Doing Journalism in Times of Conflict: A Cross-National Examination of News Source Attribution and Framing in Allied Countries’ Media

ABSTRACT

This research examined the dynamics of news reporting and source attribution approaches employed by prominent media outlets - the New York Times, Guardian, China Daily, and The Times of India - in their coverage of the 2022 Russia-Ukraine crises. Using Quantitative Content Analysis to examine (n = 230) news articles, this study investigated the prevalence of official, unofficial, pro-Russian, and pro-Ukrainian sources, and how these sources impacted the objectivity of news reporting during the peak of the Russia-Ukraine crises. The findings of the study are twofold. Firstly, the study revealed a prevalence of official sources over unofficial sources in the news reports, raising concerns about the representational diversity within the news. Secondly, the study records a scarcity of pro-Russian sources across the media, a trend particularly pronounced in the New York Times and Guardian, where pro-Ukrainian sources held greater prominence, potentially skewing the overall perspective presented. This strategic selection of sources appeared to culminate in a convergence of narratives across the studied media outlets, potentially limiting the availability of varied viewpoints and interpretations for the audience. This study highlights the complex relationship between source selection and news objectivity in reporting international conflicts.

KEYWORDS:

• Russia-Ukraine war
• news narratives
• source attributions
• media bias
• news objectivity
• competing narratives

Acknowledgments

The author gratefully acknowledges the invaluable guidance provided by Louisa Ha, Ph.D., who supervised this work as part of his MA thesis. He also extends his appreciation to his committee members, Lara Martin Lengel, Ph.D., and Yanqin Lu, Ph.D., for their valuable contributions.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.