Comparing Coverage of Child Labor and National Characteristics: A Cross-National Exploration

Abstract

A community structure analysis compared cross-national coverage of child labor in 21 countries, sampling all 250+ word articles from November 19, 2000, to November 6, 2012. The resulting 244 articles were coded for “prominence” and “direction” (“government intervention,” “society—including nongovernmental organizations—intervention,” or “balanced/neutral” coverage), then combined into newspaper “Media Vector” scores (range = .317 to −.382). Fourteen of 21 newspapers supported government intervention in child labor issues. Contrary to expectation, Pearson correlations revealed four significant privilege indicators supported coverage less reliant on “government” and more on “society” (nonprofits, nongovernmental organizations, foreign aid): female school-life expectancy (r = −.585, p = .003), gross domestic product/capita (r = −.557, p = .004), male life expectancy (r = −.379, p = .045), and female life expectancy (r = −.364, p = .052). “Stakeholder/media” access was also linked with less support for government intervention (broadband subscriptions/100 people in a nation: r = −.619, p = .001). A regression of varimax rotated factors against Media Vectors yielded “privilege” (primarily male, female life expectancy) and “gendered communication” (primarily female literacy rate, use of mobile phones) collectively accounting for 25% of the variance, all connected to coverage supporting “society” action on child labor. Female empowerment matters.