The World at War: Three and a Half Decades of New York Times Conflict Coverage

• In Event: Norms, Values, Biases in News Coverage

Abstract

This quantitative content analysis uses 36 years of New York Times international news to understand how conflict coverage functions in terms of quantity and geographic focus, whether conflict is covered because of a linkage of the conflict to U.S. interests, and, whether the Times relies on its own correspondents for first-hand coverage. Additionally, a contemporary history approach was used to gauge how representative coverage is of conflicts in varying regions. Data reveal an imbalance in coverage; stories about low-income nations focused more on conflict and were more likely to link the event to U.S interests. However, despite the high focus on conflict in low-income nations, coverage of these countries was minimal and often overlooked the most severe crises. According to social construction of reality theorists, this inequity can lead to audience perception that more conflict occurs in low-income nations than in other, more developed parts of the world.

Authors

• Meghan Sobel, Regis U

• Seoyeon Kim, U of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Daniel Riffe, UNC-Chapel Hill