Restrictions in global news reporting: An analysis of the BBC and Al Jazeera English coverage of the 2009 Iranian election protests

Abstract

Abstract High levels of censorship and restrictions in the media coverage in many of the countries of the Middle East explain the quality of reporting in the region. This comparative analysis of the BBC and Al Jazeera English (AJE) during the 2009 Iranian election illustrates the threats and difficulties faced by both BBC and AJE journalists country such as Iran. Analysis shows that international reporters on the ground with Iranian passport face more obstacles than foreign reporters without Iranian passports in reporting the ‘reality’ of the country. This article concludes that AJE, which had an all-Iranian team, faced more danger from the Iranian government as a result of their coverage than the BBC’s all-English team. This contributed to the disparity in the coverage of both networks.