Attitude of International Media Outlets, Reuters, Bloomberg and Financial Times about Iran Oil Industry in Post Sanction ERA

Subject Areas : Media Management

Pooya Nematolahi ¹ , Behrooz Kavehie ² , Alireza Soltani ³

1 - Ph.D. student of Social Communication Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
2 - Assistant Professor, Faculty Member of the Organization for Assessment of Education, Tehran, Iran
3 - Assistant Professor, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2017-06-05 Accepted : 2017-09-03 Published : 2017-11-22

Keywords: media, Oil Sanctions, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Ac, Post-JCPOA, Reuters, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Iran’s Oil Industry,

Abstract :

Iran’s petroleum industry has been one of the main targets of the sanctions. The same sector also was the pioneer and made the greatest gains after the easing of international restrictions. One of the key variables that influenced and paved the way for either imposition or removal of the sanctions was the role of International mass media. As a matter of fact, the media streams did play a key role in the success of the sanctions during imposed sanctions. In the post-sanctions setting, the same media did set the ground for implementation of the articles of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) especially with regard to the oil sanctions on Iran. The present article considers the role of three leading international media outlets, namely Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg and Financial Times, regarding the sanctions on Iran’s oil industry in two settings: Prior to the JCPOA implementation and after it. For the purposes of the study, all the news releases of these agencies regarding Iran’s oil industry and sanctions from the beginning of 2012 through the first quarter of 2016 were meticulously studied.The result of the studies indicated that Reuters and Bloomberg did in fact change their standing with regard to Iran’s oil industry and the sanctions before and after the JCPOA implementation. The results showed that the two media outlets changed their attitudes for coverage of the related news from negative to more positive and more supportive attitudes through the two settings. However, the Financial Times, based on the content it has published during the two periods, did not change its attitude towards Iran’s oil industry and the sanctions, and maintained its nonchalant, unmoved, and skeptical stance towards the issue throughout the two settings.