The Relationship between Norwegian Media Coverage and Policy Changes: The War in Afghanistan.

Abstract

This thesis examines three online newspapers’ coverage of the Norwegian involvement in the Afghan war during 2006 and 2007, and foreign and defense policy changes from 2006 to 2008. Three research questions were explored, where the overarching goal was to explore the relationship between the observed policy changes and the observed trends in news coverage. The conceptual framework is derived from the CNN effect thesis, Entman’s cascade model, the agenda-setting model and other theories about media effects. The research methods employed were qualitative and included the coding of a large sample of newspaper articles. The study found that the media mostly covered stories regarding ongoing and future Norwegian military presence in Afghanistan, and events on the ground in Afghanistan. The actor portrayed most often was “other” and the Ministry of Defense. Explicit criticism towards the Norwegian engagement was expressed in 21.2 percent of the articles, and 4.3 percent expressed explicit support. NATO obligations and decisions about troop deployments and expanding Norway’s operational area in Afghanistan were among the most discussed topics, as were a shortage of military doctors and two Norwegian casualties during 2007. Foreign aid to Afghanistan increased from $66 million USD to $108.8 million USD from 2006 to 2008. In the same period, defense expenditures increased from $117 million USD to $151.7 million USD. My overall conclusion is that media coverage changed in response to policy change. The extent to which policy makers were responsive to media coverage was less clear from the evidence.