Graduate studies and research

This study examines the burgeoning of a new 'independent' press that has emerged in the last decade in Morocco, heralding the decline of the traditional partisan press. An analysis of two partisan newspapers reveals that the partisan press has failed to promote press freedom and frequently engages in self-censorship when confronting 'red line' issues in Moroccan politics. In contrast, the enterprising independent press has sought to broaden the margin of freedom through insisting on broaching those sensitive issues. As such, it has had great ramifications and implications at the level of readership and for the political reform debate raging in the country. Paradoxically, however, while attacking the old school of journalism for its partisanship, the new independent press has carved out a new form of 'partisanship', functioning as a conduit for an oppositional political discourse. The article reviews the debate surrounding those 'red lines' and discusses the prospects of reforming the press codes as one way of ensuring the survival of this independent streak of journalism.

This article explores the role of the media in international conflict, specifically how media contribute to the cycle of humiliation, shame and revenge. The case study focused on Arab media's coverage of the shoe-throwing incident in Iraq, where George W. Bush ducked an Iraqi journalist's shoes thrown during a press conference. The analysis of four Arab newspapers' coverage of the incident found that, while being diverse, Arab media had predominantly framed the incident as a humiliation for President Bush, revenge on the part of Iraqis for the shameful military defeat and the torture in Abu Ghraib prison. The study concludes that news media's obsession with a narrative of humiliation does not help resolve international conflict. With relevance to Arab media, the article argues that independent, free and professional media outlets are more likely to provide ‘balanced’ coverage that lessens the intense feelings of hurt. Pro-government media are counterproductive in resolving international conflict, the study observes. Increased professionalisation of independent media has the potential to curb the emotional violence generated by ‘unprofessional’ reporting. Finally, strengthening legal safeguards, updating media ethics frameworks, and more press freedom enhance the potential for a constructive role for the media in international conflict.

This article focuses on the emerging online Arab public sphere that the web has enabled. It explores how the “local” interacts with the “global,” critically examining their implications on global politics. Specifically looking at online readers' comments about the Swiss minaret ban the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque,” how does the Arab online public sphere respond to and frame these issues? What implications do these reader frames portend locally and globally? The study analyzes online comments and responses that readers of Al Arabiya.net and Al Jazeera.net posted on related news articles. The article concludes that the new online public sphere does make it possible for Arab citizens to circumvent and challenge traditional authoritarian controls.

This article examines a leading US business newspaper's coverage of the global financial crisis (GFC) and Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the most influential international business newspaper with a global audience, is used as a case study. Although the GFC and OWS are closely related, we found significant differences in the way that they were reported in business news. Specifically, we found divergent frames in the WSJ's coverage: an ‘institutional’ framing of the GFC starkly differs from a ‘hegemonic’ framing of OWS. We relate this framing divergence to (1) the instability and inconsistencies in journalism's ‘occupational ideology’ and (2) the challenges social movements encounter in influencing public discourse.

Sunni–Shia relations have become a topic of significant media attention; this attention is largely due to the tendency of these groups to engage in sectarian strife as well as the Islamic Shia sect’s influential rise in world politics. The inter-Islamic sectarian relations are part of extensive reporting on upheaval events currently taking place in the Greater Middle East in the post 9/11 decade. This study analyses ten years of news coverage of the Sunni–Shia relations in the Canadian Globe and Mail and the US-based Washington Post. Results indicate that rather than contextualizing sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shia Islam, this media coverage overwhelmingly frames the tensions from the ‘war on terrorism’ perspective. This article argues that ‘neo-Orientalist’ discourses and propagandist perspectives have become routinized and more prevalent in the manner in which Western media represents Islam, privileging dominant discourses and ‘war on terrorism’ frames.

In this chapter, the authors critically assess the gendered nature of the products developed by the computer gaming industry. The chapter takes a historiographical approach to examining the nature of children's video and computer games as a type of toy that immerses children into current gender stereotypes even as they hold the potential for social change. New ways of bridging the gap between stereotypes and change is explored through a virtual world for children. In addition to an introductory section, the chapter is organized in three main sections: First, the authors place existing computer and video games into a broad and historical context. Second, the chapter takes into consideration feminist critiques of video games for adults. Third, the authors analyze the case of WebkinzWorld, a toy-based social-networking portal offering less gendered video game environments for kids. The authors argue that this mixed method analysis is important not only for computer game designers and marketers who aim to appeal to broad demographics, but also for educators, parents, and caregivers who need to understand the underlying or hidden messages of games for children.