More news, less knowledge? An information content analysis of television and newspaper coverage of the Gulf War

Abstract

The patterns and formats of information provision by newspapers and television news programmes are examines, with a case study of two incidents from the Gulf War. A content analysis is carried out, with a novel scheme of groups and categories to interpret and display information transfer patterns. The results are set in the context of a survey of the nature of news, and the influence of the media by which it is presented. A clear distinction between television and newspaper information content and format is found, and explained in terms of an underlying information structure. Consequences for public access to information are briefly considered.