The article presents an empirical test of opposed positions in the debate over sources of imbalance and distortion in reporting of Third World affairs: are they due to ideological bias or to lack of journalistic freedom in the countries concerned? An analysis of coverage of the 1967-70 Nigerian civil war was made on newspapers and magazines in countries with different attitudes towards the Federal government and Biafran rebels — Britain, France, Germany, the Soviet Union and the USA. The results confirm the influence of ideological factors, notably traditional colonial images and current foreign policy interests, but restrictions on access to news sources may also have had an impact.
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