A Comparative Content Analysis of the Television
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Use of the Internet for International News: A Comparative Content Analysis of the Television Evening Newscasts and Web Videos of the U.S. Stations PBS and NBC and the German Stations ARD and RTL A thesis presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science Kristin D. Eckert August 2009 © 2009 Kristin D. Eckert. All Rights Reserved. This thesis titled Use of the Internet for International News: A Comparative Content Analysis of the Television Evening Newscasts and Web Videos of the U.S. Stations PBS and NBC and the German Stations ARD and RTL by KRISTIN D. ECKERT has been approved for the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism and the Scripps College of Communication by Joseph P. Bernt Professor of Journalism Gregory J. Shepherd Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii ABSTRACT ECKERT, KRISTIN D., M.S., August 2009, Journalism Use of the Internet for International News: A Comparative Content Analysis of the Television Evening Newscasts and Web Videos of the U.S. Stations PBS and NBC and the German Stations ARD and RTL (131 pp.) Director of Thesis: Dr. Joseph P. Bernt This comparative content analysis examined two weeks without weekends in April 2009 of the U.S. television newscasts PBS NewsHour and NBC Nightly News and the German television newscasts ARD Tagesschau and RTL Aktuell and the relationship to their respective web videos in terms of focus, geographic area, link to television, topic, and format with a special interest in international news. For the 702 stories analyzed it was found that content-wise little is new online; international news online is for the most part imbalanced in terms of topic and geographic area, falling into traditional patterns that neglect the Southern hemisphere. Public-service broadcasters appeared to be the more reliable choice to obtain news on politics and the economy. In addition, different formats of online presentation were found to have evolved between the two countries. Approved: _____________________________________________________________ Joseph P. Bernt Professor of Journalism iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this thesis was only possible with the help of my thesis committee: my adviser Dr. Joseph Bernt who encouraged my idea from the beginning, Dr. Bernhard Debatin who was of tremendous help for researching the German part of this study, and Dr. Robert Stewart who gave me indispensable advice on researching online journalism. I also want to thank all instructors in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism that I had the honor to learn from, who opened up new ways of thinking, and encouraged me in my joy of research. The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism has been of utmost support for me and provided me with great opportunities beyond offering classes. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 U.S. and German Media Systems ................................................................................... 8 U.S. Broadcast System .................................................................................................... 9 U.S. Television Newscasts: PBS NewsHour and NBC Nightly News ..................... 13 PBS NewsHour ..................................................................................................... 13 NBC Nightly News ............................................................................................... 17 German Broadcasting System ....................................................................................... 19 German Television Newscasts: ARD Tagesschau and RTL Aktuell ....................... 25 ARD Tagesschau .................................................................................................. 25 RTL Aktuell .......................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 29 International News Flow Factors .................................................................................. 29 Country Comparisons ................................................................................................... 32 Homogeneity ................................................................................................................. 33 Impact on the Audience ................................................................................................ 34 Chapter 3: Method ............................................................................................................ 37 Chapter 4: Findings ........................................................................................................... 40 v H1: German stations will air more international news in their newscasts than will U.S. stations. ......................................................................................................................... 40 RQ1: How much international news will U.S. and German web videos present? ....... 40 H2: U.S. and German newscasts and U.S. web videos will present geographic areas in an unbalanced way, neglecting the Southern hemisphere. ........................................... 44 RQ2: Which geographic areas will German web videos present? ................................ 44 H3: Among U.S. web videos more time than not will have a link to television newscast stories. ........................................................................................................................... 48 RQ3: How much time in German web videos will link to television newscast stories? ...................................................................................................................................... 48 H4: U.S. and German newscasts will concentrate on politics and economy. ............... 51 RQ4: Which topics will U.S. and German web videos present? .................................. 51 H5: There will be a shift in format distribution between U.S. newscasts and web videos toward more time invested in interviews and less edited material. .............................. 55 RQ5: Which formats will be used in German web videos? .......................................... 55 Chapter 5: Discussion ....................................................................................................... 59 PBS NewsHour ............................................................................................................. 64 NBC Nightly News ....................................................................................................... 67 ARD Tagesschau and RTL Aktuell .............................................................................. 69 Ethical Concerns ........................................................................................................... 73 Online Content .......................................................................................................... 73 Lack of Comprehensive International News ............................................................. 76 Chapter 6: Conclusion....................................................................................................... 82 vi References ......................................................................................................................... 89 Appendix A ..................................................................................................................... 103 Appendix B ..................................................................................................................... 104 Appendix C ..................................................................................................................... 122 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Average Length of Story, Total Length in Minutes, Total Content in Stories, and Percentages for Focus of PBS NewsHour and NBC Nightly News in Television Newscasts and Web Videos, April 14 to 18 and April 23 to 27, 2009 ........................................................................................................... 41 Table 2: Average Length of Story, Total Length in Minutes, Total Content in Stories, and Percentages for Focus of ARD Tagesschau and RTL Aktuell in Television Newscasts and Web Videos, April 14 to 18 and April 23 to 27, 2009 ................ 42 Table 3: Average Length of Story, Total Length in Minutes, Total Content in Stories, and Percentages for Geographic Area of PBS NewsHour and NBC Nightly News in Television Newscasts and Web Videos, April 14 to 18 and April 23 to 27, 2009 ........................................................................................................... 45 Table 4: Average Length of Story, Total Length in Minutes, Total Content in Stories, and Percentages for Geographic Area of ARD Tagesschau and RTL Aktuell in Television Newscasts and Web Videos, April 14 to 18 and April 23 to 27, 2009 ..........................................................................................................