The New York Times and the Algerian revolution, 1956-1962: an analysis of a major newspaper's reporting of events

Abstract

This thesis examines the response of The New York Times international edition to the Algerian revolution from 1956 to 1962. During the early years the paper took the French official view; however as the inevitability of independence became apparent, it began to take a more detached stance towards the Algerian-French conflict. Attention is also given to the ways in which other news publications responded to events in Algeria in order to establish some form of comparison.
Chapter I exposes the strengths and weaknesses of The New York Times as a leading newspaper. Chapter II briefly traces Algeria's relationship with France from occupationto the outbreak of the revolution, and analyses The New York Times earlier response to the Algerian experience up to 1956. Chapters III to VI provide a detailed thematic analysis of the way in which The New York Times reported and presented the Algerian revolution from 1956 to 1962, using other media and extra-media data. This is to establish a cross-check control of, and to expose what was missing from, its Algeria-related material. Chapter VII provides a statistical analysis of the manner in which The New York Times treated the Algerian revolution, using the "attention score" measurement system; and traces the evolution of the paper's stance towards the Algerian-French conflict throughout four major sub-periods within the overall period of research. The thesis reveals that The New York Times coverage of Algeria between 1956 and 1962 was quantitatively plentiful, and that the level of interest in the subject was high. However, it shows that qualitatively the coverage was generally weak and that its greatest flaw was that of "omission". It concludes by outlining some basic guidelines which should control journalists in their reporting, in order to provide adequate coverage of world events.