International news reporting is how different sides of the globes learn about what news are happening on the other end. In order to report the news internationally, there are four habits that are followed. These habits include giving a formulaic chronology of events, using sensationalized and exaggerated language, referencing metaphors and imagery with which Americans identify, and lastly on emphasizing an American connection (Moeller, 1999).
Covering the news in a formulaic way revolves around identifying bad and good. The chronology of events will also be formulaic. First, the reporters will have a virtual template, meaning the coverage will only be done once the situation is extreme. Next, there will be a simplification of the causes and the solutions of the news reported. Moving forward, the language of morality where reporters portray the good and bad of a situation. Lastly, there must be images of the situation reported, as a lack of visual elements creates a shortfall from the audience (Moeller, 1999). The U.S’s coverage of the Gaza war in 2009 started with an image of a mother who had lost five of her children, which implies the extreme situation, the country of Palestine was facing. Moreover, the reporters portrayed the good and the bad from their side, as the Israelis always has the upper hand with Americans, thus are seen as the victims in this scenario, whereas Palestine’s perspective of the story was missing. The bloodbath was downsized as it had happened in Palestine (Battah, 2009). Images, and videos were also available throughout the coverage of this unfortunate event.
When it comes to the language used, sensationalized and exaggerated language is crucial, as to keep up with the shock factor of the news reported. That being said, the media only covers and reports the news that are pretty drastic and catastrophically extreme whether it is about a disease or an incident (Moeller, 1999). The language used in the U.S’s coverage of the Gaza war was very harsh, and included a dark vocabulary of words such as “killed”, “Mideast Violence”.
The media often uses analogies, metaphors and imagery to make an event seem more relatable to the audience and provoke interest and excitement. It’s also used to simplify a complex event or crisis in order to reach a broader audience (Moeller, 1999). Especially while reporting international news to the American public, it is common to use analogies and comparisons with historic events that happened in the US, helping the audience better understand the situation through examples they already understand and relate to, making the need for an extensive description of the background preceding the actual event obsolete.
By doing so, the media also creates a sentimental feeling towards international news that would have otherwise been taken objectively.
Moreover, when reporting international news, it is very important to find a way to make it relatable for the American public. In fact, Americans are usually quite egocentric and focus on the “American side” of things (Moeller, 1999). Therefore, the selection of the news to be reported is based on American connection and implication, rather than actual importance or impact. It is important that the place where the events take place has some connection or implication for the American people (common vacation destination, US military presence, imminent danger to US sovereignty/interests…). The audience should feel that the event will/can affect them or their country in a direct way. It is more common to depict an event from the “What is the American stand in regards to that news” point of view rather than reporting the actual news as is. In addition, Americans take interest in news that shows extreme scenes and bloody images of crisis from elsewhere. Other than that, the American public rarely takes interest in international news. The U.S, which is a strong ally Israel, has also reported how the White House has asked for a durable ceasefire to avoid Palestinian “terrorists” from launching any rockets, which would be a problem for the U.S (Battah, 2009).
References:
Battah, H. (2009): In the U.S., Gaza is a Different War. Al-Jazeera. Retrievedfrom:https://www.aljazeera.com/focus/war_on_gaza/2009/01/20091585448204690.html
Moeller, S. (1999). Four Habits of International News Reporting (read pages 1-6 only): In Compassion fatigue. London: Routledge. https://frameworksinstitute.org/assets/files/PDF_GII/four_habits_of_news_reporting.pd f
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