ISIS Media Monitoring Document

Media Monitoring Sample Table for IS/ISIS/ISIL in Syria:

DATE

Outlet

Positive Negative

Neutral

Themes

Number of
sources

Length

Placement

Summary report
Introduction:
It seems that throughout my lifetime there has been a common thread of incidents related to the
Middle East. Most recently, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or even shorter IS (Islamic
State) has been headlining many newspapers. For this summary analysis, I chose to monitor the
Chronicle Herald and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for articles based on the IS in
Syria.
Quantity of coverage:
Over the course of about three weeks (from July 8 to July 27, 2015), there were 15 articles that
were retrieved for this media monitoring exercise. Two of the articles came from the Chronicle
Herald, and the rest were from BBC. There could be several reasons why there werent many
results from the Chronicle Herald. For instance, it seems that the Chronicle Herald may publish
more articles via print newspaper than online, and of course the only way to have access to all
the Chronicle Herald articles online was to pay for a subscription. On the other hand, BBC
published a lot more articles during that period, with July 26 being the highest count for articles
within that same period. In that sense, BBC being a European and an international publication
would have a larger audience towards the situation unfolding with IS in Syria and the
surrounding countries that are being affected. As such, this topic did generate enough interest
seeing that throughout the 19-day period, I was monitoring these two publications, there were 15
articles published on this specific topic within the pre-determined time frame.
Quality:
In terms of quality, there was definitely differentiation between the Chronicle Herald and the
BBC. For instance, since the Chronicle Herald articles were opinion-based, there were no quotes;
however each article highlighted many different situations, which also included decisions made
by the Harper government, and as such, the author could have easy implemented quotes from
other articles and/or individuals to further illustrate his point. On that note, each of the Chronicle
Herald articles were between 700 and 800 words so the authors did fully explain their views on

the specific situations at hand which involved the IS and their actions within Syria. Furthermore,
both articles were to the point and didnt have any grammatical or spelling errors.
In regards to the BBC articles, the length of the articles ranged from 300 words to 960 words
depending on the article topics. Some of the articles went into more background than others,
because either the audience needed a reminder about all the facts involved with a specific
situation, or the audience needed additional information to understand the subject matter.
Furthermore, for several of the articles, both sides of subject matter were presented and thus
quotes were procured as well. In some cases, there were analyses within the articles from
different journalist correspondents and that brought the articles some opinionated matter into the
mix as well. Did these additions make the articles less credible; I dont believe so, because the
individuals who were including their own opinions into the articles had the expertise and
experience to do so. Overall, apart from the Donald Trump spin-off, the other BBC articles
presented the facts and situations in an accurate, neutral, and balanced way.
Themes:
There were a few themes within these news articles. To start off, I realize that with any global
problem, politicians and governments will become involved, hence, why David Cameron, other
British politicians, Barack Obama and U.S. politicians, as well as Turkeys Ahmet Davutolu
(prime minister) are all quoted and are also considered subject matter within various BBC
articles. On the other hand, the Chronicle Herald articles also include Stephen Harper and other
politicians who were involved in extending Canadas involvement in the Middle East. Overall,
with this specific topic, politics is a huge contender.
Another theme that cropped up around July 23rd was when Turkey decided to enter the war
against IS in Syria. The PKK or the Kurdistan Workers Party is also involved with this Turkish
theme, because they are an opposition party/force against the Turkish government, however it is
still unclear as to whether they are involved with IS or not. In that sense, BBC concentrated on
what was happening between Turkey and Syria and PKK and they also concentrated on how
other world leaders were involved with Turkey as well. As the situation progressed between
Turkey and IS it seems that there is a trend forming, because it does seem likely that Turkey will
play a part in this war to eliminate ISIS.
Finally, I would like to mention the lack information or subject matter geared towards how the
civilians and individuals involved in IS events is missing within all articles (this is almost like an
invisible theme). Apart from mentioning some of the catastrophes that have impacted Turkish
university students and Syrian civilians, these articles tend to focus on a very factual viewpoint.
In this sense, I believe people would be more impacted to hear how life is for these people, yet
all the audience gets is the amount of casualties caused from ISIS attacks as well as how much
ammunition and equipment was taken by ISIS as well as what other federal governments are
arguing about in regards to this situation. It would be nice to see a human element in these
articles, so people can understand what its like to be living in countries such as Syria or Turkey.
In some ways, the articles try to portray this through pictures and video clips, however most of

the time they just show troops with weapons, or politicians in meetings, and maybe (once in
awhile) demonstrations going on in Turkey; yet the true devastation is not illustrated.
Conclusion:
Overall, the BBC articles listed above do a good job at illustrating the hard cold facts about
whats going on with ISIS in Syria and how this issue involves several different parliaments and
world leaders. The Chronicle Herald articles are opinionated and although they illustrate their
side of the issue well, it would be better to add in quotes and to at least mention some opposing
points that could be made. On that note, it is a shame that the majority of these articles dont
focus on the heart-tugging side of the issue. In the end it all seems like a political whirlwind,
because there will always be two sides that are opposing