Contesting the boundaries of journalism within the media section of Breitbart News

Roberts, Jason 2024. Contesting the boundaries of journalism within the media section of Breitbart News. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

	PDF - Accepted Post-Print Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 13 May 2026 due to copyright restrictions. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (3MB)
	PDF (Cardiff University Electronic Publication Form) Restricted to Repository staff only Download (115kB)

Abstract

Between the years 2015 to 2020, Breitbart News was a key outlet within the conservative media ecology of the United States due to their high levels of support for eventual president Donald Trump. In the wake of Trump’s presidential election, mainstream media outlets who had largely opposed Trump’s election, sought to nullify the emergence of Breitbart and other right-wing alternative media actors by framing them as illegitimate journalistic actors within the field of professional journalism. Drawing on a content analysis of 2174 articles, and using critical discourse analysis, this thesis explores how Breitbart engaged in forms of mainstream media criticism, as both a means of contesting the boundaries of acceptable journalistic practice to legitimise their own journalistic forms, whilst simultaneously delegitimising the journalism of their opponents within the mainstream media. This research identifies who and what Breitbart defined as ‘The Media’, as well as the strategies and techniques they used to define themselves and their journalism in relation to ‘The Media’. By outlining who Breitbart define as ‘The Media’ as well as the strategies and practices that underpin their media criticism, this thesis explores how Breitbart attempted to delegitimise the journalism of opponents, while legitimising their own journalism as well as that of their political allies. In doing so, this research contributes to a more complete understanding of epistemic contests within the field of journalism between alternative and mainstream actors.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > Journalism, Media and Culture
Subjects:	F History United States, Canada, Latin America > F001 United States local history H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	23 May 2025
Date of Acceptance:	13 May 2025
Last Modified:	23 May 2025 13:32
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/177927

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item