Abstract

This study is an attempt to evaluate and check that how Muslims and Islam are represented /portrayed in western media through in the light of the relationship between Culture, belief, language, religion, ways of life and ideology. For finding that, headlines of larger circulated print media of the west the Independent, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, were selected w-e-f January2016 to December 2017 and Muslim and Islam representation was studied. This study explores the image of Muslims and Islam in Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun times Newspapers selected news headlines during the period 2016 to 2017. And found that the overall coverage regarding Muslims and Islam remain Negative in both newspapers. It is based on hypothesis that “the overall ratios of unfavorable coverage about Muslims and Islam would be greater than favorable coverage in Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun times” and tested through content analysis and two communication theories and media framing theory is applied. 200news items published regarding Muslims and Islam during proposed period of study in both newspapers in which in Chicago Sun times the result was (31 % coverage remained Positive 61 % remained Negative and 8 % remained Neutral) and in Chicago Tribune Positive (37 % coverage remained Positive 56 % remained Negative and 7 % news items were Neutral).The above mentioned analysis proved that Muslims and Islam are represented negatively and it proved that the western media presents a bad image of Muslims

Key Words:

Muslims, Islam, Ideology, Stereotype, Islamophobia, Ideology, Media

Introduction

Media plays a very important role in shaping public opinion, attract people to a specific issue and mould /construct their opinion regarding different societies, those nations which media is strong can easily change the public opinion and different nations use this as a tool against their enemy etc. During the past this has been seen like in the magic bullet theory, framing theory and cultivation theory the theorists had proved that media has positive and negative effects on society and different nations use these effects either positive or negative against different nations.

Media organizations target the human by its different aspects of life like religion, culture etc. and then present/construct a shape of the society in the media to the world, those nations which media is strong can easily mould the opinion of other nations regarding their lifestyle, religion and culture a can easily present them according to their own sweet well.

This is the case with Pakistani society the west has strong media they have command and control over the media of the poor and technologically weak countries, they have their vested interests they present the good and soft image in the society and once their interests complete the present Pakistani nations as terrorists, extremists etc.

Keeping in mind this the media conglomerates also has a role and they also have their vested interests; the wars and politics are currently decided /fought through media.

Currently most of the western media which is economically very strong is busy in presenting the rough/bad image of the Muslims and Islam and perhaps they have prepared a bad image of Islam /Muslims that the western feel fear from Muslims and they feel themselves as unsafe. The western media has adopted the cultivation theory against Muslims and Islam and almost all of the channels present the Muslims bad nature according their policy.

After the 9/11 accident the show Muslims of the world as terrorists, extremists and violence creator people and based on that sympathy of the western nations they attacked Afghanistan, Iraq Libya, Syria and Vietnam, while the other important things like the political, social, economic, and food security were forgotten and nations were controlled. It indeed has created lots of difference between the west and the Muslims. After the 9/11 most of the western media covered the Afghan and Iraq attacks showing Muslims as terrorists, during that period whatever their stories were the headlines were stereotyped, the language and images that the media presented to the world create perceptions of collective Muslims identity as terrorists. 

Media studies also shows that post-9/11, the media of West remainedan important part in preparing a category of Muslims as homogeneous “terrorist” group, and they have layed the foundation of Islamophobia (e.g., Alghamdi, 2015; Drury, 2010; Eid& Khan, 2011; Ishak&Solihin, 2012; Kabir, 2007; Perigoe&Eid, 2014; Terzis, 2014). While there are some attempts to present an objective portrayal of Muslims, “the dominant portrayals tend to be negative” (Eid, 2014: 99). And due to the powerful western mass media some of these ideas about the Muslims and Islam are imposed on western people by the News professionals the reporters, anchors and news editors who covering  the Muslims and Islam related stories even know nothing or having very little knowledge about Islam and Muslims  and In most cases they mixed up local traditions of some Muslims societies with Islamic values, Thus, the western media created an erroneous image of Islam and use it to create the Collective cognition of the Western societies, which in turn adopted it as a reference to conceive Islam.“So this is the way which the western societies have adopted and the cultures have been divided in parts. 

History of West and Islam

The history of west and Islam shows that the relations between the West and Islam remain twisting and also keeping in mind the current situation the situation is very similar even to critically summaries the Western view about Islam, especially in Europe, we need to go back to early Church time during that period of time Islam was considered as the opposite religion to the Christianity religion and presenting the fear of an impending invasion by the foreign force. So it is quite clear that the western media clearly give attention to the religion 

Now the Chicago print media will be compared which are “Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times” in light of our research study their presentation of Islam and Muslims in Chicago print media.

Problem Statement

According to the previous studies of many well-known Western scholars and renowned Western media the Muslims are terrorists, extremist and fundamentalists and consider Islam as religion of terror group and they feel fear from Muslims and Islam. After the 9/11 attacks Muslims are presented as savage nation in the western media. The current study will show that how the Chicago Press media (Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times) represents the image of Muslims and Islam.

Significance of the Study

After completing this research, I will be able to know that how the Chicago print media the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times representing and portraying the image of Muslims and Islamto the west and rest of the world. This research analysis will also be fruitful for the upcoming researchers who want to conduct a research or getting know how about the representation of Muslims and Islam in Chicago print media.  

Objective of the Study

The aims and objective of this study is to analyze the representation of Muslims and Islam by the renowned Chicago newspapers “Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times”. By this attempt and study analysis we will prove and understand that how the Chicago print media represents Muslims and Islam in their covering stories using selected stories headlines methodology.

Limitation of the Study

Chicago is enriched in media and there are all forms of media available which is working in Chicago the different forms are like Print, electronic and online. I have selected the two powerful media groups the Sun Times group and tribune group then I selected the print media of the said media groups the “Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times”. Online editions for the research study because the limited time is 3 months duration for this study.

Literature Reviews

According to Jeremy Tunstall ?The media are Americans.

Media studies also highlight thatpost-9/11, the media of West remained an important part in preparing a category ofMuslims as homogeneous “terrorist” group, and they have laid the foundation of Islamophobia (e.g., Alghamdi, 2015; Drury, 2010; Eid& Khan, 2011; Ishak&Solihin, 2012; Kabir, 2007; Perigoe&Eid, 2014; Terzis, 2014). While there are some attempts to present an objective portrayal of Muslims, “the dominant portrayals tend to be negative” (Eid, 2014: 99).

It has the evident that American mass media have an important role in creating awareness amongst the masses and in shaping the opinion of public and influencing government decision-making (Shoemaker and Reese, Graber, and Cohen,).

Many of the previous studies has proved /suggested that American audience are interested in events and issues in the United States (Rubin,). And due to this interest in the international affairs and dealings, American print media mostly presents those foreign news items that have violence or are most dramatic (Rosenblum, 1979). Graber says that conflict, violence, disaster and familiar persons are the main criteria for international coverage in western mass media.

By Said, Islam is repeatedly compared with fundamentalism, which is created in the minds of western minds by the US policy makers. Said sated that Islam is misrepresented and facts are presented about Islam in the Western media which is an example of cultural differences. Said argued that representation of Islam in the western media is generally based on stereotyping and spiteful type of generalities. By his study Said observes that the Western media portray/ represent Islam as a religion of sadistic and reproachful for individuals and different civilization.

The coverage of Muslims in the print media was analyzed by Justin Lewis w-e-f 2000-2008 and he has continuously monitored that how Muslims are portrayed/ represented by the print media, Lewis argues thatas Muslims are represented, discussed or talked about in the press is clearly negative. So, it seems to be terrorism, and it is the actual clash between Christianity and Islam. And it is the presentation of Islam as an extreme religion.

There is a dominant opposite religion view against Muslims and Islam between themany societies, but the most dangerous social and political relationships being witnessed in the USA (Powell, 2011)

Numerous scholars across disciplines have investigated media representation of Muslims and Islam through various lenses of analytical inquiry and across varying geo-political contexts, which include: North America (Ibrahim, 2010; Kumar, 2010; Said, 1978, 1980; Shaheen, 2009), Europe (Ehrkamp, 2010; Poole, 2002), Asia (Ahmed, 2010, 2012; Green, 2013), Latin America (Ahlin and Carler, 2011) and Oceanian countries (Ewart, 2012; Kabir, 2010, 2011; Patil, 2015).

Theoretical Frame Work

For finding out the results of representation of Muslims and Islam different researchers selected and used different theories in different occasions keeping in mind their research requirements. There should be a difference in nature in different theories for the research studies; my selection is framing theory, which means the framing of these newspapers and to find out that how these newspapers have framed the news stories about Muslims and Islam in Chicago print media so the selected theory will be framing theory which helps our research study. And the methodology used in this study is quantitative analysis in the content analysis.

Agenda Setting / Framing Theory

The Agenda Setting theory and its function in the Mass Media was first presented by Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw in 1972 in showing that how the Public Opinion is framed by the media. Both suggested that the agenda for the public sets by the media, and will adopt the method that they will control your thinking and will tell you what to think about and you can’t think by yourself in the presence of media framing. In choosing and displaying news, the editors, broadcasters, reporters and newsroom staff play an important part in shaping and presenting political reality. In framing the readers of the news not only learn about the given issue, but they are attached to feel that how much importance is given to in a news story and in which position it was presented.So in a media campaign the mass media will decide the importance of an issue and media will set the agenda of the campaign. 

Framing

Mainidea of framing is mostly in relevance with the agenda-setting tradition but it further expands the research having focus on the essence of the issues discussed rather than on a selected topic. The framing theory base is that media give focus/ attention to certain events, issue and then place it within a field of meaning. As the framing have a greater influence therefore the concept of framing is expanded to organizations as well. In the frame which is the essence of the theory states that howan issue or newsis presented to the audience which influences the choices people how to process that information. Frames organize or structurethe meaning of message. The most widely uses of frames are in terms of the frame the news or media place the information they wish to convey and they are thinking to frame/ influence the perceptions of news by the audience,when media adopt this methodology then it could be construed as a form of second level the agenda-setting the media as per agenda setting theory tell the audience what to think about, they also told them how to think about which is called the (second level of agenda setting, the framing theory).

In many ways framing is much closed to agenda setting theory because both focus on how media draws the public opinion and increased the public interest to specific topics and this is the way they set the agenda. While framing is a step further in the way in which the news is presented to the audience and creates a frame for the information. For the journalists this is a conscious choiceand in this case the frame refers to the way in which media perform the work as gatekeepers and organize and present thetopics, events and ideas that they cover.

Research Question

Q.1 What impact has western media had on the Muslim world?

Q.2 Did the western media be held responsible for propagating Islamophobia?

Q.3 How has the media treated Islam since the event of 9/11?

Q.4 How is Islam represented in western media?

Research Methodology

The study is based on content analysis of the newspapers Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times Stories that how they are representing Muslims and Islamand what kind of image they are developing in the western society, using content analysis methodology the published stories of these newspapers analyzed and comparedthat how much space they are giving to Muslims and Islam related issues and how they are treating the  issues relating to Muslims and Islam , moreover the main points are the overview of the story that how they have framed the story,and the level that the Muslims and Islam related biased extent in which the item shaped the opposite portrayal of the different religions or inclusion, and to check that how the minority news or voices are presented.

For the analysis 200 news items related to Muslims and Islam were selected from the online available search engines of both newspapers for analysis from the newspapers “Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times” these are mainly the headlines of the stories and articles of both newspapers which shows the representation of Muslims and Islam. 

Population

The studies focus is the Chicago influential media conglomerates the Tribune and Sun Times print media “Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times” Which are published in English version having and having incredible circulation ratio both are renowned Chicago newspapers and both have their online editions and.

Sampling

The study sample is the online news materials selected from the headlines of news stories of Newspapers Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times and data related to Islam and Muslims is selected for analysis. The sample size is 200 newsitems of both newspapers the main focus during the selection of news items was news relating to Muslims and Islam in a specific period 2016 to 2017.

Units of Analysis

The unit of analysis of the research is that how the newspapers Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times covered the stories related to Muslims and Islam and what was their policy regarding Islam and Islamophobia and to find out that how they are molding public opinion.

Coding Procedure

Coding procedure has been divided in three categories namely (positive in favor), negative (against) and neutral (no comments) of the news regarding Islam and Muslims. Top latest hundred stories of each newspaper have been selected from the search engines, for the comparison and analysis between news stories of the newspapers. The selected categories for the news are divided in three that are positive, negative and neutral and the selection of news to a specific category is based on the storycoverage that how the story is presented, the headlines, the representation of Muslims and Islam, what kind of language has been used, what is the main aim of the news writer, what kind of policy of newspaper is reflecting from the news regarding Muslims and Islam. After this coding procedure the further evaluation and analysishas been done. 

Positive

Positive Codingmeans that how much positive image of MuslimsandIslam is presented/ portrayed in newspapers Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times. That news is selected as Positive in which the selected newspapers represented Muslimsand Islam in the way which should enhanced the knowledge of readers about Muslims their sociopolitical importance and teachings of Islam and to boost and encourage positive thinking regarding Muslims and Islam. And to play its role to remove the distance between Muslims and Europe in the way that they will not treat Muslims as terrorists, extremists, in positive news they should present Islam as a religion the lifestyle, the politics, and language etc. and all these should not be connected with each other. And this type of reporting is called unbiased reporting.

Negative

Negative coding means that both news newspapers have presented Muslims and Islam how much negatively in their news items? And how many words which create hatred likeextremist, terrorist, and fundamentalist are used against Muslims and Islam in the selected newspapers of Chicago print media? The negative are those news items that which been negatively presenting Muslims and create a difference between the west and the Muslims and they should treat Muslims as their enemy, and treat Islam as always against Christianity. And this type of reporting is clearly called the biased reporting.

Neutral

In the selected data the neutral news items are those which are neither positive nor negative, and are especially not creating any kind of problems which reflects the religious hatred.  Neutral news items rarely engage in discussion ofMuslimsand Islam. In the neutral cases the newspapers are on the unbiased position.

Limitations

Although both newspapers are online but the access to all online editions, features, articles and news items is impossible therefore for this study just 200 news items from both newspapers are selected which includes the stories of Muslims and Islam and are available in the search engines/website of both newspapers. 







Data Analysis Percentage of Negative News Items on Islam and Muslims in Both Newspapers

Both newspapers reporting styles are quite different from each other and both newspapers have adopted different approaches in covering the stories regarding Muslims and Islam the main difference between the two were the headlines the Chicago Sun times used mostly hatred words, reader’s attractive headlines against Muslims and Islam. And they have given most coverage to the Muslim hatred stories as compared to Chicago Tribune. The percentage of covered news stories/ news items of both newspapers reflect that Chicago Sun Times Positive 31 % Negative 61 % Neutral 8 %. And the Chicago Tribune Positive 37 % Negative 56 % Neutral 7 % which clearly shows that Chicago Tribune is more positive than Chicago Sun Times in their reporting/ portrayal of Muslims and Islam related issues. 

The percentage wise detail of Chicago Tribune newspaper is as under 

37 % Positive news items 56 % Negative news items and 7% Neutral news items

For the pie chart the color scheme is:

? Red: Negative

? Blue: Positive

? Green: Neutral 

So, the pie chart clearly shows that Chicago Tribune newspaper is more positive representing Muslims and Islam related news reporting.  37 % positive news items represented Muslims and Islam in their news stories. The negative news items are 56 % and the neutral news stories percentage related to Muslims and Islam is 7 %.

From the Analyzed Date the Percentage of Positive, Negative and Neutral News Stories in Chicago Sun Times Newspaper is as Under

31 % Positive news items 61 % Negative news items and 8 % Neutral news items

For the pie chart the color scheme is:

? Red: Negative

? Blue: Positive

? Green: Neutral 

The Pie Chart shows that Chicago Sun Times newspaper paper is more negative as compare to The Chicago Tribune newspaper regarding the coverage of Muslims and Islam related news reporting and almost 61 % negative news were presented in the stories related to Muslims and in the covered stories. The Chicago Sun Times newspaper is 31% positive in the coverage relating to Muslim and Islam news stories. Just 8 % stories were neutral

Discussions

It is notable that the Chicago sun Times and Chicago tribune both have covered the stories keeping in mind the western authorities present day requirement and their news stories clearly reflecting the policies of the administration as both newspapers covered Muslims and Islam negatively, while the coverage of the positive news stories remain at the lower side because they presented Muslims as terrorists, extremists and fundamentalists while in some of the analyzed news items they have used inflammatory words and harsh language about Muslims and Islam which creates a fear in mind of their readers . The main targets of the reporters were the linkage of different stories like terrorist attacks, women issues, child labor and extremism with Muslims.

As the west is technologically strong and they presented the image of Muslims in their stories as the poorest, health worse condition lack of infrastructure, no natural resources, poor political conditions etc. And showing Muslims as terrorists and freedom fighters to control and rule over the world and present them as a danger for the rest of the world. And they mostly highlighted the policies of the government related to Muslim as to create an acceptance for the public. During the analysis it has been noted in both of the newspapers news items that most of the news stories have reported against Muslims and Islam and they have intentionally created hatred and fear in the mind of western people. Beside these fear and hater created information it has been noted that there were some positive news items about the Muslims and Islam, the teachings of Islam and Islamic ideology and the solidarity with Muslims of the world and the better representation of Islamic religion was presented in the news stories. As some of the reporters prepared stories presenting good image of Muslims but quote the good policies of the west due to which the Muslims are becoming good.

Some negative Articles

Roger Simon

In the selected news headline the Ben Carson suggested that Muslims cannot be trusted and the religion of Islam is not fit with the Americans realm while Islam is not consistent with American constitution therefore, he did not want a Muslim in the White House.

The Religious Leaders in Chicago Speak out against the Treatment against them

Chicago religious leaders condemned the anti-Muslims discrimination and irreligious treatment in the country after terrorist attacks in the country of Paris. The religious leaders stated that discriminatory action may be stopped against all religious community members. Not to link any kind of aggression with Muslims and to stop the hatred creation between Muslims and the rest. 

The Muslim Groups of Chicago Should keep their Youth Safe from ISIS

The Chicago-area Muslim groups should take steps to keep their children safe from the terrorist organizations like ISIS who are engaged in recruiting the Muslim children online and using social media. It clearly suggests that these terrorist organizations belong to Muslims and their staff is Muslim.

Trump Agenda is Quite Clear Against Muslim Countries

Until the review was completed Donald Trump called for an immediate ban on travelers from six Muslim countries, creating uncertainty in the United States and the Muslim world.

Maher Tired of from the Denial of Islamic Militancy

Maher told that many of Muslims support the attack like and stated that I am a proud liberal, and this kind of activities should be stopped which creates allots of differences between the nations and linked that most of the Muslims are involved in these kinds of activities his speech has been given numerous coverages because it reflects the Islamic aggression.  

Leave our Children Alone!  Message for ISIS Chief from Alleged Terrorist Mom 

In the story the mother of a teenager mentioned that his son has been recruited by ISIS in Syria and many others are also engaged in terrorist activities and demanded that that his son and other should be leave alone, from the message it is clear that Muslims and ISIS is involved in terrorist activities and Muslims are supporting these terrorist groups. 

Blasphemy Laws are not Acceptable and must be Abolished

This news is about, according to the Pew Research Center this law is not found in majority of the Muslim countries  and this is a criminal law and it control the things like conversion from Islam. And they suggested that this law should be abolished and called it against the human rights and non-other than Muslim scholars should work for this, this news item clearly shows that western are clearly against Muslims and Islam and they want to abolish any law which is against the interests of the west and they wants that conversion from Islam to other religion should become easy . 

Fanaticism, not Poverty, Drives Islamist Terrorism

“In the global summit of more than 60 nations held at Washington ended after three days on the subject counting violent extremism but unfortunately everyone called the subject as Islamic terrorism and terrorism was closely linked with Muslims and Islam.  

Opinion

And in the news story the writer mentioned that according the president Obama the fight should not be considered against the Muslims and Islam, and this story shows that this fight is not against fundamentalist, terrorists etc. but it is against Islamism and all those countries which are in crises or have bad relations with the west and they consider it as dangerous for the humanity are Muslims, clearly the names are mentioned as Al-Qaida etc.

While Obama in his speech also acknowledged that anti-Western sentiment is also exists in Muslim societies that is due to the policies and of west and the actions that they have taken against the Muslims and Muslim countries.  

The Information Regarding the Islamic State and the Islamic Organizations like ISIS and ISIL

This news story is the explanation of the Islamic state and the Islamic organizations and the quotes are from the American Journalist according to him.

 First, he defines the Islamic state an ISIS the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) while the ISIL the Islamic State of Iraq which is a Sunni militant group in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The writer stated that these two groups in Syria and Iraq are engaged in activities and fights with US. Both organizations were presented in the shape that a fear is created amongst the westerns from Muslims as well as from Islam. 

The Biography of SULTAN Salah Uddin Ayyubi and his Powers During Crusades

In his story the writer said that Sultan salah uddin was not the builder of an empire but he was just a unifier of Islamic people further he stated that biography of salah huddin ayubi is not correct. And the writer is totally against the all-time great leaders of the Muslims and his great success.

This News Item is about Freedom of Speech and Bigotry

In the US constitution everybody has freedom of speech but there is a part which is that there will be no establishment of religion. So, allots of problems begins with this and the minority issues and issues of other religions are greatly suffered.   In this news item the Islam related issues are discussed like cartoon issue etc.

Truck Attacks Issue

This news is about the truck attack in Berlin on a Christmas market the terrorist activity, and later on news has been linked with terrorism and terrorist groups and Islam related hatred has been created in the minds of common people.  

Positive Articles

This is a Great News Item about the Understanding of Islam

In this news story the holy Quran, prayers and different surah’s   and the Islamic scholar’s discussions are included. The meanings and understandings of different surah’s of Quran are discussed to present Islam in a very good and positive manner.

Ramadan (whenever it begins) Brings not just Fasting but also Charity

This news story is about the importance of Ramadan.

This News is about the Western People Solidarity with Muslims

In the news the professor stated that she loves her Muslim neighbor because they deserve it due to virtue of human dignity, and clearly stated that there is no difference between the Muslims and non-Muslims we love each other and we also we worship the same God.  

This News is about the 54Th ISNA Convention in which US Muslims were Gathered

The news is about the Islamic society in which round about 200 speakers participated, this is the largest convention of Muslims and round about 2500 mosques representatives were present over there. This clearly shows the importance of Muslims and Islam, their unity peaceful atmosphere and love for the religion and country.  

Muslim Group Launch ‘Learn Islam from its Source’ Campaign, to Educate about True Islam

(Chicago, IL, 06/23/2017) - On June 21, 2017, Gain Peace, a Muslim group based in Chicago, launched an eight-week campaign designed to educate Americans about the true teachings of Islam. The campaign's purpose is to invite fellow Americans to learn Islam from its source, the Quran, and not from unreliable sources, social media, or fake news. Muslims consider the Quran, to be the main and primary source of true teachings for Islam.

Muslims and Christians Dinner During Ramadan

In this news story the Muslim and Catholic eat dinner together during Ramadan which reflects

 the solidarity between both religion people with each other and they have respected the iftar of Muslims. 

Against the Orders of Trump Thousands of People Gathered for Solidarity with Muslims

 In this news the writer stated that western is fully supporting the Muslims and are against the travel ban of Muslims and for solidarity with Muslims they were all together. These kinds of news greatly support the relation between Muslims and the Americans because all the harsh laws and rules are implemented with the support of the common people and if they are against it then the implementation of these laws become impossible for the authorities. 

Conclusion

The Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times newspapers are not the best presenters of Muslims and Islam and their news are problem creators between the Muslim and the west and due to their coverage, the differences between Muslims and the west increased day by day. According to the analyzed data and study a lot of difference has been created/ constructed amongst Muslims of the world and Chicago community. Journalists are shaped by their social environmental and the negative framing journalists are openly writing against Muslims and Islam. And they presented a picture of Muslim and Islam which is clearly creating the distance between Islam and the rest and this ideology is becoming dangerous with the passage of time, the new generation consider each other as enemy while the writers target the Muslims in the western media as great danger for the humanity, thus difference is quite dangerous. During the study it has been observed that both newspapers have framed the negative stories related Muslims and Islam and Muslims are presented as a threat for the humanity, and different terrorist groups are linked with Muslims, and most of the stories have negative contents which is creating differences between west and Muslims and proving Muslims as terrorist. While in the stories related to terrorism, extremism and Muslim related issues has been pointed out in the front pages of the newspapers these negative stories create negative impressions both on Muslims and the western because the hatred will be developed from both sides and at a stage, they will not accept each other. Both the newspapers have constructed some positive news also with great care to present Chicago Muslims in positive manner in their positive stories unfortunately the main theme of both newspapers positive stories is same, and those stories are constructed in the shape that they don’t have everlasting effects. The study clearly shows that both newspapers framed the stories against Muslims and Islam and the smaller events are highlighted a great deal while the good and positive stories regarding Muslim were not given that much coverage moreover the language used against them is quiet un acceptable, the neutral stories were very less in the counting and the percentage shows that most of the neutral stories are 7 to8 percent while the percentage of the against stories is at the higher side. In most cases the Muslims culture, politics and life style has been targeted in the negative portrayal but for the good journalism practice and to better serve the society media has to play its unbiased role. 

Recommendations /Suggestions 

As media is called the fourth pillar of the state and Media frames the public opinion according to their sweet well and changing public thinking in respect to their own policies. After 9/11 to onward the western Media shows Muslims as terrorist, extremist and fundamentalist and creating terror and hatred amongst its readers regarding Muslims and Islam. But the main reason behind the scene is That some personal interests of the western policy makers and media conglomerates wants to prove Muslims as complicated, terrorist, extremists and fundamentalist nation and Islam as a threat for the rest of the religions, but it is notable that all Muslims are not sharing the same equal values like culture, tradition, politics, and living standards etc. Islam is the religion of peace and love and Muslims always have peaceful relations with others either they are Muslims or non-muslins. 

But as religion of peace and love western media have framed Islam as religion of terror and different terrorist groups are linked with Muslims and Islam which is quite wrong because the Muslim nations are also the main victims of terrorist activities and as a religion Islam’s main mission is peace and prosperity and extremism is not allowed in Islam, in Islam all human beings are equal. As a nation most of the Muslims are facing terrorism and it’s the duty of western media to accept the sacrifices of Muslims against terrorism.

So it is recommended that as the western media is technologically strong, having largest resources and worldwide acceptance it’s their responsibility to eliminate the difference between the Muslims and the rest and for the said purpose they should have to study the Muslims and Islam and the teaching of Islam and avoiding stereotyping and present balanced and unbiased news stories, which will show them the clear picture of Islamic society the peace love and respect. 

References

• http://chicago.suntimes.com/?s=2012 editorials
• http://www.chicagotribune.com/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun-Times_Media_Group
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribune_Media
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_in_Chicago
• http://www.rachaelpr.com/media-list
• http://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-overview/
• http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/pages.php?pID=102
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• http://www.gainpeace.com/index.php?option=com_content
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