Go to AfricaBib home

Go to AfricaBib home AfricaBib Go to database home

bibliographic database
Line
Previous page New search

The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here

Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Orientalism in online news: BBC stories of Somali piracy
Author:Way, Lyndon C.S.
Year:2013
Periodical:Journal of African Media Studies (ISSN 1751-7974)
Volume:5
Issue:1
Pages:19-33
Language:English
Geographic term:Somalia
Subjects:piracy
news agencies
websites
stereotypes
British
Abstract:This article considers how news stories about piracy off the coast of Somalia reflect E. Said's concept of Orientalism, that is, the West representing the Rest in ways beneficial to the West. Critical discourse analysis is applied to news stories from the international BBC news website to reveal strategies used to represent a non-western 'other' in need of control by a successful West. This legitimates the West's military presence and actions whilst challenging BBC's claims of objectivity. An historical account of both Somalia and piracy precede this analysis. The former illustrates how Somalia's current 'failed State' status is in part due to foreign involvement while the latter describes how this status has produced conditions conducive to piracy. Actions by the West together with the BBC's Orientalist perspective do little to relieve Somalia's hardship or to end the country's multiple problems. Bibliogr., sum. [Journal abstract]
Views
Cover