Saudi Arabia’s Image in the International Press: News Framing by CNN and the BBC

Objectives: The main goal of the study was to answer the fundamental question of how leading global news websites depicted a non-Western country like Saudi Arabia in their journalistic coverage from January to June 2023. Methods: Drawing upon framing theory, this study employed qualitative content analysis to analyze news texts related to the image of Saudi Arabia. The initial coding began with a literature review to identify the necessary analysis categories for conducting a qualitative content analysis. The analysis was conducted on a purposive sample, covering the period from January to the end of May 2023, with 207 news stories about Saudi Arabia on the websites of CNN and BBC News. Results:. Saudi Arabia was portrayed positively and extensively as a country that supports conflict resolution in the region, cares about the welfare of its society by promoting events and sports activities, and is economically strong in international investment and energy. However, Saudi Arabia was depicted as not respecting human rights and interfering in the affairs of other countries, as reflected in the negative news coverage about Saudi Arabia on the study's websites. Conclusions: This study utilized framing theory and qualitative content analysis to examine how leading news websites framed Saudi Arabia from January to June 2023. While positive narratives emphasized Saudi Arabia's role in conflict resolution, societal welfare, and economic strength, negative narratives highlighted concerns regarding human rights and interference in the affairs of other countries. These results underscore the complexity of media framing and the presentation of diverse perspectives in international journalistic coverage of non-Western countries.