“What in the World!”: A Computational and Quantitative Content Analysis of International News Diversity in the US 2018

Abstract

Based on the theoretical framework of imbalanced international news flow, we conducted a quantitative content analysis on 1,979 articles (N = 1,979) and a computational content analysis on 42,938 headlines (N₀ = 42,938) to examine international news diversity in the US between 2018 and 2022. Our results demonstrated that international news covered by US newspapers was primarily US- and UK-centric, a trend that has been consistent for over four decades. Global North countries received significantly more coverage, while coverage of Global South countries was scarcer and more negative. Hard news dominated international news coverage. We also identified 23 news themes in our N₀, including those about China/Russia, Brexit/EU, North Korea, and COVID-19; seven of them exhibited significant temporal changes linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and presidential transitions. Theoretical implications for global agenda-setting, practical recommendations for newsrooms and pedagogy, and methodological contributions were further discussed.

Keywords

international news news diversity international communication agenda setting news content news coverage content analysis

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“What in the World!”: A Computational and Quantitative Content Analysis of International News Diversity in the US 2018–2022

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