Canadian Media and the Developing World: A Critical Mapping of Key Issues, Events, and Actors
Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) (2017), 48 pp.
"The literature review indicates: media coverage remains the major source of news and information about the developing world for Canadians and can exert a strong influence over policymaking; there is a dearth of Canadian scholarship examining media coverage of international development issues; there is significant research showing that Canadian media coverage of the developing world has a narrative orientation toward conflicts and disasters, both natural and human-caused.
The media analysis shows: newspapers generated more coverage of issues and events in the developing world than broadcast or digital media; in English media, the individual countries of Haiti, Kenya, and Nigeria had the most amount of coverage; in French media, Iraq and Haiti had the highest volume of coverage; terrorism and war were the major drivers of the news coverage in both English and French; the largest proportion of development-themed stories were hard news reports, many of which were wire pieces, rather than stories by staff writers or opinion reports (op-eds, columns); development themes varied by language. In English media, the most common development themes were about infrastructure, education, and gender, while in French, the most common themes were economic development, human rights, and governance; in English newspapers, almost half of the stories were prominently placed on the first four pages of the publication while in French the stories were more likely to be located deeper in the paper; non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were the most frequently quoted sources in development stories, and many of these stories included discussion about possible solutions." (Key findings, page 3)
The media analysis shows: newspapers generated more coverage of issues and events in the developing world than broadcast or digital media; in English media, the individual countries of Haiti, Kenya, and Nigeria had the most amount of coverage; in French media, Iraq and Haiti had the highest volume of coverage; terrorism and war were the major drivers of the news coverage in both English and French; the largest proportion of development-themed stories were hard news reports, many of which were wire pieces, rather than stories by staff writers or opinion reports (op-eds, columns); development themes varied by language. In English media, the most common development themes were about infrastructure, education, and gender, while in French, the most common themes were economic development, human rights, and governance; in English newspapers, almost half of the stories were prominently placed on the first four pages of the publication while in French the stories were more likely to be located deeper in the paper; non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were the most frequently quoted sources in development stories, and many of these stories included discussion about possible solutions." (Key findings, page 3)
"The focus of the research was less on international issues than those with an explicit development focus, and their objective was to map the coverage of core development issues in a representative sample of ‘developing’ countries. This sample was composed of: print, broadcast and digital media. The analysis involved both quantitative and qualitative methods. The research team worked collaboratively on the study methodology and design in consultation with AKFC. The research included: a comprehensive literature review; a review of over 3,000 news stories across multiple news platforms; quantitative analysis of the reporting on all coverage of a targeted group of developing countries; a more focused analysis of the ‘development’ specific coverage of these countries." (The project, page 2)
