On the Structure of Foreign News

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Abstract
A set of hypotheses on the structure of foreign news, which had been presented by Johan Galtung and Mari Holmboe Ruge, is tested empirically by comparing New York Times' coverage of Sino-Indian relations in 1962 with the 'actual' relations of the two countries as reflected in their official correspondence, published by the Indian government in a series of White Papers. Four of the six hypotheses tested are confirmed. It is found that international relations, according to the newspaper, is comprised as predicted of a series of simple, discrete. and dramatic events, whose nature is such as to tend to confirm our expectations of what will happen. On the other hand, predictions that the newspaper would over-select events which are rare or unexpected, and overemphasize events which are more negative in their consequences, were not confirmed.

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