Citation

Kolmer C, Semetko HA. Am. Behav. Sci. 2009; 52(5): 643-656.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0002764208326513

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Some of the key findings are reported from a cross-national comparative content analysis of the flagship main evening TV news programs in five countries, as well as of the flagship Arab-language TV news on the Al-Jazeera network, during March and April 2003, the "official" 3-4-week period of the war in Iraq, to investigate the similarities and differences in the framing of the war in TV news. Despite some differences among networks within countries, the study reveals major lines of cross-national difference in the subtopics emphasized in the coverage, the tone of the coverage of the opposing sides, and the volume of news devoted to the Allies (the United Kingdom and the United States). It is concluded that the reporting of the war was conditioned by the national and international contexts in which the news was produced. The cross-country comparisons raise serious questions about the credibility and impartiality of TV news in the reporting of the war.