Open AccessOne war, different coverage: Exploring cultural influences on international media framing of the Iraq War
Author(s) -
Nduka N. Nwankpa,
Agnes Ezeji,
Solomon Chile
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
american journal of communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2790-5764
DOI - 10.47672/ajc.665
Subject(s) - framing (construction) , media coverage , media studies , political science , war on terror , news media , media content , spanish civil war , sociology , history , law , archaeology , computer science , multimedia
The aim of the study was to demonstrate in empirical terms how cultural forces shape media coverage of global events. To buttress this fact, the spotlight was on international media coverage of the war in Iraq. The Iraq War was a defining media event. To underpin cultural influences on the war coverage, the paper reviewed five studies (Ravi, 2005; Dimitrova & Connolly-Ahern, 2007; Kolmer & Semetko, 2009; Barker, 2012, Gou et al., 2015) on the coverage of the war in different countries. Results revealed that the cultural context within which each news source was situated shaped the news representation of the war. The cultural factors that influenced the coverage were beyond the control of journalists and their media organizations, suggesting that culture is an important variable that should be considered when studying news production and coverage. The findings reinforce the widely held view that news production is shaped by competing influences, including cultural values.