Global news flow

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Global news flow (also referred to as international news flow) is a field of study that deals with the news coverage of events in foreign countries. It describes and explains the flow of news from one country to another.[1]

Studies on global news flow typically attempt to understand why certain countries are more newsworthy than others..[2][3] Along the years it has been found that the economic power of countries plays a particularly crucial role in their news prominence[4] as well as the presence of international news agencies.[5] Thus, the US has been found to be very prominent in news mentions around the world (18%), followed by China, Western European and Middle Eastern countries (about 3-5% each).[1]

The unequal representation of the world and the under-representation of developing countries have been already of a great concern at least since the 1950s, since they influence the way people perceive the world and the image of countries.[6] This problem was later addressed in the MacBride report, and his set of recommendations for a New World Information and Communication Order. The unequal representation of the world has been also linked to the World System Theory, and the unequal economic structure of the world.[7]

Recent empirical studies[4][8] show that among online news websites and news aggregators the unequal representation of the world has been perpetuated and even further intensified. Economically powerful countries, as well as their opponent countries (mainly in the Middle East and Asia) get the most news coverage around the world.

See also

References

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  3. Kim, K., & Barnett, G. A. (1996). The determinants of international news flow a network analysis. Communication Research, 23(3), 323-352.
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  5. Wu, H. D. (2000). Systemic determinants of international news coverage: A comparison of 38 countries. Journal of Communication, 50(2), 110-130.
  6. UNESCO (1954). How Nations See Each Other? Paris: UNESCO Publications.
  7. Chang, T. K. (1998). All Countries Not Created Equal to Be News World System and International Communication. Communication research, 25(5), 528-563.
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