverage start, how much

Coverage of Darfur BBC 398 articles in first 26 months of crisis Sample: 50% of non- repeated stories: 175 Hard news: 67% In-depth feature articles 28% Al Jazeera 169 articles in first 26 months Sample: 50% of non- repeated stories: 76 Hard news: 99% In-depth feature articles: none

Framing: causes, conduct, remedies? BBC Causes cited in 19% articles -Race and ethnicity as primary causes: 35% -Government inequity and resources: 27% Al Jazeera Causes cited in 22%of articles -Race and ethnicity as primary causes: 17% -Government inequity and resources:29%

Framing: Groups blamed as cause of crisis BBC Darfur rebels demanding regional equity 7% Govt, their proxy Janjaweed fighters or both: 86% All domestic groups (rebels, govt, proxy fighters): 17% Al Jazeera Darfur rebels demanding regional equity :21% Govt, their proxy Janjaweed fighters or both: 32% All domestic groups (rebels, govt, proxy fighters): 29%

Framing: groups that could end the conflict BBC -Government: 9% -All domestic groups: 20% -Neighboring countries: 4% -UN and foreign agencies; 13% -domestic and foreign: 26% Al Jazeera Government: 12% -All domestic groups: 29% -Neighboring countries: 16% -UN and foreign agencies; 12% -domestic and foreign: 16%

Sources of news, quotes BBC -99% in-house authors Direct quotes: UN 34% Govt : 27% NGOs 22% Rebels: 11% Al Jazeera -97% articles from news agencies, e.g. Reuters and AFP Direct quotes: UN 14% Govt : 46% NGOs 11% Rebels: 32%

Perception of emotional intensity of articles BBC Low 19% Medium 40 High 41 Al Jazeera Low 38% Medium 43 High 20%

Making sense of the similarities and differences Apportioning reasons for Al J’s coverage between its regional location versus its Arab ownership is hard and is primarily an academic exercise here since they are so interconnected How did national/regional interest show itself? - Al Jaz coverage of Muslim-on-Muslim violence conducted by Muslim dictatorship in fellow Arab country much less, less intense -Al J cited race and ethnicity as causes much less less often than BBC

Differences due to regional affiliation (contd) Al J blamed conflict on civil war initiators demanding regional equity for Darfur as causes of crisis 3 times more often than the BBC -BBC blamed the Sudan govt, their proxy fighters or both for causing the crisis 2.5 times as often as Al J -Solution responsibility was more often domestic and foreign for BBC than for Al J with much less emphasis on neighboring countries

How did differences in the ownership and operations of the news media express themselves ? Al J had primarily hard news stories based on news agency reports Al J quoted UN less than half as often as BBC, quoted government almost twice as often as BBC Al J articles generally lower in emotional intensity

Similarities with implications for coverage of genocide Low attention to causes of conflict in both media