Datelines of Foreign Wire Service News into Sweden
| Author | Stig Thorén |
| Date | 01 November 1969 |
| DOI | 10.1177/001083676900400308 |
| Published date | 01 November 1969 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Stig Thorén
Datelines of Foreign Wire
Service News into Sweden
Wilbur Schramm has said that the
In a pilot study of the African press,
currents of information in the world
the flow of news tended to be signifi-
today are nearly as predictable as the
cantly correlated with the gross na-
currents of air. They are repetitive
tional product. News coming out of
patterns which are as regular as trade
a developing African nation is very
winds. He has also emphasized that
different from that of an industrialized
news from many parts of the world is
European nation, and the picture that
thin with heavy coverage of a few
the European and American public
highly-developed countries. Thus the
often get of the developing world is
news is not distributed equally through-
one characterized by conflict, political
out the world.’
upheaval and military coups.5
According to Einar Ostgaard, the
These general observations have in-
important factors in determining news
fluenced the present study. The pur-
flow are the strategic positions of the
pose was to examine the geographi-
sender and receiver. The international
cal origin of the international flow of
flow of news tends to travel from the
news into Sweden, and the following
higher towards the lower ranks among
hypotheses were formulated: (1) the
nations and the senders of communi-
flow
of
news
is
dominated
by
cations tend to be found in countries
the countries where the international
with a higher social status than the
news agencies are located; (2) the
newstakers.2
Western countries dominate the inter-
In both a geographical and cultural
national flow of news; (3) the largest
sense, proximity tends to influence the
part of newsflow into Sweden carries
news flow. In the former sense proxim-
more news datelined highly-developed
ity is a key element in reader interest,
countries than less-developed countries;
whereas cultural proximity appears to
(4) the international flow of news from
be the major asset for a news story.3
3
the news agencies in Stockholm into the
The flow of news concerning less-
newspapers located in Sweden carry
developed nations also seems to be more
more
news
from highly-developed
...
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