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Filtering revolution

Author

Listed:
  • Matthew A Baum

    (John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University)

  • Yuri M Zhukov

    (Department of Political Science, University of Michigan)

Abstract

Reporting bias – the media’s tendency to systematically underreport or overreport certain types of events – is a persistent problem for participants and observers of armed conflict. We argue that the nature of reporting bias depends on how news organizations navigate the political context in which they are based. Where government pressure on the media is limited – in democratic regimes – the scope of reporting should reflect conventional media preferences toward novel, large-scale, dramatic developments that challenge the conventional wisdom and highlight the unsustainability of the status quo. Where political constraints on reporting are more onerous – in non-democratic regimes – the more conservative preferences of the state will drive the scope of coverage, emphasizing the legitimacy and inevitability of the prevailing order. We test these propositions using new data on protest and political violence during the 2011 Libyan uprising and daily newspaper coverage of the Arab Spring from 113 countries. We uncover evidence of a status-quo media bias in non-democratic states, and a revisionist bias in democratic states. Media coverage in non-democracies underreported protests and nonviolent collective action by regime opponents, largely ignored government atrocities, and overreported those caused by rebels. We find the opposite patterns in democratic states.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew A Baum & Yuri M Zhukov, 2015. "Filtering revolution," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 52(3), pages 384-400, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:joupea:v:52:y:2015:i:3:p:384-400
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jetter, Michael, 2017. "Terrorism and the Media: The Effect of US Television Coverage on Al-Qaeda Attacks," IZA Discussion Papers 10708, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Jürgen Brandsch & André Python, 2021. "Provoking Ordinary People: The Effects of Terrorism on Civilian Violence," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 65(1), pages 135-165, January.
    3. Nadiya Kostyuk & Yuri M. Zhukov, 2019. "Invisible Digital Front: Can Cyber Attacks Shape Battlefield Events?," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 63(2), pages 317-347, February.
    4. Michael Jetter, 2017. "Mediated Terrorism: US News and Al-Qaeda Attacks," CESifo Working Paper Series 6804, CESifo.
    5. Olessia Y. Koltsova & Sergei V. Pashakhin, 2017. "Agenda Divergence in a Developing Conflict: A Quantitative Evidence from a Ukrainian and a Russian TV Newsfeeds," HSE Working papers WP BRP 79/SOC/2017, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    6. Jetter, Michael, 2019. "The inadvertent consequences of al-Qaeda news coverage," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 391-410.

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