International organizations, news sources, and sub‐Saharan Africa: A content analysis of Pravda, Izvestia, Trud, and Selskaya Zhizn, 1979–1987

Abstract

This article reports research on news coverage of the activities of international organizations in sub‐Saharan Africa and the use of news agency sources by Pravda, lzvestfa, Trud, and Selskaya Zhizn from 1979 to 1987. The study found that all the dailies published more favorable than neutral news items and did not publish any unfavorable stories. The lion's share of the coverage went to the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations. One West African regional economic organization, Economic Community of West African States, was mentioned once. The dailies tended to rely more on TASS (now ITAR‐Tass) as the major news source for coverage of activities of international organizations in the region. This study contributes to the limited scholarship on non‐Western media coverage of the activities of international organizations in sub‐Saharan Africa.

Key Terms:

• Russian press
• international organizations
• news sources
• media and Africa
• press and Africa
• Russian press and Africa
• international communication
• Pravda
• Izvestia
• Trud
• and Selskaya Zhizn.