Up to now at GNV, we have analyzed trends in international reporting by the Japanese media from various angles, based on data we independently collected on the three major Japanese newspapers, and conveyed the current situation. However, in Japan the news media are not limited to newspapers. Television, while conveying less volume of information, can effectively combine audio, video, and explanatory graphics to communicate information more clearly and with more impact than newspapers. This too is a medium that has a major influence on how we understand world affairs. So this time we would like to focus on television.

As international reporting conveyed on television, this time we focused on the special program “International News Report 2016” broadcast on NHK BS1. Over the course of fiscal 2016 (Note 1), we examine the types of international news topics and countries covered, and their relationships.

For the 232 special segments, we collected data and conducted analysis from the perspectives of “regions covered,” “featured primary countries,” and “topic categories.” Below we look at the results from these three angles.

(1) Regions covered

Of the 232 special segments, Asia accounted for the largest share at 41.3%. This was followed by North America and Europe. These three regions made up 84% of the total. With regard to Europe and North America, news items that are still fresh in memory from fiscal 2016—articles on the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU—accounted for 33.7% of Europe as a whole, and articles on the U.S. election accounted for 67.0% of North America as a whole. The U.S. election alone made up 15% of all specials on “International News Report 2016,” indicating particularly heavy concentration of features. Coverage ranged from reports on the candidates’ battles to the situation during the election, and included items focusing on the aftermath and policy content; features were aired across almost the entire year. On the other hand, we should also note the extremely small number from Latin America. Over the year, only one item each on Brazil, Colombia, and Peru was covered—together amounting to one eighteenth of the number on just the United States. This clearly illustrates the regional skew in coverage. In addition, although not as extreme as Latin America, attention to Africa was also low. Moreover, 32.8% of the features on Africa were about South Sudan, where Japan had deployed Self-Defense Forces to a PKO.

(2) Top 10 countries covered

Next, including some of what we touched on earlier, we look at coverage by individual country. Among the 232 special segments, the United States stood out far above others, accounting by itself for 22.8% of the total. The gaps with the Asian and European countries that follow can be seen in the figure. China, the Korean Peninsula, and the major European powers—which are closely related to Japan in terms of trade and security—also made the list. Syria and Iraq, where conflicts are prominent, also appear, as does the Philippines, whose newly inaugurated president—often described as extreme in words and deeds—drew attention. However, no African or Latin American countries made the top 10.

(3) Categories of feature content

By category of feature content (Note 2), items related to “Politics” accounted for nearly half (47.6%), followed by “War/Conflict” (13.5%). In terms of specific topics under “Politics,” as expected there were many on the UK’s exit from the EU, the U.S. election, President Obama’s visit to Hiroshima, and the election of President Duterte in the Philippines. Next, under “War/Conflict,” operations to retake Mosul in Iraq and the battle for Aleppo in Syria stood out. Features on the Syrian conflict, the Iraq conflict, and IS—including these two—made up 47.5% of all “War/Conflict” items. For the United States, which had the highest number of features, 80% were on “Politics,” followed by “Society/Life,” “Terrorism,” “Incidents,” and “Economy.” For Africa, “War/Conflict” was most common at 41.3%.

As seen above, coverage is divided between regions that receive concentrated reporting and those that are hardly covered at all. However, before examining the events of fiscal 2016 and how they were reported, we also need to consider NHK’s longer-term priorities. First, let’s look at NHK’s bureau locations worldwide. There are 14 bases in Asia; in North America, three bases all in the United States; six in Europe; three in the Middle East; two in Africa including Cairo near the Middle East; and one in Oceania. This reflects not decisions about whether to cover an event when it happens somewhere in the world, but rather decisions about where they want to be able to report from if something happens in the future. From the above placement it is clear which parts of the world NHK considers important. This is reflected not only in specials; the same tendency is seen in everyday NHK news, with sparse coverage of Africa and Latin America. Furthermore, the same prioritization is evident in “World Broadcasters,” also provided by NHK on BS1. This program airs news dubbed into Japanese from 23 television stations around the world. However, while four stations are from the United States and six from Europe, in Latin America only one station from Brazil is used, and there are no stations broadcasting from Africa. In other words, the same priorities can be seen not only in NHK’s own reporting network but also in the information it obtains from external sources.

NHK Broadcasting Center, Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. Photo: Rs1421 （ CC BY-SA 3.0 ）

Even special programs that can be expected to have a significant effect in helping viewers understand the news showed large disparities in the countries/regions and topic categories actually featured. Precisely because specials allot more time than regular news and can report in depth, the greater volume of information and deeper explanations can benefit viewers. However, the breadth of regions and topics covered remains limited, with many blind spots, leaving room for improvement. In today’s globalized world, the entire globe is connected on multiple levels, and there are many events that transcend regions. If things remain as they are, viewers’ understanding of the world will remain skewed.

Writer: Aki Horino

Graphics: Aki Horino

Footnotes

Note 1: The period covered in this article is the one year from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017; however, excluding weekends, holidays, and 14 weekdays on which specials were not aired, 232 days were included in the survey. Also, the criteria and methods for classifying the data are not those described on NHK’s own website, but those set by GNV in “GNV’s Method of Analysis [PDF].”

Note 2: GNV’s categories (16 items)

Politics, War/Conflict, Society/Life, Economy, Terrorism, Accidents, Military, Incidents, Science and Technology, Health/Medicine, Arts/Culture, Education, Environment/Pollution, Sports, Weather Disasters, Demonstrations/Riots