Press Coverage of the Iranian Oil industry Nationalization -1950(A Content Analysis of Daily Bakhtar-e- Emrooz and Be-Sooy-e-Ayandeeh during Four weeks before and after the Event)

This paper analyzes the history of the content of two party newspapers towards the future and the West and their role in the nationalization of the oil industry. In the years of 1320 to 1332 (1941-1953), political parties were active participants and legally authorized to operate in Iran. The political parties were aware of the power of the press, and each of them benefited from the publication of a daily or weekly to advance their goals and purposes. The Iranian National Front under Leadership of Mosadiq and the Tudeh party of Iran were two powerful political forces at thet time. The Tudeh party benefited from popular support and Soviet international politics, and the National Front consisted of a coalition of several small parties that relied on the nationalist spirit of Iranians. In the course of the nationalization of the oil industry, the two parties' publications continuously focused on the nationalization of the oil industry, and propagating anti-British and anti-BP rhetoric. In this research, using a quantitative content analysis method, we analyzed the news content of the nationalization of the oil industry in two newspapers for a period of four weeks before and after the nationalization event in two party dailies, representing the National Front (Bakhtar-e- Emrooz) and the Tudeh Party (Bakhtar-e- Emrooz). The findings of the research showed that the Bakhtar-e- Emrooz newspaper, published more positive news about the future of oil nationalization than the other one.