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Class, nationalism and news: The BBC’s reporting of Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian revolution

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 15:45 authored by Lee Salter, Dave Weltman
This article analyses BBC News Online’s reporting of the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela, using a sample from a broader selection of 304 articles published on BBC News Online between 1998 and 2008. Against the BBC’s stated commitment to professional values, we find that the BBC’s organizational culture is underpinned by a liberal nationalist worldview, which limits its interpretive capacities. The analysis notes that the liberal nationalism underpinning BBC News Online’s reporting limits the interpretive capacities of journalists. The ideologically dominant national history of Venezuela (the exceptionalism thesis) forms an interpretive framework, which synchs with the BBC’s general conceptualization of the forms and function of a nation state and thus prevents adequate understanding of the present. Consequently, the coverage of contemporary Venezuelan politics masks the underlying class conflict, instead identifying Chavez, who has emerged seemingly from nowhere, as the key agent of political crisis. The BBC’s reliance on a narrative of the disruption of national unity allows it to take sides in the conflict whilst apparently remaining neutral.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics

ISSN

1740-8296

Publisher

Intellect

Issue

3

Volume

7

Page range

253-273

Department affiliated with

  • Media and Film Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2013-09-17

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2013-09-17

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2013-09-17

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