Television News and Human Rights in the US & UK

Shawna M. Brandle is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Kingsborough Community College, New York. Her interests include media and international relations.

• 1. Introduction 2. Human Rights and the Media in the US & UK 3. Content Analysis I: US Phrase Search 4. Content Analysis II: US & UK Transcript Analysis 5. Content Analysis III: Comparing Twenty Years of American and British Television News Coverage 6. Case Studies: China, Somalia, and Sudan 7. Conclusion Appendix I: Methodology Appendix II: Coding Instruments Appendix III: All Countries Featured in Human Rights Stories, 1990-2009

'Shawna M. Brandle’s innovative and meticulous content analysis of U.S. and British TV news documents the shockingly sparse coverage of human rights issues around the world that leaves the general public clueless about the frequency and severity of human rights violations and decision-makers free of pressure to do more than pay lip service to these problems. While crime and terrorism in the West tend to be over-covered, human rights violations are rarely televised according to the research presented here. This is an important book that is especially recommended for the fields of communication, journalism, political science, and human rights studies.' — Brigitte Nacos, Columbia University'In this timely new work, Professor Brandle reminds us there are few things more important than human rights. By short-changing news coverage of human rights, media organizations fail to discourage the violence and also limit public outrage over under-covered atrocities. This book is a crucial study of how little we are told about a recurring global danger.' —Stephen Farnsworth, Professor of Political Science and Director of the University of Mary Washington's Center for Leadership and Media Studies'Brandle’s quantitative study analyzed 20 years of film footage using several different types of content analyses. Her results reveal a sparse coverage of human rights by the media of these two countries. Thus, she argues, viewers in these two industrialized nations are provided with very limited knowledge of actual situations, particularly in Third World countries. This study on international communication is extremely focused, and should appeal to a very specific audience. It should especially interest scholars of international studies, political science, and journalism... Summing Up: Recommended.' - R. Ray, CHOICE