A Comparative Investigation Into Press–State Relations: Comparing Source Structures in Three News Agencies’ Coverage of the North Korean Missile Crisis

Abstract

News media are on the frontline of international conflicts. Media messages play a pivotal role in increasing the diplomatic leverage at the negotiation table, which represents press–state relations. The present study applied indexing theory to examine these press–state relations from a global perspective. Using social network analysis, this research analyzed the development of source structures of news on the North Korean missile crisis by examining news agencies in the United States, China, and South Korea. The study found that these agencies conformed to their respective national interests; thus, their issue framings were an extension of each country’s domestic politics. These results add more insight into not only press–state relations, but also the complex system of global politics.