‘Good’ Battles and ‘Bad’ Battles: a Comparative Analysis of Western Media Coverage of the Battles of Mosul and Aleppo

• Main Author: Gregory Simons
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Publishing House “Belgorod” 2016-12-01
• Series: Tractus Aevorum
• Subjects: media; news management; battle of mosul; battle of aleppo
• Online Access: http://belsu-tractus-aevorum.ru/images/stories/6/03_Simons.pdf

The author examines the coverage of two simultaneously occurring battles, Mosul and Aleppo, in the Western media. Although both battles are intended to be key moments in defeating terrorist organisations, there is a stark contrast in the Western media`s framing of these events. In order to analyse the vast gaps in the coverage of these battles, the lens of news management, which is a means to influence public perception and opinion, is employed to view these two distinct events in Iraq and Syria. The author concludes that news management is applied to the information flows in these events in order to shape public opinion and perception of the battles Mosul and Aleppo—one ‘good’ and the other ‘bad.’