A comparison of the visual and story frames Al Jazeera English and CNN employed during the 2011 Egyptian revolution

Abstract

This study examines a month of cable news coverage of the Egyptian uprising in 2011. Specifically it examines how Al Jazeera English and CNN differ in their use of story and visual frames. The quantitative content analysis ( N = 503) found significant differences between the two networks. Al Jazeera English employs more frames about Egyptian history, political strategies, public engagement, public opinion, economy and the impact on the future of the country more frequently than CNN. When examining visual frames of conflict, Al Jazeera English was more likely to employ conflict frame–not violent than CNN. CNN was more likely than Al Jazeera English to employ the conflict frame–latent violence.