Media, Branding and Controversy: Perceptions of Al Jazeera in Newspapers around the World

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of the newly launched Al Jazeera English channel on the Al Jazeera brand. An analysis of a random sample of 400 newspaper articles—drawn from 7,830 articles mentioning the Al Jazeera brand and published in the period between 2005 and 2007 in more than 200 major world newspapers—yielded the following results: Positive tones toward Al Jazeera were higher with the English service (35.3%) compared to the Arabic service (11.9%); Tone was most negative in North America/Israel (30.9%); Al Jazeera English mentions were more frequently seen on front pages (16%) than mentions of the Al Jazeera Arabic service (10.8%); Brand mentions associating Al Jazeera itself with terrorism were fewer with Al Jazeera English (6%) than with the Al Jazeera Arabic service (11.4%). These findings suggest that major world newspapers are increasingly accepting Al Jazeera and that the establishment of Al Jazeera English has contributed to improved perceptions of the Al Jazeera brand.