Discourse on Somali piracy: Intervention and legitimacy

Way, Lyndon (2014) Discourse on Somali piracy: Intervention and legitimacy. Journalism Practice, 8 (1). pp. 80-95. ISSN 1751-2786

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Abstract

Piracy off Somalia’s coast has gained the imagination of the public and the attention of the media. Using critical discourse analysis, this paper considers stories about Somali piracy on the international BBC news website. A twin analysis is undertaken to determine how those involved in piracy and their actions are represented as well as how macro-discursive strategies of legitimation are employed. An historical contextualisation of Somalia and piracy complements the analysis. These analysis reveal how news stories do not focus on Somalis but on negative representations of pirates and positive representations of Western military powers. A number of linguistic strategies are identified that emphasise Western powers and articulate discourses that legitimate the continuing presence and actions of Western militaries. These discourses are drawn upon at the expense of discourses sympathetic to the plight of Somalis. These findings not only call into question BBC’s claims of objectivity, but also highlight the fact that stories do not promote conditions suitable for an end to piracy.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journalism Practice 12th March, 2013 available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2013.778606
Keywords:	BBC; critical discourse analysis; legitimation; pirates; Somalia; website
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Creative Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities
Depositing User:	Lyndon Way
Date Deposited:	28 Sep 2017 15:41
Last Modified:	13 Nov 2024 10:25
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/2163

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