Deviant Acts, Risky Business and U.S. Interests: The Newsworthiness of World Events

Significant events happen daily around the world, but only some of these are reported in the U.S. news media. A content analysis of the New York Times, and ABC, CBS, and NBC found that the Times covered only about a fourth of a sample of world events and the networks mentioned only about a tenth. This study finds that events which are deviant in certain ways from U.S. national values and which occur in nations of political and economic significance to the United States are more likely to be covered in the news.