Qasem, Amer F. S.
(2019)
Manufacturing Consent Over
Statehood Recognition:
The New York Times Coverage Of
Palestine And Kosovo Statehood
Recognition.
PhD thesis, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Abstract
The mainstream media in democratic societies play a key role in shaping the
audience perceptions, especially in relation to international affairs. They have the
ability to “manufacture” the public consent over the state’s foreign policies.
Recognizing or opposing an emerging state is deemed one significant policy at the
agenda of governments’ diplomatic foreign affairs. Still, the international recognition
by superpower states (i.e. the United States) is influential. The U.S. foreign policy of
Palestine and Kosovo statehood recognition constitutes a clear example of the
administration’s double standards. Although both states fulfil the minimum criteria
of statehood, the U.S. opposes the recognition of the State of Palestine and supports
Kosovo’s one. This research examines how the New York Times (NYT)—as a
dominant U.S. media—manufactures consent pertaining to the U.S. foreign policy of
statehood recognition. The current research employs the Propaganda Model of
Herman and Chomsky (1988) as a theoretical thrust. It examines the occurrence of
both reporting and ideological biases. Subsequently, three variables are investigated:
the degree of reliance on U.S. official news sources; the degree of attention paid to
issues under scrutiny; and the representation of the social actors and practices within
the related discourse. Both quantitative content analysis and Critical Discourse
Analysis (CDA) are adopted. The findings demonstrate that the NYT has offered a
fake balance of voices within its related coverage.
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