Comparing Russian, French and UK television news: Portrayals of the casualties of war

Abstract

Focusing on the news value of compassion in war reporting, this article examines portrayals of victims in foreign conflict reporting by Russian, French and UK television news. It compares the reports of Russia’s state-aligned news provider, Vremya; BBC’s News at Ten; and France 2’s 20 Heures and explores the extent to which they draw on, or sideline, this news value to maintain the newsworthiness of their items. The article investigates coverage of the intra-Palestinian fighting in June 2007 and discusses representations of two very different forms of victimhood to determine how the broadcasters perceive “victims”. The first concerns civilians caught up in the fighting and the emerging humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the second focuses on coverage of two hostage-takings.