Debate over media coverage of foreign affairs has been dominated by a range of theoretical positions, here characterized as the 'elite-driven,' 'independent' and 'oppositional' models. In this article, we explore the relative cogency of these theoretical positions in the context of British media coverage of the 2003 Iraq War. We find that coverage generally conformed to the elite-driven model, reinforcing the coalition. Nevertheless, our analysis also provides evidence to support the independent and oppositional models. Regarding casualties and the humanitarian situation, we find significant levels of coverage which support the oppositional model and the notion of event-driven news. Overall, our study points toward a more nuanced understanding of media-state relations than is suggested by the existing elite-driven paradigm.

This essay combines quantitative and qualitative analysis of six UK television news programmes. It seeks to analyse the representation of young people within broadcast news provision at a time when media representations, political discourse and policy making generally appear to be invoking young people as something of a folk devil or a locus for moral panics. The quantitative analysis examines the frequency with which young people appear as main actors across a range of different subjects and analyses the role of young people as news sources. It finds a strong correlation between young people and violent crime. A qualitative analysis of four ''special reports'' or backgrounders on channel Five's Five News explores the representation of young people in more detail, paying attention to contradictions and tensions in the reports, the role of statistics in crime reporting, the role of victims of crime and the tensions between conflicting news frames.

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The 2003 Iraq War was highly controversial in the UK, generating domestic opposition and a widely supported anti-war movement, the Stop the War Coalition. This article assesses the extent to which anti-war protesters were successful at securing positive coverage in the British press immediately before and during the invasion of Iraq. The study shows that, although anti-war protesters received more favourable than unfavourable coverage prior to the war, once the war got under way, a 'support our boys' consensus led to the narrowing of what Daniel Hallin has termed the 'sphere of legitimate controversy' with the anti-war movement relegated to a 'sphere of deviance'. The article also demonstrates that elite-led protest was more successful at influencing newspaper debate than grassroots protest. Overall, the results highlight the problems protest movements have in securing positive media representation during war.

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