Corpus-based Content Analysis of British Right-Wing Newspapers’ Reaction to the BBC

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to study the right-wing newspapers’ online versions’ reaction to the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) refusal to label Hamas ‘terrorists’ and instead use the term ‘militants’. The analysis examines how the newspapers are using this debate to undermine the BBC’s influence in the British public life. This is important because in the increasingly polarised world, these papers question the need for journalistic neutrality and objectivity. The methods and reasons with which the impartiality and the BBC position as the most trusted news provider is tested, should be investigated. The introduction gives a brief overview of the BBC and its Editorial guidelines. The conservative nature of the British media is also examined. The literature review will demonstrate why newspapers generally oppose the BBC, what are the main accusations against it and what research shows is the British media’s (including the BBC’s) stance towards Israel. The corpus-assisted content analysis is used to study articles from two newspapers: broadsheet the Telegraph and mid-market the Daily Mail. News pieces from one month period from October 8, 2023, to November 8, 2023 were selected.