1.
W o r d
c o u n t :
3 3 8 4
COMM3180
–
International
communication
group
project
International
news
in
local
press

2. 2
Introduction
As
one
of
the
fastest
developing
cities
in
the
north
of
England,
Leeds
has
now
established
itself
as
one
of
the
multicultural
hotspots
of
the
United
Kingdom.
It
qualifies
itself
as:
“a
diverse
and
vibrant
city”
(West
Yorkshire
Observatory,
2014),
therefore
the
importance
of
international
news
would
be
expected
to
be
a
priority
in
local
media.
However,
by
examining,
comparing
and
contrasting
four
different
media
platforms:
print,
radio,
television
and
online,
we
discovered
that
the
further
we
moved
away
from
traditional
forms
of
media
(i.e.
the
press),
towards
a
more
modern-­‐day
media
platform
(i.e.
exclusively
online),
international
news
became
less
prominent.
We
found
that
due
to
the
nature
of
the
media
landscape
today
–
being
fast-­‐paced,
economically
driven,
and
easily
accessible
–
there
has
been
a
shift
in
the
way
that
international
news
is
being
portrayed
in
local
news
media
platforms.
Through
looking
at
the
nature
of
the
media
landscape
as
a
whole,
we
were
able
to
understand
that
key
themes
such
as
news
values,
cost
and
technology
have
a
significant
impact
on
the
way
that
international
news
is
covered
by
local
media.
Academic
research
surrounding
international
communications
have
suggested
that
different
‘scapes’
such
as
Technoscapes,
which
has
created
technological
divisions
that
impact
peoples
practices,
and
Mediascapes,
where
the
local
media
environment
is
dominated
by
media
imperialism,
are
crucial
aspects
in
understanding
the
reasons
of
how
international
news
is
represented
in
local
media.
Method
Our
method
consisted
of
focusing
on
the
main
local
media
platforms
in
Leeds,
and
breaking
down
their
news
agendas.
By
doing
this
we
were
able
to
gain
a
holistic
understanding
of
the
main
themes
that
interweaved
international
news
into
the
local
press.
In
order
to
get
an
accurate
overview
of
how
international
media
is
represented
in

3. 3
local
press,
we
chose
a
sample
week
at
random
beginning
on
the
10th
of
November.
During
this
time
period,
we
individually
conducted
an
in-­‐depth
analysis
on
our
chosen
platform,
closely
recording
any
mention
of
international
news.
In
choosing
peak
broadcast
times
for
radio
and
television,
it
meant
we
could
establish
the
importance
of
international
news
at
times
where,
if
it
was
going
to
be
present,
it
would
be.
By
using
a
specific
code-­‐book,
we
were
able
to
uniform
our
findings
so
that
we
could
effectively
compare
and
contrast
the
results
across
all
mediums.
The
code-­‐book
consisted
of
which
international
stories
are
present
in
the
news
agenda
and
their
position
in
the
newsfeed,
this
was
crucial
in
order
to
understand
how
important
international
news
actually
was
to
local
media
platforms.
Furthermore,
our
code-­‐book
covered
the
genre
and
theme
of
the
news
stories,
which
allowed
us
to
see
where
international
news
stood
in
the
hierarchy
of
their
news
values.
Figure
1
and
Figure
2
highlighted
which
themes
were
the
most
prominent
for
local
commercial
radio
and
for
online
and
printed
press.
Figure
1:
Genres
present
in
Radio
Aire’s
news
bulletins
(November
10-­‐15th)
GENRE
Number
of
stories
Crime
9
Sport
2
Entertainment
6
International
6
Current
Affairs
(Health,
Housing,
Council)
25

4. 4
Figure
2:
Main
themes
through
printed
and
online
media
In
addition,
our
code-­‐book
made
sure
that
we
covered
news
values.
This
idea
was
important
because
it
allowed
us
to
gain
an
understanding
of
why
local
media
chose
the
stories
they
did,
and
how
in
turn
this
affected
their
treatment
of
international
stories.
In
order
to
have
an
insight
into
the
way
that
international
items
are
treated,
we
conducted
several
interviews
with
news
editors
in
selected
media
platforms.
By
undertaking
this
process,
it
allowed
for
us
to
link
the
physical
findings
with
the
theoretical
approach
underlying
the
editorial
choices
in
whether
or
not
international
items
were
present
in
local
media.
Findings
Our
findings
indicated
that
the
presence
of
international
news
was
almost
absent
in
the
majority
of
our
studied
media
platforms.
Local
print
and
online
print
recorded
the
most
amount
of
international
news.
Figure
3
shows
the
steady
occurrence
of
international
Main
themes
through
printed
and
online
media
War
Death
Poli-cs
Commemora-on
Trial
Disease

5. 5
news
items
in
local
print.
The
Yorkshire
Post
and
The
Yorkshire
Evening
Post
registered
a
minimum
of
9
international
items
per
day.
Figure
3:
International
News
in
the
Yorkshire
Post
and
Evening
Post
In
comparison,
BBC
Radio
Leeds
and
Radio
Aire
registered
a
minimal
amount
of
international
news
stories
–
as
shown
by
Figures
4,
5
and
6.
These
figures
indicate
a
very
low
international
output
in
Radio
Aire’s
bulletins,
with
local
news
dominating
the
feed
by
88%.
Similarly,
we
can
see
that
BBC
Radio
Leeds
had
an
equally
low
international
output,
with
local
news
dominating
86%
of
the
newsfeed.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Interna4onal
news
Interna-onal
news

6. 6
Figure
4:
International
stories
in
BBC
Radio
Leeds
and
Radio
Aire
TOTAL
NEWS
STORIES
ANALYSED
INTERNATIONAL
STORIES
LOCAL
OR
NATIONAL
STORIES
RADIO
AIRE
49
6
43
BBC
RADIO
LEEDS
28
4
24
Figure
5:
Percentage
of
International
Stories
in
Radio
Aire
PERCENTAGE
OF
INTERNATIONAL
STORIES
IN
RADIO
AIRE
International
news
Local
news

7. 7
Figure
6:
Percentage
of
International
News
Stories
in
BBC
Radio
Leeds
Similarly,
by
examining
the
local
segments:
BBC
Look
North
and
ITV
Calendar,
Figure
7
shows
that
local
television
output
severely
lacked
international
news
coverage,
with
only
one
international
news
story
being
present
on
ITV’s
Calendar.
Yet,
this
international
news
story
was
only
broadcast
through
ITV’s
local
branch
because
it
had
a
direct
local
relevance
to
West
Yorkshire.
However,
by
observing
the
stations
national
news
section
that
was
broadcast
prior
to
the
local
section,
we
discovered
strong
evidence
of
international
coverage.
This
is
shown
in
Figures
8
and
9.
PERCENTAGE
OF
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS
STORIES
IN
BBC
RADIO
LEEDS
International
news
Local
news

8. 8
Figure
7:
BBC
and
ITV
News
Comparison
Genre
Amount
of
Stories
in
BBC
Amount
of
Stories
in
ITV
Crime
2
5
Trial
0
1
Sport
5
7
Current
Affairs
14
17
International
1
1
Figure
8:
Percentage
of
News
Bulletin
Allocated
to
Specific
Genres
–
ITV
Percentage
of
news
bullen4n
allocated
to
specific
genres
-­‐
ITV
Crime
Trial
Sport
Current
affairs
Interna-onal

9. 9
Figure
9:
Percentage
of
News
Bulletin
Allocated
to
Specific
Genres
-­‐
BBC
Furthermore,
by
looking
at
two
strictly
online,
local
news
platforms:
Qlocal
and
The
City
Talking
it
was
found
that
there
was
no
evidence
of
international
news
(see
Figure
10).
Instead,
the
content
focused
strictly
on
local
news
items
that
were
specifically
relevant
to
Leeds
–
having
the
newsfeed
hierarchy
start
with
crime,
and
end
with
current
affairs
(see
Figure
11).
Percentage
of
news
bullen4n
allocated
to
specific
genres
-­‐
BBC
Crime
Trial
Sport
Current
affairs
Interna-onal

10. 10
Figure
10:
international
News
in
Local,
Online
Media
Figure
11:
News
Genre
Hierarchy
in
Local,
Online
Media
Interna4onal
News
in
Local,
Online
Media
Local
News
Interna-onal
News
News
Genre
Heirarchy
in
Local,
Online
Media
Crime
Sport
Entertainment
Current
Affairs

11. 11
Reasoning:
News
Values
When
looking
at
why
international
news
was
not
prominent
in
the
majority
of
the
local
media
that
we
examined,
the
idea
of
news
values
became
a
key
theme.
By
looking
at
academic
research
on
news
values,
we
have
found
that
Brighton
and
Foy
(2007)
discuss
the
importance
of
news
values
for
journalists
when
selecting
what
stories
will
go
into
their
agenda.
They
go
on
to
develop
Galtung
and
Ruge’s
(1973)
main
news
values,
by
pointing
out
that
their
core
agenda
set
in
1973
has
increasingly
become
out-­‐dated.
They
indicate
that
instead,
the
main
news
values
today
address
what
is
most
relevant
to
the
target
audience,
and
therefore
they
are
interchangeable.
On
top
of
this,
Hastings
(2002)
puts
forward
the
idea
that
journalists
and
editors
now
filter
out
stories
dependent
on
their
news
worth,
highlighting
the
difficulties
that
journalists
now
face
when
creating
news
agenda
across
multiple
media
platforms.
It
is
because
of
this
difficulty
that
has
been
created
from
changing
news
values
and
the
introduction
of
new
technologies,
that
has
caused
the
relevance
of
international
news
in
local
media
to
change.
This
change
is
directly
dependent
on
individual
media
outlets
and
their
specific
news
agendas.
The
nature
of
local,
printed
news
is
traditional
and
long-­‐standing,
due
to
the
fact
that
newspapers
have
been
around
in
England
since
the
beginning
of
the
17th
century.
The
process
of
selecting
news
therefore
maintains
a
degree
of
consistency
–
in
the
sense
that
they
still
provide
holistic
news
covering
international,
national
and
local
events.
It
is
partly
because
of
this
idea
that
we
found
large
portions
of
International
news
(8-­‐12
stories
per
day)
present
in
the
local
newspapers
(The
Yorkshire
Post
and
The
Yorkshire
Evening
Post)
that
we
examined.
These
stories
largely
consisted
of
themes
that
approached
war
in
developing
continents
such
as
Africa,
which
mainly
focused
on
the

12. 12
Ebola
crisis,
and
the
Middle
East,
which
covered
information
about
the
Islamic
State
(see
Figure
12
and
13).
In
an
Interview
with
Dr.
Chris
Paterson
(2014),
he
indicated
that
the
reasoning
for
such
large
portions
of
international
news
in
the
local
press
was
because:
by
linking
international
news
with
the
multicultural
citizens
of
Leeds,
these
newspapers
have
more
of
a
chance
to
maintain
their
target
number
of
readers
and
subscribers,
in
an
environment
where
newspapers
are
slowly
coming
out
of
fashion.
**add
reference**
Figure
12:
International
News
Comparison
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
The
Yorkshire
Post
The
Evening
Post

13. 13
Figure
13:
International
News
Across
Different
Continents
When
looking
at
the
presence
of
international
news
in
the
local
radio
landscape,
it
was
found
that
it
was
not
a
priority.
We
found
that
this
was
mostly
due
to
the
fact
that
their
focus
was
on
the
news
value
proximity.
In
the
BBC’s
case
this
is
due
to
local
news
having
to
focus
solely
on
what
happens
in
their
area
of
broadcast
(Chantler
&
Harris,
1997).
Chantler
and
Harris
(1997,
p.
56)
indicate
that:
“the
prerogative
of
local
radio
stations
is
to
simply
tell
the
news
that
directly
influences
people
locally.
The
national
news
services
of
the
BBC
will
explain
topics
that
affect
the
country
both
nationally
and
internationally,”
meaning
that
international
news,
unless
directly
attached
to
local
issues,
becomes
less
significant
in
the
local
radio
environment.
This
idea
is
shown
through
the
examination
of
our
two
chosen
local
radio
stations
(see
Figures
5
and
6).
Specifically,
it
was
found
that
Radio
Aire
registered
just
12%
of
international
news
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Oceania
Asia
Middle
East
Africa
Europe
South
America
North
America

14. 14
stories,
with
their
head
reporter
Claire
Warren
confirming
that
this
because
international
news
“was
just
not
their
priority”
(Warren,
2014).
On
a
more
drastic
scale,
by
focusing
on
two
strictly
online,
local
news
platforms:
Qlocal
and
The
City
Talking
it
was
found
that
there
was
no
evidence
of
international
news
present
at
all.
According
to
Bednarek
and
Caple
(2012,
pp.
41-­‐44)
what
is
newsworthy
usually
concerns
the
country,
region
or
city
in
which
the
news
is
published.
In
this
case,
Qlocal
and
The
City
Talking
focused
specifically
on
concerns
about
the
city
of
Leeds.
Due
to
the
fact
that
the
websites
were
strictly
based
on
local
news
in
Leeds,
it
was
not
surprising
that
there
was
no
mention
of
international
news
at
all
across
the
five-­‐day
testing
period.
By
focusing
on
specifically
local
news,
both
Qlocal
and
The
City
Talking
were
able
to
allow
their
audience
members
to
feel
a
sense
of
proximity
to
the
stories
being
presented.
This
in
turn
would
allow
each
audience
member
to
better
connect
with,
and
become
interested
in
the
news
line-­‐up.
On
top
of
this,
it
was
found
that
most
of
the
stories
being
presented
on
both
Qlocal
and
The
City
Talking
followed
a
similar
content
and
layout
structure
–
both
presented
information
about
one
of
the
more
local,
newsworthy
topics
at
the
beginning
of
the
news
line-­‐up,
which
mostly
revolved
around
crime
in
Leeds
(see
Figure
11).
After
this
they
would
then
move
on
to
present
more
light-­‐hearted
stories
based
on
the
sport
and
entertainment
that
were
currently
happening
around
the
city.
According
to
Bednarek
and
Caple
(2012,
pp.
41-­‐44),
aspects
of
a
story
become
newsworthy
if
they
tie
in
with
the
stereotypes
that
people
hold.
By
following
the
same
structure
on
a
daily
basis
not
only
allows
for
audience
members
to
become
familiar
with
the
content,
but
it
also
cements
the
idea
that
both
Qlocal
and
The

15. 15
City
Talking
are
going
to
be
less
likely
in
the
future
to
portray
any
information
on
international
news
stories,
unless
they
fall
under
the
news
value
of
proximity.
Reasoning:
Cost
The
gathering
of
international
news
is
a
costly
affair
(Paterson,
2003.
P.337).
Therefore
it
is
something
that
plays
a
significant
role
in
how
international
news
is
treated
in
local
media.
Paterson
(2003)
highlights
that
many
broadcasters
devote
a
lot
of
their
resources
into
few
large
international
stories
at
one
time.
During
an
interview,
conducted
after
our
observation
week,
he
stated
than
many
local
broadcasters
may
try
and
take
a
local
angle
on
an
international
story
in
order
to
better
connect
with
their
readers
and
subscribers.
However,
in
most
cases
they
are
reprinting
what
has
come
from
the
news
agencies
(Paterson,
2014).
Paterson
(2014)
highlights
that
some
stories
may
be
chosen
due
ownership
backgrounds
and
personal
interest.
These
interests
could
be
due
to
financial
factors
or
political
bias.
Similarly,
local
news
media
is
dependent
on
external
advertising
for
revenue
and
therefore
their
output
must
abide
by
certain
standards
set
by
their
sponsors
(Gage,
1999).
These
factors
indicate
how
important
cost
becomes
in
influencing
the
proportion
of
international
news
in
the
local
news
agenda.
Contrary
to
the
online
media
platforms,
printed
newspapers
cannot
change
the
format
of
their
paper
once
it
has
been
released.
This
would
be
a
costly
situation
that
is
not
financially
worth
the
effort.
Due
to
the
fact
that
printed
news
is
usually
only
distributed
once
or
twice
daily,
newspaper
outlets
need
to
ensure
that
they
maintain
their
advertisers
and
gain
financial
revenue.
This
means
that
they
need
to
cover
any
international
news
stories
that
are
connected
to
their
target
audience
with
every
edition.
Dr.
Paterson
(2014)
noted
that
this
is
because
there
are
still
some
people
in
Leeds
who

16. 16
are
interested
in
international
news,
and
will
therefore
help
fund
the
paper
by
their
purchases.
However
he
adds
that
these
international
stories
tend
to
still
have
a
local
angle.
After
examining
the
news
output
from
Radio
Aire
it
was
easy
to
establish
that
most
of
Radio
Aire’s
output
are
tabloidesque
news
stories;
this
is
a
direct
result
of
who
they
broadcast
to
(Bauer
Media
Group,
2014).
Linda
Gage
(1999)
explains
that
there
are
external
factors
such
as
advertising
and
promotion
which
oblige
the
radio
stations
to
broadcast
what
their
‘sponsors’
advertising
dictates;
leaving
them
little
leeway
to
broadcast
hard
hitting
news
whether
national
or
International
(Gage,
1999).
This
is
also
mirrored
in
BBC
local
radio;
as
a
result
of
a
decrease
in
the
license
fee,
local
radio
is
getting
less
funding
which
means
that
they
have
smaller
teams
that
must
operate
in
tighter
boundaries
(BBC
Trust,
2014).
Harcup
(2007,
p.15)
explains
that
“being
balanced
is
one
of
the
hardest
tasks
a
journalist
must
undergo,
it
is
made
significantly
harder
when
restrictions
surrounding
the
journalist
are
then
applied
to
his
work.”
It
is
these
cost
restrictions
that
play
a
significant
role
in
why
international
news
is
less
prominent
in
local
radio.
By
comparing
ITV
and
BBC’s
national
and
local
news
sections
it
was
found
that
the
national
news
held
the
majority
of
international
news
stories,
while
the
local
news
was
strictly
focusing
on
news
in
the
local
region.
Paterson
(2003,
p.337)
indicates
that
a
reasoning
for
this
is
that
the
gathering
of
international
news
is
costly,
stating
that
even
the
largest
broadcasters:
“typically
devote
their
resources
to
just
a
few
international
stories
at
a
time.”
Another
reason
for
this
is
that
television
news
broadcasters
rely

17. 17
heavily
on
two
main
new
agencies
to
gather
content
from
around
the
world:
Reuters
and
Associated
press.
Due
to
the
high
cost
surrounding
this
method
Paterson
(2003)
highlights
that
broadcasters
will
air
larger
stories
across
the
country
to
maximise
their
expenditure,
thus
leading
to
a
total
absence
of
international
news
that
can
be
observed
in
figures
7
and
8.
By
looking
at
the
news
values
and
news
agendas
observed
on
BBC
and
ITV
the
companies
rely
heavily
on
local,
easily
accessible
stories
gathered
through
press
releases.
This
is
largely
due
to
the
fact
that
the
demand
for
sourcing
international
news
stories
does
not
outweigh
the
cost
of
sourcing
them.
Due
to
this
idea,
there
becomes
a
high
flow
of
local
news
in
local
media,
with
international
news
taking
a
backseat.
Reasoning:
Technology
Raine
and
Wellman
(2012)
indicate
new
expectations
and
realities
are
emerging
as
a
result
of
becoming
online.
This
puts
forward
the
idea
that
audiences’
expectations
have
now
changed,
and
their
media
use
is
becoming
more
fluid
as
a
result
of
the
online
platform.
The
nature
of
the
online
platform
–
being
fast-­‐paced
and
always
changing,
means
that
if
something
major
were
to
happen
on
an
international
scale,
then
the
online
websites
would
have
the
ability
to
be
able
to
quickly
add
these
news
items
to
their
line-­‐
up.
It
is
because
of
this
idea
that
there
was
found
to
be
a
consistent
absence
of
international
news
in
the
online
platform.
If
a
major
international
story
did
happen
to
rise,
the
ability
to
report
on
it
quickly
and
effectively
is
possible
due
to
the
online
environment.
In
contrast,
the
format
of
television
programming
only
permits
certain
news
items
to
be
aired
in
the
allocated
timeslots
that
TV
news
has
at
its
disposal.
With
the
advancement
of
technology,
television
news
is
becoming
obsolete.
The
average
age
of
viewers
for
BBC

18. 18
One,
the
channel
on
which
the
local
news
is
broadcast,
is
59
(BBC,
2014),
and
similarly,
ITV
record
an
average
age
of
55
(ITV,
2014).
Boyde-­‐Barrett
(2000)
suggest
that
the
increase
of
satellite
television
news
channels
has
lead
to
the
separation
of
international
and
local
news,
as
there
are
now
specific
channels
that
cover
major
international
stories,
allowing
local
stations
to
focus
solely
on
local
news.
These
suggestions
are
represented
in
the
findings
from
the
observation
week,
as
can
be
seen
when
the
international
news
stories
fell
on
the
national
news
programmes,
rather
than
the
local
segment.
Due
to
the
nature
of
printed
news
–
being
that
it
is
distributed
only
once
or
twice
a
day
–
it
creates
a
necessity
for
all
headlining
news
to
be
present
in
their
daily
issue.
Taking
the
example
of
the
Yorkshire
Post,
which
has
one
issue
per
day,
results
in
the
fact
that
they
only
have
one
chance
to
try
and
cover
all
the
news,
both
international
and
local.
However,
traditional
newspapers
are
increasingly
more
present
online
rather
than
just
selling
the
printed
version.
Today,
a
large
portion
of
Leeds’
population
read
international
news
online
(Paterson
2014).
Furthermore,
due
to
the
nature
of
media
convergence
today,
the
boundaries
between
print
and
online
are
becoming
intertwined.
Although
traditional
printed
media
is
becoming
decreasingly
popular
–
due
to
their
links
with
the
online
platform
–
we
can
see
that
their
content
has
crossed-­‐over.
From
this,
there
is
evidence
of
international
news
on
online
platforms
whereby
it
is
linked
to
the
printed
version
(i.e.
Yorkshire
Post
Online).
Nevertheless
technology
through
printed
newspapers
has
a
limited
role
because
it
is
published
at
a
daily
precise
time,
contrary
to
online
news,
which
is
refreshed
instantly
on
the
Internet.

19. 19
Buffer
Paragraph
Technological
divisions
are
the
most
serious
catalyst
for
Leeds’
local
media.
Factors
such
as
cost,
frequency
of
distribution,
media
environments
and
their
audiences
have
created
an
inhospitable
atmosphere
for
international
news
to
prosper
in.
It
is
because
of
this
that
we
have
found,
the
further
we
moved
away
from
traditional
forms
of
media
(i.e.
the
press),
towards
a
more
modern-­‐day
media
platform
(i.e.
exclusively
online),
international
news
became
less
prominent;
singling
out
the
technoscape
concept
for
these
reasons.
This
is
closely
followed
by
the
idea
that
media
imperialism
links
the
lack
of
international
news
to
the
mediascape
concept.
Our
research
confirms
that
editorial
choices
are
the
primary
reason
for
which
international
news
does
not
make
the
majority
of
news
output
across
local
media
platforms:
specifically
television,
radio
and
strictly
online.
These
editorial
choices
in
turn
refer
back
to
external
influential
factors
that
are
often
out
of
the
control
of
the
media
team,
solidifying
the
pivotal
role
that
technology
and
cost
play
in
the
selection
of
news
across
all
platforms.
Conclusion
By
analysing
international
news
in
local
media
outlets
we
discovered
that
the
further
we
moved
away
from
traditional
forms
of
media,
towards
a
more
modern-­‐day
media
platform,
international
news
became
less
available.
This
is
largely
due
to
the
structural
media
pillars
of
Great
Britain,
where
some
news
companies
are
commissioned
to
cover
national
stories,
and
therefore
subsections
of
the
companies
or
independent
local

20. 20
companies
have
no
need
to
cover
that
international
input.
Looking
at
the
portrayal
of
news
through
the
concepts
of
technoscapes
and
mediascapes
we
can
assess
that
external
factors,
such
as:
technology,
accessibility
and
audiences
directly
affect
whether
international
news
is
selected
for
the
news
agenda.
Therefore,
we
can
safely
conclude
that
international
news,
unless
it
is
worthy
of
a
front-­‐page
headline
or
a
strong
local
connection,
will
not
be
present
in
Leeds’
local
media.