Creating English as a language of global news contraflow: Al Jazeera at the intersection of language, globalization and journalism

This study examined discourse Al Jazeera news executives, reporters and spokespersons produced during news coverage of the launch of Al Jazeera English in 2006. The study argues that Al Jazeera created meaning for English as a language of global news contraflow in its journalistic effort to balance the western dominance of global news in English. By adopting the news format and language that are most prevalent in the global news sphere and shifting the perspective from which news stories were told to the Global South, Al Jazeera English added new layers of meaning to news in English. The textual analysis using grounded theory provides a model that researchers may use in studying the ways news companies in the Global South use language to reach new audiences. The model contains public service, understandings of audience, and characteristics of journalists as units of analysis as they intersect with language.