The evolution of Saudi print media discourse on the U.S. after 9/11: A CDA of Al-Jazirah and Asharq Alawsat newspapers

This study employs Critical Discourse Analysis to explore the evolution of Saudi print media discourse on the U.S. between September 11, 2001 and December 30, 2013. In particular, the study investigates how ideological stances and attitudes toward the U.S. during this period are manifested in the discourse of Saudi authors in two newspapers, Al-Jazirah and Asharq Alawsat, and how shifts in the ideological stances are realized discursively. In order to achieve this, the study adopts van Dijk's sociocognitive approach to critical discourse analysis. The study follows a two-dimensional approach that entails identifying the textual features of the text in one dimension, and draws links between these features and their wider historical, sociocultural and political contexts in the other dimension.;The findings of the study indicate that Saudi authors' ideologies about the U.S. are influenced by the historical, sociocultural and political backgrounds surrounding events. Specifically, the analysis reveals the existence of three major themes, depending on the authors' attitudes: 1) discourse during times of peace, 2) discourse during times of tension and 3) discourse impacted by changing U.S. administrations. The analysis also reveals the presence of several subthemes. In general, the longstanding and strong relationship between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. dating back to the first official meeting between the late Saudi King Abdulaziz Al-Saud and President Frank Roosevelt appears to positively influence the ideological standpoints of the majority of authors. However, negative attitudes result from the U.S. foreign policies, especially pertaining to the Arab-Israeli dispute and its involvement in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The analysis also shows that authors' ideologies are influenced by the changing discourse and outlook of different U.S. administrations through the 13 year span. An important finding is Saudi authors in both media venues find their access to media as a means with which they voice a counter-ideology against stereotypical images about Saudi Arabia in some U.S. media. Moreover, despite the different political orientation of Al-Jazirah and Asharq Alawsat, with the first being conservative and the second being liberal, the study does not find significant differences between them in reference to authors' ideologies about the U.S.