Representations of an Islamic Republic: Iran and the British Press since 1989.

Abstract

This thesis aims to uncover how Iran was represented in the British Print Press from 1989-2005. The period under analysis marked a new phase in Anglo-Iranian relations in which Iran sought improved relations with Britain primarily for economic reasons. This study will combine Critical Discourse Analysis with a Corpus Based Analysis using Monoconc Pro 2.2 a computer based concordance software package. The Corpus Based Analysis allows large corpus files to be analysed and provides quantitative findings which can support the qualitative analysis. The newspapers selected for the combined analysis were the The Times and the Guardian. Article selection was based on the presence of certain words appearing in the headline throughout the time frame. To facilitate analysis of the Sun and the Mirror which were not available on Lexis for the whole time frame, a qualitative only analysis was also conducted on all papers using four keys events. The study found that Iran is represented as a 'threat' through its link to terrorism and most notably the nuclear issue. In addition the study found that generally the media follow government policy in its coverage of Iran. Coverage was overwhelmingly political however both of the broadsheet papers did feature examples of social and cultural focused articles. Social and cultural reporting provides an opportunity for newspaper readers to gain an insight into aspects of Iranian life.

Date of Award	1 Aug 2012
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Oliver Bast (Supervisor)