World media is the most powerful political tool in existence. No other institution has the power to reach the general populace as much as the news media. Although domestic news dominates the scene, in any given country, foreign affairs plays an enormous role in world politics, and governments often both use world news to receive information, and send out information. To explore trends in world foreign media, we must first realize that media institutions are overwhelmingly for-profit institutions. (Media owned by a state often promote an agenda rather than profit- but these motivations often coincide with one another.) This means journalists that write these stories are seeking to maintain their audience by writing about the stories most relevant or entertaining to the reader, not necessarily the most significant stories, although these categories often overlap (Graber 2006). Over a period of 2 weeks (October 25th- November 8th, 2010) I’ve researched and studied the criteria that drive these trends of story choice from various news sources.
The first and most important influence on news coverage is that of covering events that directly affect the audience to which they’re writing to. Certain world events affect people differently in each country. Deciding which story and how to cover it often reflects the concerns of that country. We will explore story choice from the People’s Daily News from China, Ha’aretz from Israel, and The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune from the US.
Firstly, I will explain how the Israeli news source upholds Israel’s general agenda as a people. Traditionally, the sentiment of the people of Israel has been to defend its homeland. For its entire existence as a state since 1948, it has been at odds with its Muslim neighbors because of its settlement of the land of their Muslim counterparts. Many have always felt a sense of besiegement by their hostile state neighbors and extremist Islamists. Since these rifts greatly influence their existence as a state, foreign news often competes with domestic greater than in other countries. Over the two weeks I’ve studied this source, foreign events covered in the Middle East had greatly outnumbered any other region in the world. Out of the 41 stories written in foreign news, 26 of them covered events in the Middle East. Not only that, but of the 26, Iran and Yemen dominated the Middle Eastern category. This is because the Israeli people have a large interest in the events in these countries. Iran, whose leader has called for the destruction of Israel and has denied the Holocaust, has been trying to acquire nuclear weapons for some time. This is seen as a huge threat to Israelis, and as long as these stories continue being printed, the Israelis will continue to read them. Yemen has also dominated attention of the newspaper, because of the recent events involving terrorist activities involving mail bombs sent from Yemen to Jewish synagogues in Chicago, which also relates to Israel based on religious connections. Although they didn’t explode or injure anyone, the fear manifested from this will continue to receive attention from Israelis, and the newspapers will respond.
America has received a great deal of attention from Ha’aretz as well. America continues to be Israel’s most important ally in the world, both economically and militarily. Thus, the events unwinding in America indirectly affect Israelis as well, and Israelis will remain interested. Most of the news about America had been primarily domestic, for example, covering the American mid-term elections.
Israeli distrust of Middle Eastern countries is prevalent; the media sensationalizes this through over-reporting and bias. Human rights abuses gain inflated attention in these hostile countries, for example an Iranian woman being hanged in Iran for adultery. Capital punishment happens in many countries, and although hanging isn’t seen as a humane way to kill someone, there are many other countries in the world that commit these human rights abuses. This is done because there is an agenda to cast the Iranian government as an inhumane dictatorship that must be routed from power (which may or may not be true). Another example involves the headline, “Turkey Main Obstacle for NATO Missile Defense System, Diplomats Say”. This casts Turkey (which has had tensions with Israel lately over aid flotillas entering the Gaza Strip) as a country at odds with the rest of the international community. Attempts to undermine entities at odds with Israeli goals are an agenda amongst the Israeli population. This is done in order to make their cause of continued settlement of Palestinian land, as well as military occupation and blockade of Gaza, justified.
Next is China, which has a strong censorship of its news. We will see this force bestowed upon foreign news coverage. News selection and bias is more blatantly seen, as it’s less feeding off of normal Chinese interest in the world, but more the foreign agenda of the Chinese government. Still, world news broadcasted in China does center on how the news would affect the Chinese people. Since China has become a world power both economically and militarily in recent decades, there is sentiment among Chinese elite, especially the government that China is on its way to overtaking the US as a hegemonic superpower. In recent years, tensions among the US and China have greatly increased. This is illustrated in story choice and bias. America has dominated the attention of Chinese foreign news, accounting for 18 of the 46 stories published in the two week window. Increased Chinese influence in the region has been a source of tension between the Chinese and the US and its allies (South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, India). Obama’s tour of visiting allies in the Far East had a large effect on the Chinese press. It received a great deal of attention in story choice, accounting for a story about it almost every day. We must also know that Ha’aretz had paid little attention to Obama’s trip to the East, because of its lack of relevance to them. Also, US interests/threats in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen had received attention as well amongst the Chinese. Bias has been observed as more blatant in the headlines: “Countries Voice Criticism on US human Rights Records”. I am not to speak on whether this may or may not be true, but note that Israel had failed to report this, America being a friendly nation, and China had failed to report the hanging of the Iranian woman. Another example would be “Russia Calls on NATO to Stop Enlargement”. This bias in story choice could cast NATO as a threat to any other non-NATO country. Another topic of bias is the world economy, by which the US accuses China of artificially undervaluing its currency. China has a different perspective: “Geithner’s (US Secretary of Treasury) Focus on ‘Rebalancing’ is Inspecting the Wrong End of the Hose”. This article was about how US economic policy is wrong, which is clearly a contrasting perspective of the rest of the world. We must note that although these stories don’t directly affect Chinese people greatly, it does affect their common mentality as these events do affect their country’s standing in the world.
America is no different in trying to keep world events relevant to their readers through story selection. A vast majority of the foreign news covered involved America directly.
Americans maintain a deep emotional connection to the warzones that are Iraq and Afghanistan. Although America has since ceased a combat role in Iraq, there is still much stake to be had in the countries stability and democracy. Between the Chicago Tribune and New York Times, there has been a consistent share of news from Iraq and Afghanistan in my two week research period, as there had been for the past 9 years. Casualties are often reported based on the region, for example, the Chicago Tribune stated “Afghan blasts kill 2 troops from Illinois” in order to keep the story relevant to their Illinois readers.
As mentioned earlier, America and Israel have one of the closest strategic relationships in the world. This doesn’t only include governments; Jewish Americans make up a significant minority of the population. It is only natural, then, for these American newspapers to cover Israeli affairs and their threats. Iran has gained disproportionate attention from the media from this, mostly involving its nuclear talks program, and oppressive social changes its government bestows upon its people. Again, it is cast in such a way as to relate to American fears of Iran.
The topic that had dominated headlines especially towards the last week of my research window had been Obama’s visit to the Far East. Obama didn’t even visit China, but every single article contained at least one reference to China, whether it is America’s strategy in containing them, or economic cooperation amongst US allies to compete against their economy. A vast majority of Americans remain wary of China, from economic competition to a new assertiveness in power throughout the Far East, and the press responds to these concerns.
Another topic by which journalists draw in readers is by choosing stories that not necessarily affect the reader, but are emotionally powerful, and captivating to read. These usually include natural disasters or dramatic events. These stories are mostly covered equally, for there are usually no political backdrop from which to apply bias. One example of this sensationalism is the Chilean mining disaster and subsequent rescue. Interest was high all over the world, because the story of these miners being trapped underground for a long period of time was equally exciting as it was worrisome. The drama involved, and the success story thereafter is an article any average reader would want to know about regardless of nationality.
The misery that is happening in Haiti was a major topic especially amongst the American press. This was written about more by Americans primarily because of their proximity, US aid going to the country, and historical politico-military involvement. Another natural disaster during this time period had been the lives lost in Indonesia. Although receiving coverage in all sources, China covered it most, because of its proximity and immense investments in infrastructure in the country.
A different topic journalists choose to write about is a change in head of state, or a change in government in general. Coverage of these events, of course, depends on the country holding the election, the significance of the event, and the country whose news source is reporting it. For example, the Chinese and Israeli newspapers had reported in depth on the elections in America. China had also covered elections in Azerbaijan, a close neighbor. The other three sources had failed to make Azerbaijan a headline. But the New York Times had covered the Greek elections, because of its recent inclusion into the European Union, and tough economic woes. Circumstances also affect coverage as illustrated in Myanmar. Myanmar’s dictatorship had received lots of criticism for its handling of a tsunami a few years ago, and has been under the microscope since. Although they are a small and insignificant country in the world stage, they had held elections recently, and this was covered by the Times and the Tribune.
The relationship between leaders, the media, and the people continue to shape the way events are both executed and portrayed around the world. World mass media will continue to influence foreign affairs just as foreign affairs influence mass media. Sensationalism, culture, and politics are always an influence when a journalist writes a story, and their pursuit of a powerful story will continue to reflect the sentiment of each respective nation as a whole.
Sources
Graber, Doris A. 2006. “Foreign Affairs Coverage.” In Doris A. Graber, Mass Media and
American Politics, 7th ed. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, Chapter 11
(pp. 318-359).
“Turkey Main Obstacle for NATO Missile Defense System, Diplomats Say”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/turkey-main-obstacle-for-nato-missile-defense-system-diplomats-say-1.322731
“Iranian Woman to be Hanged Wednesday, Rights Group Says”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/iranian-woman-to-be-hanged-wednesday-rights-group-says-1.322509
“Countries Voice Criticism on US human Rights Records”
“Russia Calls on NATO to Stop Enlargement”.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/09774/90822/1823892.html
“Geithner’s Focus on ‘Rebalancing’ is Inspecting the Wrong End of the Hose”.
“Afghan blasts kill two troops from Illinois”
“Soldier from Plainfield Killed in Afghanistan”
“Strong earthquake hits Kepulauan Mentawai Region, Indonesia
“Indonesia’s Mont Merapi Spews Volcanic Ash Again”
“In India, Obama Courts Corporate America”
“Obama Pointedly Questioned by Students in India”
“Between India and US, a Defining Partnership”
