73

FOREIGN POLICY AS A DOMINANT FACTOR IN FOREIGN NEWS

SELECTION AND PRESENTATION
Case study of two geographically and culturally distant press systems of
the world

J.V. VILANILAM

Past studies have stressed that geographic or cultural proximity, stage of

economic development, dominance and dependence, global power con-
figuration, international news agencies, national interests, technological
or professional reasons, preference for crisis and drama, &dquo;top-dog-

under-dog&dquo; relations, treating news as a marketable commodity and

such other factors exert decisive influence on the selection and presen-
tation of foreign news.
All the above factors could be applicable in specific cases, but there
may be any one theory applicable to the presentation of foreign news
in all countries press systems. Foreign policy concerns are likely to
exert a dominant influence on foreign news appearing in the press of
each nation. It was decided to test this hunch on two major press sys-
tems of the United States and India.
The overall purpose of this study was to examine empirically the pro-
cess of foreign news selection as reflected in the manifest content of

foreign news in the two press systems; to compare the countries and
themes stressed in each system on the same dates; and to determine
the foreign policy influence of the system country, if any, on the
selection and presentation of specific news items relating to one coun-
try.

Method .
&dquo;

Four prominent newspapers each from India and the United States
were selected for the study: Hindu (Madras), Hindustan Times (New
Delhi), Statesman (Calcutta), Times of India (Bombay), and Atlanta
Constitution, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Washington
Post. Except for the Atlanta Constitution all these papers have some
national circulation in their respective countries.

Period of study ,

As the study wasstarted in the second half of 1979, the closest period,
namely January-June 1979, was chosen. Out of the six months, May

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74

and June were purposely selected because they were comparatively

&dquo;normal&dquo; months, except for a major air accident in the United States.
The Iranian Revolution had subsided for a while, following the for-
mation of the Bazargan government, and the Three Mile Island Acci-
dent had &dquo;cooled off (after continuous reporting from March 29
onwards).

Sample
Out of the 61 issues for each newspaper published during May and
June, issues of May 18, June 2 and June 9 were randomly selected.
There were in all 24 issues. The number of pages of the Indian papers
varied from 12 to 16, and that of the U.S. from 48 to 76.

Criteria for foreign news

The following criteria were used to determine if a news item was

foreign or domestic. (a) Datelirze: If the news item had a foreign date-
line, it was considered a foreign news item. In the U.S. newspapers, all
datelines emerging from a geographical location outside the 50 states,
territories and islands of the United States of America were considered
foreign. In Indian newspapers all datelines emerging from a geographical
location outside the 22 states, territories and islands of the Republic of
India were considered foreign. (b) Foreign dignitaries visiting home
country determined the news about them as foreign. For example, news
about the Popes or the Chinese Vice-Premiers visit to the U.S. was
considered foreign news in the U.S. newspapers. (c) News about the
home countrys dignitaries goirtg abroad was considered foreign news in
Indian newspapers, even though the news items had the New Delhi
dateline. (d) Foreign relations: Negotiations between nations, diplo-
matic relations, statements about events in other countries, inter-
national agreements, etc, were taken as foreign news.

Measurement and analysis

Based on the above criteria, all foreign news in three sample issues of
each of the eight newspapers was measured under various heads:
editorials, features, letters to the editor, straight news and pictures,
indicating whether the item appeared on front, editorial, op-ed or other
pages of the issues. The column centimetre was used as the unit of
measurement.
For measuring the newshole, area for all advertisement material,
weather reports, announcements, news indices, obituaries, bus, train
and air timings, film and theatre reviews, social cartoons, comics, cross-

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 75

word puzzles, fictional and purely literary material was subtracted from
the total area for printed matter.

Specific questions
Although the major problem investigated was the influence, if any, of
foreign policy interests of each press system and the countries and
themes appearing in the foreign news presented by it on three randomly
selected days, it was inevitable that answers to the following specific
questions were sought for completeness of the investigation:
How much foreign news appeared in each system? What were the inter-
newspaper and inter-system differences in the quantity of foreign news?
Which countries or regions received more attention? What were the
main themes covered by each system? Which news agencies supplied the
largest number of items to each press system? How many editorials,
features, pictures, straight news items and letters to the editor appeared
in each system? And what could be learned about the process of selec-
tion from the manifest content of newspapers in each press system?3
__ ,
4 - ._- _ ,, , -0...&dquo;&dquo; -.... ;.-

Results

Quantity and size

Table 1 gives the amount of space given to foreign news by each news-
paper in the two press systems, expressed as a percentage of its news-
hole. Whereas no U.S. newspaper gave more than 14.2 per cent of its
newshole to foreign news, the Indian papers gave between 17.5 and
25.7 per cent of their newsholes to foreign news.
There was no substantial inter-newspaper difference among the U.S.
newspapers in the proportion of space devoted to foreign news, but
there was significant inter-newspaper difference among the Indian news-
papers (ranging from 17.57 per cent to 25.78 per cent).
The two press systems differed significantly not only in the quantity
of foreign news presented but also in the number of items. The U.S.
press system carried 491 items, whereas the Indian press system carried
514 items on the same three days. However, the average area for an
item in the U.S. press system was close to 24 col. cm., as against 14 in
the Indian system. (The average foreign news item in the U.S. system
was thus almost twice the size of that in the Indian.)

Placement: Mere quantification will not suffice in bringing out the

differences between the two systems. The placement of foreign news is
equally important. All over the world, newspaper organisations and

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76

Table 1. Total foreign newshole in three sample issues of four newspapers in each
press system.

readers consider news on the front, editorial, and op-ed pages as special-
ly important. These three pages are considered &dquo;preferred pages,&dquo;
usually reserved for news of comparatively greater importance (in the
judgement of editors and hence that of the readers).
Atlanta Constitution published 21.57 per cent of its total area for
foreign news on the preferred pages. The corresponding figures for the
Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Washington Post were
16.48, 19.49 and 21.58 per cent, respectively.
Hindu, Hindustan Times, Statesman and Times of India published
26.92, 52.49, 50.12 and 47.0 per cent, respectively, of the foreign
news on preferred pages.
The overall percentage of preferred page foreign news in the U.S.
press system was 19.76 and that in the Indian system, 42.7.

Types of news : If a newspaper devotes space for editorials and features

on certain foreign news items, it is an indication of its special interest in
those items. Usually, features and editorials appear on those items that
are considered important. Despite the constraints on space, newspapers

print long editorials, features, letters to the editor and pictures only
because they attach importance to certain news items.
The U.S. press system had more features and pictures while the

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 77

Indian press system had more straight news items, editorials and
readers letters.

Press agencies: No U.S. newspaper used any Indian news agency, where-
as all Indian newspapers used AP, NYTNS4 and the U.S. Information

Agency reports to the extent of 14 per cent of the total news items.
Together with the French and British news agencies, AFP and Reuter,
the Indian press system used foreign wire service for a total of 42 per
cent of the news items. There was a large percentage of unidentified
stories (111.72) in the Indian system as against only 1.15 per cent in the
U.S. The major difference was in the proportion of news items supplied
by the newspapers own correspondents. Whereas the U.S. press system
made use of own correspondents for 56.5 per cent of its stories, the
Indian system used own correspondents for only 25.7 per cent of the
stories.
z

Countries, regions and themes . &dquo;,

Countries and regions .

No South Asian country appeared on the front page of any U.S. news-
paper in our sample. Very few Asian countries provided front page
stories for the U.S. press system. Except for one story from Hong
Kong (and that too a statement by a U.K. official on Vietnam refugees)
no South Asian or Southeast Asian country appeared on the front page
of the U.S. newspapers. The two Asian countries that appeared on their
front pages were Iran and Japan.
The U.S.S.R., Mexico, Panama, Israel and Poland, Japan, Iran and
Zimbabwe provided front page stories to the U.S. press system.
In the Indian press, Canada and the U.S. appeared on the front pages.
No South American country appeared on the front page except Vene-
zuela (in a story on El Salvadoran terrorists). Iran, Nepal, Pakistan,
Israel, Cambodia and other ASEAN Nations, China, Japan, the
UNCTAD-V and the Colombo Conference provided front page stories
to the Indian system. Except for Canada, France, W. Gennany, the U.S.
and the U.S.S.R., all other countries that appeared on the front pages
of the Indian papers were from Asia, Africa or Latin America.
Table 2 lists 20 countries that received top coverage in both systems
during the three days ranked by area and items. These countries shared
73.3 per cent of the total number of items in the U.S. press system, and
72.56 per cent of those in the Indian system.

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78

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 79

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 80

Countries units that occupied the top twelve ranks in the U.S.
or

press system the United States, Poland, France, Iran, U.S.S.R.,

were

Canada, China, Israel, Great Britain, Nicaragua, Japan and Italy in that
order. Those that occupied similar ranks in the Indian press system
were India, Great Britain, U.S., Sri Lanka (Colombo Conference), the

Philippines (UNCTAD-V) China, Iran, U.S.S.R., Australia, France,

Nepal and Japan in that order.
It is important to note that in each press system, foreign news re-
lating to the system country itself got the topmost attention. U.S. re-
lated news occupied nearly 1 I per cent of the U.S. systems foreign
newshole, and India-related news occupied 11.3 per cent of the Indian
systems foreign newshole.
Themes - .....

The difference between the two systems lay mainly in the selection
of themes. A quick survey of the major themes in each system will con-
firm that each press system was influenced by the economic, political,
and military interests (in other words, foreign policy interests) of the

system country.
-

Table 3 gives the top ten themes in each press system. Poland re-
ceived heavy coverage in the U.S. press system because of the Popes
visit, which was hardly covered by the Indian press system. The pon-
tiffs visit was not only of special religious interest to U.S. readers, but
also of immense political importance to East-West relations, and hence
to the foreign policy of the U.S. government.
The Colombo Conference and UNCTAD-V did not receive extensive
coverage in the U.S. papers, but they received the fourth and fifth
ranks, respectively, in the Indian press because of the Third World
issues discussed at those international conferences.
The election in Canada and the Nicaraguan civil war were heavily
covered by the U.S. press system, perhaps not so much because of
Canada and Nicaraguas geographic proximity to the U.S., as the U.S.
governments interest in the political changes in those two neighbouring
countries. These two themes did not receive any attention in the Indian
press because they were not of vital significance to the foreign policy
of India.
Each system concentrated on the issues of special interest to itself.
This becomes clearer when news from some countries are taken as
examples. For want of space, only news items that appeared from or
about China in the two press systems on the same three days are given
to illustrate this point.

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 81

Table 3. Top-ranking themes (categories) of news in the two press systems

Top ten themes in the U.S. newspapers

* FNH - Foreign Newshole, the total of which for the U.S. press system was
**
11,829.5 col. cm. (3 days)
Crisis news - Military, Crime, Disaster etc. + Immigrants and refugees problems
(1 lth rank with 3.73% of the newshole) becomes 13.77+4.89+3.73 22.39% =

Total for Economic, Political and Foreign Relations News 9.25+20.06+5.22 = =

34.53%
With Military and Energy News = 34.53+13.77+4.32 =
52.62%
Five categories of news occupied 52.62% of the total foreign newshole.

Top ten themes in the Indian newspapers

*
FNH - Foreign Newshole, the total of which for the Indian press system was
6981 col. cms. (3 days)
**
Crisis News - Military, Refugees/Immigrants, and Disaster, crime, etc. 13.09+ =

3.21+2.20 = 18.50%
Total for Economic, Political and Foreign Relations news 7.85+ 16.43+9.99 = =

34.27%
With Military News and Energy News 34.27+ 13.09+3.61 50.97%
= =

Five categories of news occupied 50.97% of the total foreign newshole.

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 82
-

in the U. S. press system

..
Chinese news
-
;

China returns 120 wounded Vietnamese soldiers (NCNA, Constitu-

tioti and Post)
NASA expects contract for putting Chinese satellite communication
network into orbit (NYTNS, Constitution) ~

Chinese delegation off to U.S. (Reuter/NCNA, LA Times)

China tea yield improve by 7% over 1978 (Reuter/NCNA, Post)

Over 2,000 ethnic Chinese fleeing Cambodia pour over Thai border
(Post)
China honors one-child couples (UPI, LA Times) .

China to slow refugee flow to Hong Kong (LA Times)

Chinese style democracy and march to modernisation (LA Times)
U.S. delegation allowed to visit missile test site (Post)
. &dquo;
China turns to windmills (AP, Post)
Modern system of oil field control and inspection starts working
(Reuter, Post)

~
: -
.
.
- ,} . ,,; -
,:
: .

Chinese news in the Indian press system on the same three days

Mistakes in Chinese maps of India (PTI, Hindu and Statesman)

-

Talks with Moscow: Dengs willingness to talk about improving Sino-

Soviet relations (AP, Hindu and Statesrnan)
Top Chinese cadre blamed for waste (AP, Hindustan Times) &dquo;
Chinese soldiers lack physical training (Times of India) .

China to slow down growth of steel output (Reuter, Hindu)

Sino-Soviet trade links begin (TASS/AP, Hindu) ....
China invites Vietnam for border talks (AP, Hindu ) . , -- :
.

. China reduces steel target (Reuter, Statesman) .

Tibetans still resisting Chinese (PTI, Times of India)

Japan skeptical of Chinas modernisation as China cancels four petro-
chemical plants ordered from Japan. Chinas planning at fault (AP,
Times of India)
Soviet-Hungarian call for talks with China (APN, Times of India)

It is very clear from the above examples that whereas the U.S. papers
selected such items as were favourable to China and the U.S., the Indian
press selected an entirely different set of items on the same three days,
from material supplied by more or less the same wire service agencies.
The report about Chinas modernisation did not appear in the Indian
press; on the contrary, a report expressing skepticism about it did appear
in it. The most important omissions in the U.S. press system were Deng
Xiaopings readiness to talk with the Soviets, the already initiated Sino-
Soviet talks, and Tibetans human rights struggle against Chinese
domination, all of which were reported in detail in the Indian press.

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 83

Any improvement in relations between Vietnam and China or between

China and the Soviet Union would strengthen the non-alignment policy,
and the Indian press system did not ignore this vital foreign policy
issue. It is hardly necessary to point out that the new, improved rela-
tions between the U.S. and China in 1979 (especially after Dengs U.S.
visist in January of that year) had a bearing on the items from or about
China in the U.S. papers, and that India-China relations were still sour,
a fact which probably influenced the selection of Chinese news by the
Indian press. . ,
..
I

Similar omissions and commissions by both press systems in respect

of news relating to Iran and India can be pointed out. Several examples
can be cited to show that selection patterns and news priorities were
influenced by the foreign policy of each system country.

Summary of findings . ;> .

Newspapers of both systems differed considerably in the amount of

foreign news presented. There was substantial inter-system difference in
the placement of foreign news. l. ,
-

>

The Indian press system carried more foreign news than the U.S.
press system did. It also gave more prominence to foreign news by
placing more of it on the front page and other preferred pages.
The bulk of foreign news in the U.S. press system was supplied by
the systems own correspondents, whereas that in the Indian press sys-
tem was supplied by AP, Reuter and AFP, thereby establishing the
generally perceived imbalance in the flow of news. The flow of news
was in one direction - from the Western press and press agencies to
India. No U.S. newspaper used any report from a non-Western news
agency even while reporting non-Western countries. _
,

Geographic proximity of the reported country did not figure as im-

portant as foreign policy significance to the reporting countrys press
system. Each system selected those countries and themes in conso-
nance with the foreign policy of the system country.
Whereas India was not top-ranking news in the U.S. press system, the
U. S. was top-ranking news in the Indian press.
Third World issues such as non-alignment and new economic order,
and the forums where these issues were discussed got more prominent
coverage in the Indian press system than in the U.S. press system. Issues
relating to detente, cold war and East-West relations, and political issues
in the countries close to the U.S. received special attention in the U.S.
press system whereas they were almost ignored in the Indian system.

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84

Discussion

Why the Indian press system carried more foreign news than the U.S.
press system can be explained on the basis of the established concept
that developing countries news media turn to the developed sector for
more news and information. Devoting larger proportions of their news-
holes to foreign news has been a characteristic of the English news-
papers from colonial times. This tradition probably has some influence
on the heavy coverage of foreign news in the Indian system. The
English newspapers of India included in this study, could very well
compare with the quality papers of England which McQuail analysed.
He found that newspapers like the Guardian carried foreign news to the

extent of 27 per cent of the newshole. : ..x

A quality British newspaper carries more foreign news than a

quality American newspaper (e.g. the NYT). The American press has
been criticised as mainly a regional press. However, close to 14% of the
large newshole of an American newspaper (See Table 1) is a substantial
amount of space in absolute terms. The four American newspapers
carried nearly 12,000 column centimetres or about 220 columns of
foreign news in three days. And they placed nearly 20 per cent of it on
the preferred pages.
Such systemic differences influence the selection and presentation of
news about other countries in a countrys press. The international flow
of news has to be evaluated in the light of national economic, political
and military interests, in other words, foreign policy interests, of the
reporting country and its relations with the reported country.

NOTES

1.For related literature, see References.

2. Other reasons for selecting these two countries: this researcher who is from India
has lived in the U.S. for many years and he is familiar with both press systems.
He had already made a comparative foreign news study in 1971. See his "Foreign
News in Two U.S. and Indian Newspapers during Selected Periods," Gazette,
Vol. 18, No. 2, 1972.
3. In this section of the study, guidance was taken from Denis McQuails analysis
of British newspapers already referred to.
4. New York Times News Service.

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 85
REFERENCES

Denis McQuail, Analysis of Newspaper Content, Royal Press Commission Report.

London: HMSO, 1977.
James W. Markham, "Foreign News in the U.S. and South American Press." Public
Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 2, 1961.
Herbert Gans, Deciding Whats News. New York: Pantheon Books, 1979.
George Gerbner and George Marvanyi, "The Many Worlds of the Worlds Press."
Journal of Communication, Vol. 27, No.1, 1977.
John A. Lent, "Foreign News in American Media." Journal of Communication,
Vol. 27, No. 1, 1977.
John Galtung and Mari H. Ruge, "The Structure of Foreign News," in Jeremy
Tunstall (ed.), Media Sociology. London: Constable & Co., Ltd., 1974.
IPI, The Flow of News. Zurich: IPI, 1953.
Philip Elliot and Peter Golding, Making the News. London: Longman, 1979.
Peter Golding, "The Missing Dimensions &mdash; News media and the Management of
Social Change," in E. Katz and T. Szecsko (eds.), Mass Media and Social
Change. Sage, 1980.
Also see: Sunwoo Nam, "The Flow of International News into Korea." Gazette,
Vol. 16, No. 1, 1970.
Bruce L. Smith, "Trends in Research on International Communication and Public
Opinion, 1945-1955." Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 1, 1956.
Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, "International News in the Arabic Press: A Comparative
Content Analysis." Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 4, 1962.

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