GLOBAL MEDIA, LOCAL CONFLICT: BBC AND AL JAZEERA’S JOS 2010 COVERAGE

Abstract

This paper examines the ideological function of language in shaping the crisis, as reflected in the headlines of the 2010 Jos crisis from BBC and Al Jazeera. Using van Dijk’s (2006) socio cognitive approach to Critical Discourse Analysis as its theoretical framework, the study employs a qualitative method to analyze 30 purposively selected headlines from BBC and Al Jazeera websites. Findings in the study identify five discursive strategies— negative labeling, evidentiality, numerical framing, lexicalization, and metaphor language —used in BBC and Al Jazeera’s news headlines of the 2010 Jos crisis, in constructing social divisions, animosity, and bias. The study highlights that these discursive techniques shape audience perception by reinforcing specific ideological narratives. The headlines consistently categorise subjects into two religious groups attacking each other, -fight between Muslim and Christian communities, Hausa-Fulani herders massacred more than 100 Christians, Jos City, Divided Into Muslim And Christian Areas-, further dividing them and fanning the flame of disunity among them. Ultimately, the study reveals a recurring pattern of bias in the deadlines, demonstrating how language is strategically used to influence public understanding and reinforce societal divisions. It also reveals that, in the action-oriented narrative presented by both media headlines depict Muslim actors as strongly associated with violent actions, while Christian goals are predominantly portrayed as victims. Furthermore, the structural choices within BBC and Al Jazeera’s headlines deliberately obscure information regarding agency in the crisis.