Political bias and nonpolitical news: A content analysis of an Armenian and Iranian earthquake in theNew York Timesand theWashington Post

Abstract

This study examines whether politico‐economic theory holds true in the reportage of nonpolitical events such as natural disasters. According to this theory, news reporting is politically biased in that it reflects the political‐economic interests of the country that produces the news. Two leading national newspapers were examined for their coverage of two earthquakes, one which took place in Armenia, then a republic in the Soviet Union, on December 7, 1988, and another in northwest Iran on June 21, 1990. The Soviet Union and Iran had dramatically contrasting relationships with the United States at the time of these incidents. Results of this study strongly support politico‐economic theory: The newspapers’ reportage tended to be more sympathetic toward Armenia/Soviet Union with whom the United States had friendly relations. Difference in the newspapers’ treatment of these two similar events is apparent both in the layout and the language of the news reports.