The International Two- Step Flow in Foreign News: Canadian and U.S. Television News Coverage of U.S. Affairs

Content analysis of U.S. and Canadian television news from 2004 to 2006 reveals considerable similarities in the volume of news coverage of President George W. Bush and the Iraq War on both sides of the border. Indeed, these data suggest the possibility of an international two-step news flow, where changes in the volume of coverage on NBC frequently were reflected in the news coverage on CBC and CTV during the following days. It is suggested here that this may be attributable to the limitations faced by international reporters, resulting in a “two-step flow ” that should be relevant not just for Canadian reporters in the United States, but also for many international reporters elsewhere. Keywords journalism, news reporting, television news Few areas of news reporting of government trigger more criticism than the way televi-sion news covers U.S. military policy. Scholars and political figures have found fault with nearly every aspect of this type of coverage. Most significantly, the “rally ‘round the flag ” effect found in U.S. public opinion during times of crisis appears to push U.S. reporters in the direction of being highly deferential to the president and the militar