Framing the Libyan conflict: a content analysis of Associated Press and New York Times coverage (2012)

Undergraduate: Catherine Sum

Faculty Advisor: Rhonda Gibson
Department: Journalism & Mass Communication

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The purpose of this study was to analyze the sources used in Associated Press and New York Times coverage of the Libyan conflict, fought between Moammar Gadhafi’s regime and the rebel (anti-Gadhafi) forces. This content analysis coded sources in two ways: if a source appeared anywhere in an article, and the order in which the first three sources were cited. The unit of analysis was a single newspaper article, of which 722 were coded, using Qualtrics, in the course of this study: 489 from the AP and 233 from the Times. Articles downloaded from LexisNexis were published from Feb. 15-Oct. 23, 2011. Robert Entman’s model of framing was used, so this study also looks at the characterization of contributing factors and solutions of the conflict. The study can therefore be broken down by topic, as follows: sources, dominant issues, causes, solutions and diction (use of the phrases “civil war” and “revolution”). SPSS was used for data analysis of the coded articles. International government officials, leaders or diplomats (not Libyan nationals) were the most frequently cited sources, appearing in 310 articles; the second most-cited sources were members of the rebel (anti-Gadhafi) forces, appearing in 305 articles. This provides an interesting narrative because of what is now known about the international response to the conflict — namely, the NATO-organized sorties flown over Libyan airspace and the International Criminal Court’s warrant for Gadhafi on accusations of war crimes.