Making Sense of Aljazeera¡¯s Televised News: A Schema Theory Perspective

NAjib Slimani

Studies in Media and Communication, 2016, vol. 4, issue 1, 21-29

Abstract: Realizing that there exists a definite dearth of information on how English televised news discourse is processed by non-native viewers, I seek to examine how Moroccan viewers make sense of Aljazeera 24-hour English (henceforth Aljazeera) news discourse in terms of comprehension and recall. In light of schema theory research (Carrell, 1981; 1983; Hoijer, 1987; 1989; 1991; Kintsch, 1989), I designed pre-, while- and post-viewing tasks to explore the extent to which Moroccan viewers¡¯ linguistic and extra-linguistic prior knowledge mediate their processing of Aljazeera¡¯s televised news content. This study reveals that viewer-bound parameters, namely relevant-topic knowledge, linguistic literacy and familiarity with televised news formats, truly mold the way non-natives process authentic English news discourse.

Keywords: Aljazeera news; background knowledge; moroccan viewers; schema theory; interpretation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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