Previous research on international communication cites under-reporting and negative coverage as major problems of Western media reporting of the African continent. These problems are present specifically in US television coverage of African countries. Utilising agenda-setting and media framing theory, this study content analyses US television media coverage of Nigeria, Africa's largest economy and most populous nation, in two 5-year time periods, . Reports broadcast by the big three networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) were coded for issues, sources, valence, and frames (N = 643). Results corroborate existing research regarding the predominance of episodic frames and negative coverage across time periods. New findings concerning coverage of Nigeria by Western media organisations are discussed.
This study examines the practice of peace journalism by Nigerian journalists and how factors including empathy, reporting efficacy, perceived journalistic roles, and training may promote adherence to peace-oriented reporting. Data were collected using surveys ( n = 324) and semi-structured interviews ( n = 10). Results suggest that Nigerian journalists subscribe more to the tenets of peace journalism than to war journalism. Findings also demonstrate that, while empathic concern and conflict reporting efficacy can enhance adherence to peace journalism, inadequate training may undermine efforts to promote peace through reporting. Further, perceived journalistic roles appear to exert limited influence on reporting of conflict. Taken together, results shed light on how individual characteristics as well as attributes of the context in which journalists operate can shape their conflict reporting practices. Challenges of conflict reporting in Nigeria and implications for journalists’ enactment of peace journalism best practices are discussed.
This study examines reporting on protests in Iran between late December 2017 and early January 2018 by global news agencies located in the United States (Associated Press [AP]), United Kingdom (Reuters), France (Agence France-Presse [AFP]), China (Xinhua), and Russia (Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union [TASS]). A census of reporting on the protests ( N = 369) was content analyzed. Results demonstrate that news agencies varied considerably in their portrayal of issues defined as problems, diagnosis of causes, moral evaluations, and treatment recommendations. Reporting by Xinhua differed considerably from Western news agencies and featured a greater proportion of stories recommending maintenance of the status quo in Iran. Calls for political change received more attention in privately owned news agencies based in democratic nations. While the use of sources in news stories was generally similar across agencies, protesters were absent in reporting by state-owned agencies. Results conclude that differences in national interests and/or ownership of global news agencies may explain findings and provide insight into news reporting on foreign protest.
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