Form: International Coverage
by
M. Wilson

The Question

Are there any major similarities or differences regarding international material about Great Britain in America or American material in Great Britain?

This section will cover any international material found on television and in newspapers.

Methods/Results: Television

The use of television guides is the easiest way to examine and compare a week in Great Britain and America. Below you will find two tables that list the shows and their respective times, duration, and channel on which they are featured. The shows were only examined from 6:00 PM to 12:00 AM, Monday through Friday.

The following table is the American shows featured in Great Britain. It is for the week of Monday November 8, 1999 through Friday November 12, 1999. The information was taken from TV Choice magazine.

American Shows In Britain

This table is the British shows featured in America. It is also for the week of Monday November 8, 1999 through Friday November 12, 1999. The information was taken from TV Guide online (http://www.tvguide.com)

British Shows In America

(Are You Being Served?)

Methods/Results: Newspaper

In order to make a comparison it was necessary to compare two British newspapers with two American newspapers. Issues were purchased for Monday November 8, 1999. The Internet was also used to obtain information on Monday November 8, 1999. The papers were, for the most part, equivalent in size and content.

American Newspapers:

The Philadelphia Inquirer: This is a daily newspaper that covers a variety of articles. Most of them pertain to local news concerning the Philadelphia area and other regions of Pennsylvania. The paper also examines news from around the country and international news as well.

On November 8, 1999, The Philadelphia Inquirer featured 0 articles pertaining to Great Britain. There were 14 articles that featured international news.

U.S.A Today: This is a daily newspaper that covers a variety of articles. The paper focuses on news pertaining to America, but also covers a variety of international news.

On November 8, 1999, U.S.A Today featured 1 article pertaining to Great Britain. The title of the article is "British Army to Recruit from Jails". This article was only one paragraph in length and there is no mention of the writer on the website. The article is about how the Army is recruiting juvenile offenders from different rehabilitation centers in Great Britain. There were 9 articles that featured international news.

British Newspapers:

The Evening Standard: This is a daily newspaper that covers a variety of articles. This paper focuses mainly on news from London and surrounding areas of England.

On November 8, 1999, The Evening Standard featured 0 articles pertaining to America. There is no separate international section of news in this paper. There were 0 articles found on international related news.

The London Times: This is a daily newspaper that covers a variety of articles. This paper focuses mainly on news from London and surrounding areas of England. This paper also covers a variety of international news.

On November 8, 1999, The London Times featured one article pertaining to America. The title of the article is "Sterile Morman City Rated Paradise to Live in". The article was only a few paragraphs long. It is about Salt Lake City, Utah, and how it’s famed for Mormon majority. The city tops the "American Liveability Survey." There were 15 articles in this paper pertaining to international news.

Conclusions

It is interesting to compare the programs selected in each country. Most of the British shows in America are news related. The BBC news airs every day. Who Wants to be a Millionaire is shown in both countries around the same time. There are only four shows that are non- news related. On the other hand, almost all of the American shows featured in Britain are non-news type programs. In fact, the only non-comedy or drama shown for that week was Live and Dangerous: NHL Hockey. This research is only comparing one weeks worth of television programming in both countries. There is obviously research that could be developed in this subject.

Some sample ideas are:

Are there any similarities between the types of programs picked in these two countries?

Do these shows reflect American or British culture in a positive or negative way?

Does the average person from America seem to base his or her ideas of the British as a result of the shows he or she watches?

Does the average person from Britain base his or her ideas of the American as a result of the shows he or she watches?

The research above suggests that very few U.S. newspapers contain British articles while containing few in American news for November 8, 1999. This should not be read to suggest that American newspapers rarely ever print articles on Britain, or vice versa. Further research could be done over a long period of time to examine the amount of attention each country gives to the other in terms of news. Comparing these newspapers in one day is an initial way of doing so.

Some other ideas worth developing in research:

Are there any similarities between the types of articles picked in these two countries?

Do these articles reflect American or British culture in a positive or negative way?

Does one of these countries seem to give a more bias view of the other?

Does there seem to be any negativity more so in one country than the other?

Does there seem to be a direct effect on the readers as a result of the amount of international material?

Sources/For More Information

• http://www.tvguide.com
• http://usatoday.com
• The Philadelphia Inquirer – Monday November 8, 1999
• The Evening Standard – Monday November 8, 1999
• The London Times – Monday November 8, 1999
• TV Choice Magazine –November 6^th – 12^th, 1999