Abstract
This study assesses the reflection of Middle Eastern media networks on the states and the news concerning the oil crisis and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) conditions. A critical discourse analysis approach is adopted to analyze 22 articles from Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya regarding the Qatar withdrawal from OPEC. The ideological choices vary as Al Jazeera is focused on the Qatar economy, while Al Arabiya on Saudi Arabia. These online publications have presented a positive self-presentation of their funded country while the negative representation of the other. Al Jazeera has pointed that the exit of Qatar from the OPEC is to focus on its other non–oil production sector, while Al Arabiya has pointed that this exit is due to the primary role of Saudi Arabia, with which Qatar has an on-going conflict. Qatar is symbolic to broaden regional division, which may later diffuse to other OPEC members and will leave no mark on the decision-making process of the alliance.
Highlights
In the present era of globalization, media sources constitute a unique and prime role in communicating the discourse to the reader (Hidayatullah, 2017)
This study focused on the exit of Qatar from OPEC as the event just occurred in December 2018, and this explains why the majority of the selected articles are published in December 2018 or months after
The study has examined the news reporting by two online publications such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya on the OPEC countries, the oil price fluctuations and the exit of Qatar
Summary
In the present era of globalization, media sources constitute a unique and prime role in communicating the discourse to the reader (Hidayatullah, 2017). Various researches have emphasized the substantial role of the media outlets in the dissemination of the information (Castello, 2013; Sharifi et al, 2017). Parker (2015) adds that media acts as a stimulus for the dissemination of the ideas of a certain group by constructing particular meaning using genres and narratives. Castello (2013) addresses the media ideology defining it as a form of social process, which allows the circulation of the idea on a massive scale. Media sources constitute the potential to impact the perception of the world and drive them toward a certain direction (Berger, 2012)
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