Eranfeno Gizachew Nemomsa, Gemeda Agaredech Jemaneh, Bamano Abdissa Zerai
PhD Candidate in Media and Communications Studies at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Assistant Professor at the School of Journalism and Communications, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Heliyon. 2024 Feb 10;10(4):e25641. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25641. eCollection 2024 Feb 29.
This study explores how the political interests of different ethnic groups influence mainstream televisions' news discourses in Ethiopia. It was based on data generated from a corpus of 1167 news stories in three TV channels from 2019 to 2021 and analyzed stories threatening multiculturalism. Based on the theoretical lenses of critical theory, it employed a Discourse Historical Approach to analyze discursive strategies used in TV news. It underscores that in a diverse society like Ethiopia, achieving public consensus through news discourse might become tougher. The results also show that recent political polarization, conflicts, and civil wars have potentially compromised the objectivity of news reporting, undermining the utilization of inclusive language for representing diversity. Newsrooms employ antagonistic narratives that impede the cultivation of tolerance and respect among diverse ethnic and political factions. Consequently, these narratives cunningly neutralize the political undertones of ethnic conflicts by labeling the culprits as terrorists. Hostile mode of discourse perilous to the enactment of multiculturalism characterizes the news discourses in TV channels. While discussing political conflicts and insecurities, the news stories intensify divisions among diverse political groups. Therefore, the study suggests that news reporting in a diverse society ought to focus on peace bargaining, the use of impartial and inoffensive discourses to lay the groundwork for multicultural integration.
本研究探讨了埃塞俄比亚不同族群的政治利益如何影响主流电视台的新闻话语。该研究基于2019年至2021年三个电视频道1167篇新闻报道语料库生成的数据，并分析了威胁多元文化主义的报道。基于批判理论的理论视角，该研究采用话语历史分析法来分析电视新闻中使用的话语策略。研究强调，在埃塞俄比亚这样一个多元化的社会中，通过新闻话语达成公众共识可能会变得更加困难。研究结果还表明，近期的政治两极分化、冲突和内战可能损害了新闻报道的客观性，破坏了使用包容性语言来呈现多样性的情况。新闻编辑室采用了对立的叙事方式，阻碍了不同族群和政治派别之间宽容和尊重的培养。因此，这些叙事巧妙地通过将罪魁祸首贴上恐怖分子的标签来消除族群冲突的政治意味。电视频道的新闻话语具有对多元文化主义的实施构成危险的敌对话语模式。在讨论政治冲突和不安全问题时，新闻报道加剧了不同政治团体之间的分歧。因此，该研究建议，多元化社会中的新闻报道应侧重于和平谈判，使用公正和无冒犯性的话语为多元文化融合奠定基础。
