Computational Methods in Comparative Media Analysis: Operationalization of Conflict Narrative Research Using the Example of CNN and Al Jazeera

The subject of the research is the application of computational methods in the comparative analysis of media narratives that shape representations of armed conflicts in the global media landscape. The object of the study consists of news materials from the international media outlets CNN and Al Jazeera related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The author analyzes aspects of the topic such as the operationalization of theoretical concepts in media analysis, the comparison of narrative strategies across different media, and the possibilities of scalable analysis of media discourse. Special attention is given to how media not only reflect events but also construct meaning models of conflict through framing, tonality, and attribution of agency. The article examines differences in thematic priorities, emotional coloring, and narrative structure in the materials from the two media systems that represent different political and institutional contexts. It discusses the limitation of traditional qualitative analysis methods when working with large text corpora and the necessity of integrating computational tools into media research. Thus, the study aims to identify persistent narrative differences and to form a reproducible analytical framework for comparative studies of media discourse on conflicts. The methodology of the research is based on a hybrid approach that combines natural language processing methods, thematic modeling, and interpretative analysis using large language models. The main findings of the conducted research reveal systematic differences in the narrative and discursive strategies of CNN and Al Jazeera when covering the same conflict. It has been established that Al Jazeera's materials are characterized by a consistently negative tonal background and an emphasis on the humanitarian dimension of the conflict, while CNN creates a more fragmented narrative alternating between negative and positive plots related to diplomatic events. The novelty of the research lies in the development and testing of a meta-model for comparative media analysis, which combines quantitative computational methods with qualitative interpretation of media texts. A significant contribution of the author is the operationalization of classic theories of media studies through specific NLP metrics and procedures, which enhances the reproducibility and transparency of the analysis. It has been shown that the integration of large language models expands the possibilities for semantic comparison of narratives without losing analytical depth. The conclusion is made regarding the continued influence of institutional factors in media systems on the formation of media reality even in the context of digitalization and automation of analysis.

comparative media analysis, computational hermeneutics, natural language processing, large language models, media narratives, framing, operationalization, meta-model, conflict discourse, media analysis