Skip to content
Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter Mouton October 27, 2020

The construction of the Arab-Islamic issue in foreign news: Spanish newspaper coverage of the Egyptian revolution

  • Alfonso Corral and Leen d’Haenens
From the journal Communications

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze how the Spanish newspapers covered an international event such as the Egyptian spring from 2011 to 2013. From the perspective of the representation of Arab-Islamic issues, this study carries out a quantitative content analysis on the four reference newspapers in Spain (ABC, El Mundo, El País, and La Vanguardia) to find out whether there was an Islamophobic or Islamophilic treatment during the Egyptian revolution. The results of the 3,045 articles analyzed show that Spanish newspapers were remarkably interested in Egyptian events and that cultural discourses were not relevant in the coverage. However, it is necessary to specify these outcomes by newspaper, because each paper proposed its own take on the matter based on information provided by press agencies.

References

Abdelkefi, M. (1994). Los políticos árabes y su imagen en los medios [The image of Arab politicians in the media]. In J. Bodas Barea, & T. Drago (Eds.), El Mundo Árabe y su imagen en los medios (pp. 270–278). Madrid: Comunica.Search in Google Scholar

Ahmed, S., & Matthes, J. (2016). Media representation of Muslims and Islam from 2000 to 2015: A meta-analysis. International Communication Gazette, 79(3), 219–244.10.1177/1748048516656305Search in Google Scholar

Alasuutari, P., Qadir A., & Creutz, K. (2013). The domestication of foreign news: News stories related to the 2011 Egyptian revolution in British, Finnish and Pakistani newspapers. Media, Culture & Society, 35(6), 692–707.10.1177/0163443713491299Search in Google Scholar

Al Aswany, A. (2011). Egipto: las claves de una revolución inevitable [Egypt: The keys to an inevitable revolution]. Barcelona: Galaxia Gutenberg.Search in Google Scholar

Alba Rico, S. (2015). Islamofobia. Nosotros, los otros, el miedo [Islamophobia: Us, the others, the fear]. Barcelona: Icaria.Search in Google Scholar

Algora Weber, M. D. (2003). La cuestión palestina en el régimen de Franco [The Palestinian issue during the Franco regime]. In I. Álvarez Ossorio, & I. Barreñada (Eds), España y la cuestión palestina (pp. 19–50). Madrid: La Catarata.Search in Google Scholar

Algora Weber, M. D. (2011). La política exterior española y la política internacional: efectos sobre las relaciones hispano-árabes en la historia contemporánea [The Spanish foreign policies and international politics: Effects on the Spanish-Arab relationships in contemporary history]. In B. López García, & M. Hernando De Larramendia (Eds.), España, el Mediterráneo y el mundo arabomusulmán (pp. 57–80). Girona: Icaria-IEMed.Search in Google Scholar

Allen, C. (2010). Islamophobia. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Limited.Search in Google Scholar

Al Maskati, N. A. (2012). Newspaper coverage of the 2011 protests in Egypt. International Communication Gazette, 74(4), 342–366.10.1177/1748048512439820Search in Google Scholar

Almodóvar, M. (2015). Egipto tras la barricada [Egypt behind the barricade]. Barcelona: Virus.Search in Google Scholar

Anderson, L. (2015). Countering Islamophobic media representations: The potential role of peace journalism. Global Media and Communication, 11(3), 255–370.10.1177/1742766515606293Search in Google Scholar

Armañanzas, E., & Díaz Noci, J. (1996). Periodismo y argumentación: géneros de opinion [Journalism and argumentation: Opinion genres]. Bilbao: Universidad del País Vasco.Search in Google Scholar

Awad, A. F. (2006). Las relaciones culturales entre Egipto y España [The cultural relations between Egypt and Spain]. Hesperia, Culturas del Mediterráneo, 4, 147–156.Search in Google Scholar

Azaola Piazza, B. (2008). Historia del Egipto contemporáneo [History of contemporary Egypt]. Madrid: Catarata.Search in Google Scholar

Azaola Piazza, B., & González González, I. (2012). Estudios de caso de la política exterior española hacia el Mundo Árabe y Musulmán: Egipto [Case studies of the Spanish foreign policy towards the Arab and Muslim world: Egypt]. Revista de Estudios Internacionales Mediterráneos, 12, 147–156.Search in Google Scholar

Balta, P. (1994). Los medios y los malentendidos euroárabes. [The media and the Euro-Arab misunderstandings]. In J. Bodas Barea, & T. Drago (Eds.), El Mundo Árabe y su imagen en los medios (pp. 29–45). Madrid: Comunica.Search in Google Scholar

Barrera, C. (1995). Sin mordaza. Veinte años de prensa en democracia [Without gag: Twenty years of press in a democracy]. Madrid: Temas de hoy.Search in Google Scholar

Beck, L. (2012). ‘Moros en la costa’: Islam in Spanish visual and media culture. Historia Actual Online, 29, 93–106.Search in Google Scholar

Bensalah, M. (2006). Islam y representaciones mediáticas [Islam and mediated representations]. Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, 73–74, 69–83.Search in Google Scholar

Bodas Barea, J., & Drago, T. (1994). El Mundo Árabe y su imagen en los medios [The Arab world and its image in the media]. Madrid: Comunica.Search in Google Scholar

Bravo López, F. (2011). Towards a definition of Islamophobia: Approximations of the early twentieth century. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 34(4), 556–573.10.1080/01419870.2010.528440Search in Google Scholar

Canel, M. J. (1999). El País, ABC y El Mundo. Tres manchetas, tres enfoques de las noticias [Three editorials, three news foci]. Zer, 6, 97–117.Search in Google Scholar

Casani Herranz, A. (2016): Islamophobia in Spain. National Report 2015. In E. Bayraklı, & F. Hafez (Eds.), European Islamophobia Report 2015 (pp. 467–490). Istanbul: SETA.Search in Google Scholar

Castells, M. (2012). Networks of outrage and hope: Social movements in the internet age. Cambridge: Polity Press10.7312/blau17412-091Search in Google Scholar

Cesari, J. (2011). Islamophobia in the West: A comparison between Europe and the United States. In J. Esposito, & I. Kalin (Eds.), Islamophobia: The challenge of pluralism in the 21st century (pp. 21–43). New York: Oxford University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Clarke, K. (2013). Aish, Huriyya, Karama Insaniyya: Framing and the 2011 Egyptian uprising. European Political Science, 12(2), 197–214.10.1057/eps.2012.41Search in Google Scholar

Córdoba Hernández, A. M. (2011). El conflicto palestino-israelí visto desde España: oscilaciones y tendencias de la opinión pública [The Palastine-Israel conflict seen from Spain: Oscillations and tendencies of public opinion]. Ámbitos, 20, 149–174.Search in Google Scholar

Córdoba Hernández, A. M. (2015). La fotografía y el texto en la construcción del ‘framing’ de la Primavera Árabe: un análisis del cubrimiento y tratamiento informativo de la prensa de referencia Colombiana, en 2011 [Photography and text in the construction of ‘framing’ of the Arab Spring: An analysis of the press coverage in 2011]. Observatorio (Obs*), 9(2), 149–172.Search in Google Scholar

Corpas, M. A. (2010). Las comunidades islámicas en la España actual (1960–2008). Génesis e institucionalización de una minoría de referencia [The Islamic communities in contemporary Spain (1960–2008)]. Madrid: UNED.Search in Google Scholar

Corral-García, A., & Fernández Romero, C. (2015). Framing’ y mundo árabe: la cobertura de la prensa española en torno a la revolución tunecina [‘Framing’ and Arab World: the Spanish Press Coverage in the Tunisian Revolution]. Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico, 21(2), 793–811.10.5209/rev_ESMP.2015.v21.n2.50885Search in Google Scholar

Cottle, S. (2011). Media and Arab uprisings of 2011: Research notes. Journalism, 12(5), 647–659.10.1177/1464884911410017Search in Google Scholar

d’Haenens, L., & Bink, S. (2006). Islam in the Dutch press: with special attention to the ‘Algemeen Dagblad’. Media, Culture & Society, 29(1), 135–149.10.1177/0163443706072002Search in Google Scholar

Drago, T. (1994). Pautas y estrategias en la información sobre el Mundo Árabe [Rules and strategies in the information about the Arab world]. In J. Bodas Barea, & T. Drago (Eds.), El Mundo Árabe y su imagen en los medios (pp. 16–27). Madrid: Comunica.Search in Google Scholar

Durán, R. (2019). El encuadre del islam y los musulmanes: la cobertura periodística en España [The picture of Islam and the Muslims: The media coverage in Spain]. Revista de Estudios Internacionales Mediterráneos, 26, 156–181.Search in Google Scholar

Elahi, F., & Khan, O. (2017). Introduction: What is Islamophobia? In F. Elahi, & O. Khan (Eds.), Islamophobia: Still a challenge for us all (pp. 5–12). London: Runnymede Trust.Search in Google Scholar

Elena, M. (2015). El posicionamiento de medios internacionales ante los movimientos sociales: CNN y Al-Jazeera English en la caída de Morsi [The positioning of the international media towards social movements: CNN and Al-Jazeera English on the fall of Morsi]. Communication & Society, 29(3), 119–131.10.15581/003.29.3.119-130Search in Google Scholar

El-Madkouri, M. (2006). El Otro entre Nosotros: el musulmán en la prensa [The other in our midst: The Muslim in the press]. In M. Lario Bastida (Ed.), Medios de comunicación e inmigración (pp. 97–123). Murcia: Convivir sin racismo, Programa CAM.Search in Google Scholar

Fornaciari, F. (2011). Framing the Egyptian Revolution: A content analysis of Al Jazeera English and the BBC. Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research, 4(2–3), 223–235.10.1386/jammr.4.2-3.223_1Search in Google Scholar

Frissen, T., Ichau, E., Boghe, K., & d’Haenens, L. (2017). #Muslim? Instagram, Visual Culture and the Mediatization of Muslim Religiosity: Explorative analysis of visual and semantic content on Instagram. In M. Kayiki, & L. d’Haenens (Eds.), European Muslims and New Media (pp. 141–169). Leuven: Leuven University Press.10.2307/j.ctt1whm9bx.9Search in Google Scholar

García Gordillo, M. M. (2004). Mecanismos de creación de héroes y antihéroes para la opinión pública internacional en periodos de Guerra [Mechanisms of the creation of heroes and antiheroes for the international public opinion in war times]. Ámbitos, 11–12, 39–76.Search in Google Scholar

Gelvin, J. L. (2013). Conclusion: The Arab world at the intersection of the national and transnational. In M. L. Haas, & D. W. Lesch (Eds.), The Arab Spring. Change and resistance in the Middle East (pp. 238–255). Boulder: Westview Press.10.4324/9780429494581-15Search in Google Scholar

Golan, G. (2013). The gates of op-ed diplomacy: Newspaper framing the 2011 Egyptian revolution. The International Communication Gazette, 75(34), 359–373.10.1177/1748048513482264Search in Google Scholar

González Alcantud, J. A. (2002). Lo moro. Las lógicas de la derrota y la formación del estereotipo islámico [The moor. The logics of defeat and the formation of the Islamic stereotype]. Barcelona: Anthropos.Search in Google Scholar

González del Miño, P. (2014). Egipto: desafíos de una transición incierta [Egypt: Challenges of an insecure transition]. In P. González del Miño (Ed.), Tres años de revoluciones árabes (pp. 140–168). Madrid: Catarata.Search in Google Scholar

Hafez, K. (2000). The West and Islam in the mass media: Cornerstones for a new international culture of communication in the 21st century (Discussion paper). Bonn: Zentrum für Europäische Integrationsforschung.Search in Google Scholar

Hafez, K. (2016). Discurso islamófobo en los medios de comunicación [Islamophobe discourse in the communication media]. Afkar Ideas, 50, 23–26.Search in Google Scholar

Halliday, F. (1999) ‘Islamophobia’ reconsidered. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22(5), 892–902.10.1080/014198799329305Search in Google Scholar

Halverson, J. R., Ruston, S. W., & Trethewey, A. (2013). Mediated martyrs of the Arab Spring: New media, civil religion, and narrative in Tunisia and Egypt. Journal of Communication, 63(2), 312–332.10.1111/jcom.12017Search in Google Scholar

Hernández Guerrero, M. J. (2012). La traducción al servicio de una línea editorial: la primavera árabe en el diario El País [The service-oriented translation of an editorial line: The Arab Spring and the paper El País]. Meta. Translators’ Journal, 57(4), 960–976.Search in Google Scholar

Huntington, S. P. (1993). The clash of civilizations? Foreign Affairs, 72, 22–43.10.2307/20045621Search in Google Scholar

Huntington, S. P. (1996). The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order. New York: Simon & Schuster.Search in Google Scholar

Ibrahim, D. (2010). The framing of Islam on network news following the September 11th Attacks. International Communication Gazette, 72(1), 111–125.10.1177/1748048509350342Search in Google Scholar

Ichau, E., & d’Haenens, L. (2016). The Representation of Islam and Muslims in Flemish TV news. In S. Mertens, & H. De Smaele (Eds.), Representations of Islam in the News: A Cross-Cultural Analysis (pp. 91–108). London: Lexington Books.Search in Google Scholar

Jiménez-Yáñez, R. M. (2019). Análisis de los editoriales sobre una polémica visita papal [Analysis of the editorials about a polemic papal visit]. ONOMÁZEIN, 44, 63–84.10.7764/onomazein.44.04Search in Google Scholar

Karvala, D. (2016). FAQ contra la islamophobia [FAQ against Islamophobia]. In D. Karvala, (Ed.), Combatir la islamofobia. Una guía antirracista (pp. 117–138). Barcelona: Icaria.Search in Google Scholar

Khader, B. (2016). Reflexiones sobre la islamofobia ‘ordinaria’ [Reflections of the ‘normal’ Islamophobia]. Afkar Ideas, 50, 16–18.Search in Google Scholar

Kumar, D. (2010). Framing Islam: The resurgence of orientalism during the Bush II era. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 34(3), 254–277.10.1177/0196859910363174Search in Google Scholar

Kumar, D. (2018). The right kind of “Islam”. Journalism Studies, 19(8), 1079–1097.10.1080/1461670X.2016.1259012Search in Google Scholar

León, B. (2005). Prólogo [Prologue]. In E. Said, Cubriendo el islam. Cómo los medios de comunicación y los expertos determinan nuestra visión del resto del mundo (pp. 13–31). Barcelona: Debate.Search in Google Scholar

Lewis, B. (1990). The roots of Muslim rage. The Atlantic Monthly, 266(3), 47–60.Search in Google Scholar

Lim, M. (2013). Framing Bouazizi: ‘White lies’, hybrid network, and collective/connective action in the 2010–11 Tunisian uprising. Journalism, 14(7), 921–941.10.1177/1464884913478359Search in Google Scholar

López, P., Otero, M., Pardo, M., & Vicente, M. (2010). La imagen del mundo árabe y musulmán en la prensa española [The image of the Arab and Muslim world in the Spanish press]. Sevilla: Fundación Tres Culturas.Search in Google Scholar

López García, B. (2013). España y el mundo árabe-islámico: historia de una multiplicidad de relaciones y encuentros [Spain and the Arab-Islamic world: History of a multitude of relationships and encounters]. In O. Orozco de la Torre, & G. Alonso García (Eds.), El Islam y los musulmanes hoy: Dimensión internacional y relaciones con España (pp. 11–28). Madrid: Escuela Diplomática & Casa Árabe.Search in Google Scholar

López García, B. (2014). Prólogo [Prologue]. In P. González del Miño (Ed.), Tres años de revoluciones árabes [Three years of Arab revolutions] (pp. 15–23). Madrid: Catarata.Search in Google Scholar

Louassini, Z. (2003). La imagen del árabe en los medios de comunicación occidentales (y II) [The image of the Arab in the Western communication media]. MEAH, Sección árabe-islam, 52, 125–146.Search in Google Scholar

Luqiu, L. R., & Young, F. (2018). Islamophobia in China: News coverage, stereotypes, and Chinese Muslims’ perceptions of themselves and Islam. Asian Journal of Communication, 28(6), 598–619.10.1080/01292986.2018.1457063Search in Google Scholar

Luyendijk, J. (2013). Hello Everybody. Imágenes de Oriente Medio [Images of the Middle East]. Barcelona: Península.Search in Google Scholar

Lynch, M. (2012). The Arab uprising: The unfinished revolutions of the new Middle East. New York: Public Affairs.Search in Google Scholar

Martin, P., & Phelan, S. (2002). Representing Islam in the wake of September 11: A comparison of US television and CNN online message board discourses. Prometheus, 20(3), 263–269.10.1080/08109020210141371Search in Google Scholar

Martín Corrales, E. (2004). Maurofobia/islamofobia y maurofilia/islamofilia en la España del siglo XXI [Maurophobia/Islamophobia and Maurophilia/Islamophilia in Spain in the 21st century]. Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, 66–67, 39–51.Search in Google Scholar

Martín Muñoz, G. (2007). Musulmanes en Europa, entre Islam e Islamofobia [Muslims in Europe, between Islam and Islamophobia]. In Casa Árabe (Ed.), Musulmanes en la Unión Europea: discriminación e islamofobia (pp. 7–9). Madrid: Casa Árabe.Search in Google Scholar

Martín Muñoz, G. (2010). Unconscious Islamophobia. Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge, 8(2), 21–28.Search in Google Scholar

Mertens, S., & d’Haenens, L. (2013). Cultural Values in Press Reporting on Islam: The UK and Flanders Compared. Australian Journalism Review, 35(2), 35–45.Search in Google Scholar

Modood, T., Triandafyllidou, A., & Zapata-Barrero, R. (2006). Multiculturalism, Muslim and Citizenship: A European Approach. London and New York: Routledge.10.4324/9780203001820Search in Google Scholar

Moreno Espinosa, P. (2000). Los géneros periodísticos informativos en la actualidad internacional [The journalistic genres in today’s internationality]. Ámbitos, 5(2), 169–190.Search in Google Scholar

Ortega Marín, J. (1994). Imágenes árabes en la prensa Española [Arab images in the Spanish press]. In J. Bodas Barea, & T. Drago (Eds.), El Mundo Árabe y su imagen en los medios (pp. 250–258). Madrid: Comunica.Search in Google Scholar

Piquer Martí, S. (2015). La islamofobia en la prensa escrita española: aproximación al discurso periodístico de El País y La Razón [Islamophobia in the Spanish press: Approaching a journalistic discourse of El País and La Razón]. Dirāsāt Hispānicas, 2, 137–156.Search in Google Scholar

Poole, E. (2002). Reporting Islam: Media representations of British Muslims. London: IB Tauris.10.5040/9780755604579Search in Google Scholar

Powell, K. A. (2011). Framing Islam: An analysis of U.S. media coverage of terrorism since 9/11. Communication Studies, 62(1), 90–112.10.1080/10510974.2011.533599Search in Google Scholar

Ramberg, I. (2004). Islamophobia and its consequences on young people. Budapest: Council of Europe.Search in Google Scholar

Rana, J. (2007). The story of Islamophobia. Souls, 9(2), 148–161.10.1080/10999940701382607Search in Google Scholar

Rane, H., Ewart, J., & Martinkus, J. (2014). Media framing of the Muslim world. Conflicts, crises and contexts. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Search in Google Scholar

Rane, H., & Salem, S. (2011). Social media, social movements and the diffusion of ideas in the Arab uprisings. Journal of International Communication, 18(1), 97–111.10.1080/13216597.2012.662168Search in Google Scholar

Reig, R. (2000). Medios de comunicación y poder en España: prensa, radio, televisión y mundo editorial [Communication media and power in Spain: Press, radio, TV, and editorial world]. Barcelona: Paidós.Search in Google Scholar

Requena, P. (2012). El tiempo robado [The stolen time]. In M. Ayestarán et al. (Eds.), Queremos saber. Cómo y por qué la crisis del periodismo nos afecta a todos (pp. 41–65). Barcelona: Debate.Search in Google Scholar

Reza, S. M. (2011). Representations of Islam and Muslims in press coverage. World Journal of Islamic History and Civilization, 1(4), 234–241.Search in Google Scholar

Richardson, J. E. (2004). (Mis)Representing Islam: The racism and rhetoric of the broadsheet press. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/dapsac.9Search in Google Scholar

Rodríguez, O. (2012). Yo muero hoy. Las revueltas en el mundo árabe [I’ll die today. The revolts in the Arab world]. Barcelona: Debate.Search in Google Scholar

Rogan, E. (2011). The Arabs: A history. New York: Basic Books.Search in Google Scholar

Runnymede Trust (1997). Islamophobia: A challenge for us all. London: Runnymede Trust.Search in Google Scholar

Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. London: Penguin Books.Search in Google Scholar

Said, E. W. (1981). Covering Islam: How the media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world. New York: Pantheon.Search in Google Scholar

Sardar, Z. (2009). Extraño Oriente. Prejuicios, mitos y errores acerca del Islam [Strange orient: Prejudices, myths, and misapprehensions around Islam]. Barcelona: Gedisa.Search in Google Scholar

Segura, A. (2004). Señores y vasallos del siglo XXI. Una explicación de los conflictos internacionales [Monarchs and vassals of the 21st century: An explanation of the international conflicts]. Madrid: Alianza.Search in Google Scholar

Serrano, P. (2009). Desinformación. Cómo los medios ocultan el mundo [Disinformation. How the media obscure the world]. Barcelona: Península.Search in Google Scholar

Shaw, I. S. (2012). Stereotypical representations of Muslims and Islam following the 7/7 London terror attacks: Implications for intercultural communication and terrorism prevention. International Communication Gazette, 74(6), 509–524.10.1177/1748048512454816Search in Google Scholar

Shelton, C., Cleven, E., & Hoffman, A. M. (2019). Deadly foreign terrorism and the rank-ordered tournament for foreign press attention: Implications for counterterrorism. International Interactions, 45(2), 344–368.10.1080/03050629.2019.1529668Search in Google Scholar

Soler i Lecha, E. (2013). Cuando las crisis se superponen: Europa y España ante la Primavera Árabe [When the crises take them over: Europe and Spain in the light of the Arab Spring]. In Fundación Seminario de Investigación para la Paz (Ed.), El Mundo Árabe en la encrucijada (pp. 391–402). Zaragoza: Mira Editores.Search in Google Scholar

Taibi, M., & El-Madkouri, M. (2006). Estrategias discursivas en la representación del Otro árabe [Discursive strategies in the representation of the Arab Other]. In M. Lario Bastida (Ed.), Medios de comunicación e inmigración (pp. 125–143). Murcia: Convivir sin racismo, Programa CAM.Search in Google Scholar

Tortosa, J. M. (1999). El islam ¿enemigo de Occidente? [Islam, enemy of the West?] Papers, 57, 75–88.10.5565/rev/papers/v57n0.1967Search in Google Scholar

Valenzuela, J. (2013). ¿Y si resulta que los árabes también son humanos? [And in case it comes out that Arabs, too, are humans?] In J. Luyendijk, Hello Everybody. Imágenes de Oriente Medio (pp. 15–21). Barcelona: Península.Search in Google Scholar

Van Dijk, T. (2008). Racismo, prensa e Islam [Racism, press, and Islam]. Derechos Humanos, 5, 18–20.Search in Google Scholar

Zahedi, F. (2014). La cultura de la posmodernidad y la Primavera Árabe [The culture of postmodernity and the Arab Spring]. In J. Guillamet, & F. Salgado (Eds.), El Periodismo en las transiciones políticas. De la Revolución Portuguesa y la Transición Española a la Primavera Árabe (pp. 323–333). Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva.Search in Google Scholar

Zugasti, R. (2007). La forja de una complicidad. Monarquía y prensa en la Transición española (1975–1978) [The forge of a complicity. Monarchy and press in the Spanish Transition (1975–1978)]. Madrid: Fragua.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2020-10-27
Published in Print: 2020-11-18

© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Downloaded on 6.12.2023 from https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/commun-2019-0146/html
Scroll to top button