Social Identity Theory and New Portrayals of Citizens Involved in International Affairs

Abstract

This study explores the utility of social identity theory (SIT) to our understanding of ethnocentrism, or in-group favoritism, as an enduring news value. It investigates the case of three national newspapers, La Prensa (Argentina), The New York Times (United States), and Berlingske Tidende (Denmark), for the degree to which news treatments serve to enhance or protect national identity in news of national citizens interacting with people and places around the world. The results of this study reveal that all three newspapers are significantly more likely to engage in news treatments that reflect favorably upon the national self and, to a much more limited degree, engage in news treatments that serve to protect national identity when the home actor actions are negative.