Media Bias and “Othering”

Abstract

The persecution of Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar's Rakhine state garnered significant international news coverage. According to normative theory, media in various nations are expected to report on an issue differently due to variations in the socio-political systems. This chapter analyses the news media portrayal of the Rohingya issue in India and Myanmar. These nations have varying degrees of engagement and diverse media systems. This chapter attempts to highlight on the idea of “othering” as it has been seen through the lens of identity politics. Further, this chapter aims to examine how each newspaper handles the Rohingya problem based on the overall message sent in the headlines. Newspapers deliberately craft the phrasing of their headlines. The linguistic structure and ideological perspectives of the two mediums are examined.