Investigating political news coverage patterns in Bangladesh during 2013-2022 using computational methods

Abstract

The political landscape in Bangladesh is complex and multifaceted, with limited exploration in relation to the rapidly growing news industry. This study aims to address this gap by analyzing 15,801 news articles, utilizing trend analysis and topic modeling. The findings reveal a consistent decline in political news coverage, with sporadic increases during parliamentary election years. The dominant focus of news topics revolves around the two major political parties, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), indicating the country’s two-party-centric nature of politics. Smaller political parties receive media coverage primarily when they form coalitions with major parties, further highlighting the dominance of the two major parties in political news coverage. The study also uncovers a preference for individual political figures over incidents or events in news coverage, suggesting a patron-client relationship within major political parties and a hierarchical decision-making system. In addition, the study identifies shifts in news framing during significant events, such as national elections, indicating changes in person-centric news frames, but always involving one of the two major political parties. Finally, the study highlights and raises important questions about potential political control over media and journalistic activities, stimulating discourse on journalistic freedom and political free speech.