The State of Coverage: The Media’s Representation of International Issues and State Crime

Abstract

This study examines how newsmagazines, in the United States and the United Kingdom, cover domestic and international issues, and specifically how many of these center on domestic or international crime. Four newsmagazines were selected (Time, Newsweek, The Economist, and Prospect) yielding 1,489 covers between the years 2000 and 2008. Primary coding centered on depiction of international issues, international crime, domestic issues, domestic crime, and state crime. As expected, more newsmagazines in U.K. magazines featured international issues (79%) compared to the United States (21%). Few newsmagazines featured either domestic or international crimes in either country. Notably, coverage of state crime was lacking. On the surface, Bicket and Wall’s findings were supported, indicating that the British media is more competitive and aggressive in its international coverage. However, a deeper analysis of the actual content of international coverage seems to contradict Bicket and Wall’s research. This research adds to that of Kohut and Toth, which found that foreign news is still highly selective in its coverage, predominantly focusing on the relationship of the United States to other countries.