Mohammed Alqulayti
Western media coverage of the Saudi-Iranian conflict between 2016-2023
Email address
Names of Supervisors and affiliated institutions
- Prof. Ekaterina Balabanova (primary), Department of Communication and Media, University of Liverpool
- Dr Richard Stupart, Department of Communication and Media, University of Liverpool
Research topic summary
The Saudi-Iranian conflict is an ongoing conflict of the last decades which affects international trade, oil prices and stability in the Middle East generally. The aim of this study is to examine the coverage of western media of this conflict using Iyengar models of Episodic and Thematic framing to look in depth at media presentations of crisis in four different time periods. These periods represent four incidents in the conflict, namely: the execution of the Shia clerk Al-Nimr in Saudi, the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran, the 2019 strike on oil refineries in Saudi and the killing of Qassem Soleimani.
The study chooses four western outlets: The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Fox News and the BBC. These outlets have been chosen due to their interest in covering the Middle East crisis, their influence regionally and globally, and their representation of two important western states: the US and the UK. The purpose of this study is to explore how western media represent the conflict to their audiences and to see if media were aligned with their governments by comparing the coverage with the governmental statements about the conflict.
Key words
coverage, Saudi, Iran, conflict, framing.
Academic achievements
BA Radio and TV - Umm Al-Qura University (Saudi Arabia)
MA Political communication - Cardiff University (UK)
Teaching experience
Islamic University of Madinah (2019-2023)
BA modules
- International Media
- Introduction to communication skills
- Courses of communication skills for non-Arabic speakers
- Arabic language for international students