Media Reporting on International Affairs

Andrew Shaver, Leonardo Dantas, Amarpreet Kaur, Robert Kraemer and Grady Thomson
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Andrew Shaver: University of California, Merced
Leonardo Dantas: UCLA
Amarpreet Kaur: University of California, Merced
Robert Kraemer: University of California, Santa Barbara
Grady Thomson: University of California, Merced

Empirical Studies of Conflict Project (ESOC) Working Papers from Empirical Studies of Conflict Project

Abstract: We consider how the U.S. news media reports on international affairs. Analyzing approximately 40 million news articles published between 2010 and 2020, we explore whether the American news media report differently on various international affairs topics based on partisan leanings. We then analyze approximately 25 million articles published by top online news sites to determine whether collective reporting shows disparities between the level of attention afforded major global issues and objective measures of their human costs (e.g. numbers of individuals killed). We find that left-and right-leaning news outlets tend to report on international affairs at similar rates but differ significantly in their likelihood of referencing particular issues. We find further strong evidence that the frequency of reporting on the international issues we study tracks only modestly with their associated human costs. Given evidence U.S. public and policymakers dependence on news reports for foreign affairs information, our findings raise fundamental questions about the influence of these reporting biases.

Keywords: News Media; International Affairs; Reporting Bias (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D83 F22 F50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-isf
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pri:esocpu:27

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