Through distant eyes : Ireland in the European press 1922 - 1985 / eingereicht von Verena Beatrice Kaselitz

• VerfasserIn: Kaselitz, Verena Beatrice
• Place / Publishing House: 1997
• Year of Publication: 1997
• Language: English
• Classification: 05.33 - Pressewesen; 15.64 - Großbritannien. Irland
• Physical Description: XIV, 319 S.; graph. Darst.

eng: Assessing the quality of foreign news coverage in the European press is the basic aim of this research. Object of research is Ireland in the 20"t"h century, particularly the years 1922 to 1985. A quality paper and a news magazine (or its predecessor or equivalent, respectively) from Austria, Britain, France, Germany and Sweden are analyzed by means of content analysis. The study is centered around three main questions: firstly, how are foreign news selected and manufactured, secondly, how are its qualitative standards and thirdly, do national stereotypes and images influence foreign news coverage or vice versa. The results show that a few news factors (according to Galtung and Ruge's model) dominate the selection of news. Coverage on Ireland is focused on short-lived, negative and elite-dominated events which are usually followed up (high continuity). Such a bias has serious consequences for the quality of news reporting. In combination with a great reliance on news agencies' reports as well as a poor amount of supplementing articles, such as comments and analyses, a very one-sided and biased picture of Ireland is drawn, dominated by the conflict in Northern Ireland during the last two decades. Bias is further enhanced by censorship, self-censorship and propaganda. Quality improves considerably through a high percentage of supplementing stories, ideally supplied by correspondents in Ireland. Comprehensive and in-depth coverage also contributes to a more diversified picture of Ireland. In contrast, those periodicals which cover little and rely basically on information provided by news agencies convey a rather stereotyped and biased picture. So it is primarily selection and the manufacture of news that foster stereotypes.