Abstract
This article reports findings from a comparative analysis of BBC World News (BBCWN) and Al Jazeera English (AJE) designed to investigate the extent to which competitiveness in the international news market—targeting the global English audience—shapes global news reporting. BBCWN was selected to represent the mainstream Western global media traffic, while AJE represents the contra-flow category of global news media. The 2009 Iranian presidential election is offered as a case study and the reporting by both networks is subject to qualitative discourse analysis. The results are triangulated with interviews with correspondents and editors from BBCWN and AJE. The study concludes that the argument concerning international media competition, which suggests that news networks would place emphasis on gaining audiences to attract advertisers’ interest, is less relevant to the BBCWN and AJE.
Notes
1. In the financial year 2009/10, the BBCWN posted a loss of £3 million, down from £8 million in 2007/08 (Guardian, February 1, 2009). It also saw advertising revenue grow by more than 20 per cent year-on-year with the channel distribution growing by 8 per cent to reach 159 million households (Guardian, July 8, 2008).
2. The licence fee will be frozen at £145.50 per annum.