What Makes African News Newsworthy? Coverage Determinants in East Asian News Media

This study focuses on the coverage of Africa by the Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean media, examining articles from the People’s Daily, the Yomiuri Shimbun, and the Chosun Ilbo, respectively, during 2015–2017; it identifies the factors that influence such coverage. These factors include (1) the traits of African nations, and (2) the interactions and relatedness between East Asia and African nations. Content and regression analyses with panel data were implemented to assess 12 determinants in each individual nation to elucidate the determinants of the coverage. The results reveal the primary predictors that make African countries newsworthy in the three East Asian media outlets, as well as with some variation, identify notable differences between Western and East Asian coverage. These results are meaningful for agenda-setting and enhance our understanding of the extent to which international and domestic issues, and policymakers influence the coverage of African nations by East Asian media outlets.