Credibility of the Asian News Broadcasts of the Voice of America and the British Broadcasting Corporation

Abstract

Official radio broadcasting directed to international listeners is an integral part of the process of carrying out the foreign policy objectives of the United States and Great Britain. Foreign policy objectives, however, cannot be promoted with any degree of effectiveness through official international radio unless the broadcasting station is perceived to be a credible source of information. Credibility of official radio stations depends on two key considerations: a) Professional autonomy, if not independence, to conduct the journalis tic work without resorting to propaganda; b) Adherence to professional news standards of timeliness, accuracy, objectivity, balance and relevance.

Published material indicates that credibility of news broadcasts of the Voice of America has improved in recent years following years of concerns. News broadcasts of the British Broadcasting Corporation, on the other hand, have been held up as a model of credibility since the station's inception.

This study investigated the credibility of Asian news broadcasts of the VOA and the BBC by applying as criteria measurable elements within the above-mentioned definition of credibility. The discourse analysis methodology was used. News broadcasts of the two stations relevant to Asia were recorded and transcribed on a daily basis during November 1988. The coding of the news transcripts, done by a team of Asian and American graduate students, used as criteria the following credibility elements: (1) quality of sources, (2) selection and relevance of news items, (3) accuracy and balance in news items, and (4) use of propaganda techniques including ideologically loaded language.

The analysis of the four variables indicated that the news services of the VOA and the BBC are credible. A qualitative analysis of the transcripts by the authors, of whom the principal author is from Asia with a relative expertise in Asian affairs, reinforced that finding. The study also found that the two stations rank as equal in the quality of their news broadcasts. There was no statistically significant difference between the two broadcasting services on any of the four credibility variables. In the area of story relevance, both the VOA and the BBC tended to give relatively more treatment to issues of interest to their respective countries, but the difference was not statistically significant.

Some suggestions are provided for further improvement of the quality of both services. The authors propose that a similar study is needed to compare the quality of the public affairs programs of the two stations. Such a study would help establish a more complete picture of the credibility and ranking of the VOA and the BBC.