How do traditional and new media outlets cover North Korea? This article analyzes content at NK News – a US-based niche news site – and the AP in 2014. I look at the ‘softness’ and ‘hardness’ of content as well as thematic diversity. Methodologically, I use quantitative content analysis as well as in-depth interviews. I find the AP coverage to be softer in theme than NK News and also find more diversity of perspectives at the latter. Although the AP is one of only five international media outlets with Pyongyang bureaus, it was short-staffed, with most of the articles written by a single person in the capital. In contrast, NK News had 26 people writing from three continents, including people with expertise in diplomacy, the military, and technology. Despite the advantages of having physical presence in Pyongyang, AP coverage did little more than to cover just the basics, with stories limited to a handful of themes like sports and the arrests of Americans in North Korea.

No abstract

Based on interviews and newsroom visits, this study explores an epistemological hierarchy of sources and sourcing channels that differs substantially from the norms of more traditional forms of journalism. Two niche outlets covering North Korea and Iran are chosen for analysis. Because these countries are notoriously hostile to foreign correspondents, trustworthy news is often difficult to come by. Journalists working for these new outlets prefer digital platforms to firsthand observation, arguing the former are more capable of fending off misinformation prevalent “on the ground.” Also, there is extensive global collaboration that takes advantage of distance and time differences in order to produce more credible news about Iran and North Korea. Without having to worry about getting their access revoked, journalists can focus on issues that they consider important. Findings are consistent with what journalists have long known: It can be advantageous to see things with the added perspective of distance.

No abstract

Journalists are more capable than ever of covering places they cannot visit in person. The same news environment that makes such reporting possible, however, can also facilitate a global cascade of journalistic errors. This article zooms in on the opportunities provided by a unique cluster of journalistic errors to understand factors influencing journalistic errors in international stories. It focuses on erroneous death reports of seven prominent North Koreans between 2012 and 2019. Existing research shows that domestic interests and ideology greatly influence international reporting, with journalists routinely relying heavily on elite sources. However, this article finds limited impact of national interests and political leanings, with the journalistic errors occurring across the ideological spectrum. News outlets developed a habit of quoting other – particularly international – sources without additional verification, citing lack of direct access to North Korea as a major reason. The clicks and revenue generated by salacious North Korea-related stories make them especially susceptible to distortion. Even after such stories were proven erroneous, corrections were rarely issued, with journalists conceding they do not think of North Korea as a subject worthy of clarification. This article thus concludes that in addition to national interest and the Cold War-era commercialization of fear, a culture of negative exceptionalism contributed to erroneous coverage, an idea that existing journalistic standards on ethics and fact-checking do not apply in dictatorial regimes like North Korea.