Cultural Proximity in International News Coverage: 1988 U.S. Presidential Campaign in the Greek Press

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that news selection is influenced by economic, social, political and geographic values, while this study tests the notion that cultural proximity also influences news choices and display. A content analysis of a liberal and a conservative Creek newspaper during the final three months of the 1988 U.S. Presidential campaign shows that Democrat Michael Dukakis, a Greek-American, was given more space — and that more favorable — than was Republican George Bush. The two newspapers used similar wire sources and differed little in overall U.S. campaign coverage, however, despite strong ideological differences.