Coverage of the Russia-Ukraine War by Television News in Nine Countries

Abstract

This is a condensed presentation of an international study on the way the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was covered by television news in Russia, China, Finland, the UK, Italy, the USA (separately in broadcast and cable networks), Brazil, India and South Africa. The quantitative analysis was based on the main TV news bulletins in each country on ten days sampled between late February and mid-April by classifying the news stories according to a common code of topics and national angles. In addition, a qualitative analysis was made by identifying the key narratives in the news The results reveal significant differences between countries, especially between Russia and others but also between the Western countries and the BRICS countries. The report ends with proposals to follow up on this research.