Does political distance spur populist reportage? media framing of a geopolitical conflict

Bibliographic Data

ID6233348
AuthorsShowkat Ahmad Jan (0000-0001-6738-5142, Department of Media and Communication, School of Communication, Central University of Tamilnadu, Thiruvarur, India), Francis Philip Barclay (0000-0002-7361-9651, Department of Media and Communication, School of Communication, Central University of Tamilnadu, Thiruvarur, India, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume32
Issue2
Pages117-137
Publication date2024-05-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAsian Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0218-5377 • E-ISSN: 1750-7812
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02185377.2024.2351401
OpenAlexW4399044163
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited69

In 2019, the Indian government revoked Article 370 of its Constitution that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir – a state within India and the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan. It became a political hot potato, with both the Indian and foreign media vigorously covering it for months – quite often, exhibiting conflicting views. While the Indian mainstream media are proximal to the political establishment and – thanks to their habitual coverage of the decades-old Kashmir conflict – have an outstretched understanding of political players and diverse discourses, the geographical distance of foreign media could embolden an unschooled standpoint affording political-ideological variations. To examine the relevance of political distance and differences in media narratives, a content analysis was performed on 162 news articles, using five factors – sources, topics, tone, literary-rhetorical devices and frames. Study results indicate that geopolitical distance inspirits populist reportage characterized by an anti-establishment view and advocacy of rights and privileges of the people, with statistical differences exhibited in terms of topic and source selection (filtering through gatekeeping) and employment of frames and devices (as a part of wider discourses). While the Indian media was more pro-abrogation to preserve national interests, the foreign media substantially defended protest and violence

Framing (construction · Geography · Geopolitics · Media studies · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Sociology · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Social Media and Politics

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