Media Coverage of Low Intensity Conflict.

This project attempts to explain what drives media coverage of international disputes. The coverage of disputes is very important in determining the salience of foreign policy by providing information to the general public of foreign events. In this paper I argue that there are three factors driving the amount of coverage a dispute receives. The first issue is the intensity of the dispute, particularly whether or not the dispute involves fatalities. The higher levels of intensity results in a greater amount of coverage. The second issue is the states that are involved in the dispute. The final issue is whether or not the United States was the initiator or the target in the dispute. The findings generally illustrate that intensity does drive the coverage but there is significant randomness in the amount of coverage a dispute receives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]