A content analysis of Iraq War reportage in German and American newspapers

On March 19, 2003, the United States military led a "pre-emptive" strike on Iraq, thrusting media into a heightened responsibility to keep the American public informed. By May 1, 2003, President George W. Bush had officially declared the war over, but at the time of this study, Spring 2005, violence prevailed in Iraq.Throughout the Iraq War, different styles of print media coverage appeared between the United States and German presses – reflective of each country's stance on the Iraq war. As influenced by numerous factors, U.S. and German newspapers covered the Iraq conflict in different ways. Several predictions resulted from considerations of nationality and political stance on the Iraq war.To assess the accuracy of those predictions, a content analysis was conducted. Two independent variables were named--the German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) and the U.S. newspaper, the Washington Post.The results gleaned from the analysis were examined with a chi-square, and most were found to be significant: As hypothesized, both U.S. and German newspapers overwhelmingly featured official sources. This meant that the media did not fulfill its watchdog function, but instead, allowed officials to frame the story of war.Although each country was viewing the war through official sources, those sources accentuated different aspects of the war and often carried strong positive or negative tones. The Washington Post carried more neutral sources, whereas the Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung carried more negative sources. With a clear sentiment against the war, German newspapers more often featured sources who weren't active players in the war and non-American, non-Iraqi sources in their articles, thus attempting to offer more balanced reporting. This study may offer an explanation as to why the United States and Germany shared such opposing opinions about the Iraq War–each country's citizens experienced the news from different perspectives.Department of JournalismThesis (M.A.