Alexandra Kelly - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
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The University of Queensland, Australia
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Papers by Alexandra Kelly
Rather than merely reporting facts, the media is responsible for constructing, reproducing, and d... more Rather than merely reporting facts, the media is responsible for constructing, reproducing, and distributing narratives that shape our understanding of actors, issues, and their relations. Beyond telling us the identities of actors and even which side is right or wrong, the media has the power to inform what we believe a given conflict is about. This ability to control the meaning and context of a conflict is immensely important and relies on the ability of the media to discursively construct and employ identities. Utilizing critical discourse analysis, this paper attempts to identify key discursive identities utilized in the reportage of BH and the implications of these representations for local and international responses. Analysis of Nigerian and American media reveals a process by which discursive identities constructed in Nigeria are adopted and adapted in American media and deployed in national news coverage. Four key identities have been identified; 1) Islamic terrorists 2) Militants 3) Criminals and 4) Political thugs. It concludes that these identities are often more helpful in analyzing the opinions of the media, than those of BH, as each of these labels comes laden with oft unexamined assumptions, both about BH and the ideal role of government. Declaration This dissertation is the sole work of the author, and has not been accepted in any previous application for a degree; all quotations and sources of information have been acknowledged.
Rather than merely reporting facts, the media is responsible for constructing, reproducing, and d... more Rather than merely reporting facts, the media is responsible for constructing, reproducing, and distributing narratives that shape our understanding of actors, issues, and their relations. Beyond telling us the identities of actors and even which side is right or wrong, the media has the power to inform what we believe a given conflict is about. This ability to control the meaning and context of a conflict is immensely important and relies on the ability of the media to discursively construct and employ identities. Utilizing critical discourse analysis, this paper attempts to identify key discursive identities utilized in the reportage of BH and the implications of these representations for local and international responses. Analysis of Nigerian and American media reveals a process by which discursive identities constructed in Nigeria are adopted and adapted in American media and deployed in national news coverage. Four key identities have been identified; 1) Islamic terrorists 2) Militants 3) Criminals and 4) Political thugs. It concludes that these identities are often more helpful in analyzing the opinions of the media, than those of BH, as each of these labels comes laden with oft unexamined assumptions, both about BH and the ideal role of government. Declaration This dissertation is the sole work of the author, and has not been accepted in any previous application for a degree; all quotations and sources of information have been acknowledged.