The world of U.S. network television news: Eighteen years of international and foreign news coverage

Abstract

This study updates the research on international and foreign news coverage of U.S. network news with a content analysis of almost 10,000 stories from 1972 to 1989. The results suggest that network news has presented a fairly consistent picture of foreign news over time and that there is little difference between the three networks. A minor increase in on-site correspondent reports has occurred over time, and the difference between in-studio and on-site reports is stronger when time, rather than frequency of stories, is the unit of analysis. Finally, foreign coverage is geographically unbalanced and emphasizes disruption more than domestic coverage does.

Our News and their News

“…According to cultural imperialism proponents, the flow is in one direction while, global culture advocates argue, the flow is in several directions (Sreberny-Mohammadi, 1991). Whatever the case, the broad consensus among researchers since the 1980s is that because of developments on the world media map and the growth of new media technologies, a reassessment of foreign news flow is needed (Stevenson and Cole, 1984a;Fenby, 1986;Gonzenbach et al, 1992). Apparently, while news organizations use new technologies to communicate information, they nevertheless tackle foreign news from a local angle (Fenby, 1986).…”

Guest editor's introduction: International news after the Cold War: Continuity or change?

“…She inquires how far and how fast this frame has changed by surveying trends in the coverage of international news on two major networks over the past two decades. This work is a valuable update of previous research on these trends that was conducted before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent changes in Central and Eastern Europe (Gonzenbach et al, 1992;Hester, 1978;Larson, 1984). As expected, Norris finds a significant increase in attention given to international news during the peak period of political change, 1989-1991, followed by a sharp fall in the post-Cold War period.…”

Journalism in the Information Age: A Gift or a Curse: A Case Study of Freedom of the Press in Indonesia

“…2 Agendasetting analysis and foreign policy research have only intermittently crossed paths, however. Public agendasetting scholars have given limited attention to foreign policy (e.g., Gonzenbach 1992;Huegel et al1989;Iyengar and Simon 1993;Wanta and Hu 1993).The foreign policy literature, however, has steered clear of the open-ended public opinion measure central to agenda-setting analysis: "What do you think is the most important problem facing our country today? "…”