Television News Programmes in Western Europe: A Comparative Study

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Abstract
This article summarizes a study conducted on seventeen news programmes from eight Western European countries. The analysis focuses both on what subjects were taken up (substance) and on how they were presented (form). The results reveal that however standard this essential feature programme may seem, every such broadcast is unique in the way it blends a limited number of ingredients. Qualitative comments are made on the effectiveness of several techniques used by some stations. Correlative analyses reveal two coherent groups comprising those stations broadcasting from `Germanic-culture' countries on the one hand, and those from `Romance-culture' countries on the other. The study also highlights the significant quantitative and qualitative differences in the coverage of the closing of the Maastricht Summit (which took place during the period covered by the study).