Assessing the humanitarian framing of the Spanish press coverage of the Darfur crisis

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Periodical article

Title:	Assessing the humanitarian framing of the Spanish press coverage of the Darfur crisis
Authors:	Gutiérrez, José Carlos Sendín García, Rainer Rubira
Year:	2011
Periodical:	Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies (ISSN 0256-0054)
Volume:	32
Issue:	1
Pages:	66-81
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Sudan Spain
Subjects:	newspapers attitudes humanitarian assistance Darfur conflict
External link:	https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02560054.2011.545567
Abstract:	The media often represent African conflicts from a distant Western ethnocentric perspective. Thisarticle analyses the coverage of the Darfur crisis by reputable Spanish press - 'El País', 'La Vanguardia', 'El Mundo' and 'ABC' - using quantitative methods supported by a qualitative approach. The study focuses on how the Darfur crisis was presented, using the sources and analysing the reported causes, situation and consequences of the conflict. It shows that the Darfur situation was dealt with mainly from the perspective of European humanitarian aid and that of other international organizations. Even when journalists do use political and official sources, the framing still remains humanitarian. Darfuris themselves play a passive and secondary role as recipients of humanitarian aid. Thus, the use of humanitarian framing led newspaper coverage to focus on the consequences and not the causes of the conflict, portraying it as a local struggle and irrelevant to Spanish national interests. Bibliogr., sum. [Journal abstract]