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Home > Vol 24, No 2 (1999) > Soderlund

International Reporting in Canadian Newspapers: Results of a Survey of Daily Newspaper Editors

Walter C. Soderlund (University of Windsor)

Martha F. Lee (University of Windsor)

Abstract: Research demonstrates that the press performs an important role in interpreting world events for the Canadian population (both the masses and the elites) and serves as an information conduit linking the government and the governed in the policy-formation process. This study examines both of these roles of the press based on data collected from a questionnaire that was mailed to the editors of Canada's 107 daily newspapers in the spring of 1995. The data is also compared to that generated in a similar study of Canadian newspaper editors conducted in 1988. The study reveals that editors believe the mass public is much more powerful than newspapers in influencing Canadian foreign policy. Paradoxically, they rank international stories at the bottom of their hierarchies of importance, and the number of international stories published is declining. This limits both mass and elite input into the foreign policy process, and could prove to have a significant negative political impact.

Résumé: La recherche démontre que la presse joue un rôle important en interprétant les événements mondiaux pour la population canadienne (masses et élites) et qu'elle sert de moyen de communication entre gouvernement et peuple dans le processus de formation de politiques. Cette étude examine ces deux rôles de la presse. Elle se fonde sur des données recueillies à partir d'un questionnaire envoyé aux directeurs des 107 quotidiens du Canada au printemps 1995. L'étude compare en outre ces données à une étude semblable de directeurs de journaux canadiens menée en 1988. L'étude révèle que les directeurs croient que le public a beaucoup plus d'influence que les journaux en matière de politiques étrangères au Canada. Paradoxalement, les directeurs placent les nouvelles internationales au bas de leurs hiérarchies de sujets importants, et le nombre de nouvelles internationales est en train de diminuer. Cette diminution limite la capacité des masses et des élites à contribuer à la formation de politiques, et pourrait entraîner des problèmes politiques significatifs.

Introduction

Research has demonstrated beyond a doubt that the press not only performs an important role in interpreting world events for citizens, both mass and elite (Bennett, 1988; Galtung & Holmboe Ruge, 1965; Gitlin, 1980; Parenti, 1986; Smith, 1980; Stevenson & Shaw, 1984; Thompson, 1987), but also serves as an information conduit linking the government and the governed in the policy-formation process (Bennett, 1990; Cohen, 1963; Herman & Chomsky, 1988; Weaver, 1984). This study seeks to examine these complementary roles based on data collected from questionnaires mailed to the editors of Canada's 107 daily newspapers in the spring of 1995. Specifically, how "good" was the report card with respect to press coverage of international events? Was the quality of international reporting seen to be increasing or decreasing? What was the relative importance attached by editors to international stories as opposed to local-, provincial-, and national-focused ones? What sources were used for international stories, how adequate were these seen to be, and how important was Canadian dependence on American sources perceived to be? What areas of the world were considered to be of major importance to Canadian editors? And, finally, with respect to the foreign policy decision-making process, how did editors evaluate the relative impact of the press in influencing the mass public as opposed to actual foreign policy decision-makers, and what were editors' perceptions of the impact of direct mass public opinion on decision-makers?

In addition to providing answers to the above questions, the 1995 data will be compared with those generated in a similar study of Canadian newspaper editors conducted in 1988 (Soderlund, Krause, & Price, 1991). The seven years between the two studies were monumental in their impact on the international system and the views of this important group of opinion-leaders might have changed during this crucial time period.

Background

Since the Report of the Special Senate Committee on Mass Media (the Davey Committee) in 1970 (Canada, Senate, 1970), which criticized the nation's newspapers for failing to report foreign policy and international news from a Canadian perspective, academic analysts (O'Donnell, 1991; Scanlon, 1974; Soderlund & Wagenberg, 1976; Stairs, 1976; Walker, 1989) and foreign policy practitioners (Freifeld, 1976; Marchand, 1983), as well as further government-sponsored inquiries (Canada, Royal Commission on Newspapers, 1981), have generally criticized the way in which international events are reported in Canadian newspapers. As phrased by Stairs (1976), "the perception of the importance of the press is not universally accompanied by flattering evaluations of its performance" (p. 230).

The 1981 Royal Commission on Newspapers (the Kent Commission) found little change in the situation during the 10 years since the Davey Committee had raised the problem. It noted that Canadian newspapers do not stand particularly high in public esteem, and argued that their coverage of international stories was simply inadequate. It blamed this on a lack of Canadian correspondents abroad and a newspaper staff with a less-than-adequate knowledge of international politics, resulting in a lack of confidence on the part of Canadian editors (Canada, Royal Commission on Newspapers, 1981). Later scholars have remained critical of Canadian press reporting. Walker (1989) argued that while Canada has become more internationally involved, "its media have been much slower to expand abroad, especially in the Third World" (p. 26); while Marchand (1983) concluded that the press provided "an uncertain intellectual force in the definition or interpretation of Canadian foreign policy" (p. 23).

In 1988, a University of Windsor study surveyed newspaper editors with respect to the specific areas of international reporting criticized by the Davey and Kent Commissions (Soderlund, Krause, & Price, 1991). The study found that Canadian newspaper editors did not find those problems to be as serious as the media critics and government-sponsored investigations had indicated. While the editors expressed concern over the lack of Canadian international correspondents, exactly half of those surveyed believed that coverage had improved in the five years prior to the study. Less than a quarter of the respondents (23%) believed that, in an overall sense, international news coverage was "less than satisfactory."

In the years since that research was completed, events have conspired to increase Canada's role in international affairs. With the fall of the Iron Curtain and the demise of the bipolar system, middle powers have gained both influence and authority. Canada has been no exception, both in terms of traditional security issues and those involving the global economy. It has continued to contribute a significant number of troops to U.N. peacekeeping missions, including those in Somalia, the former Yugoslavia, and Haiti. As well, it has made a point of aggressively emphasizing its territorial sovereignty. In 1992, Canada unilaterally imposed fishing quotas on French vessels in Canadian waters off the coast of St. Pierre and Miquelon. In the spring of 1995, it threatened the use of military force in its confrontation with the Spanish fishing fleet off the Grand Banks.

With respect to the international political economy, Canada also claimed a high profile. During the 1990s, it continued to actively participate in the Uruguay round of GATT talks, as well as participate in and host G7 meetings. In August of 1992, Canada, the U.S., and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and when the agreement came into effect on January 1, 1994, Canada became a partner in one of the world's most important trading blocs.

The positive evaluations of international reporting elicited in the 1988 Windsor survey, coupled with Canada's increasing engagement in international affairs, suggested that Canadian newspapers' coverage of international relations might have continued to improve during the 1990s. This paper examines that question by replicating the 1988 study. Having asked the same questions of the country's daily newspaper editors, we can evaluate the situation as reported in 1995 on its own merits, and compare these results with those obtained in the earlier study, giving us an indication of change over time. In general terms, the study shows that while Canadians' interest in international affairs remains strong and Canada's role on the world stage has increased, Canadian editors believe that coverage of international issues in its national papers appears to be declining in both quantity and quality. Somewhat paradoxically, editors see their greatest influence on foreign policymaking to be with elites and their weakest influence to be with the general public. However, they see the general public's influence on foreign policymaking as stronger than either newspapers' influence on elites or the mass public.

The impact of the press on the formulation and execution of Canadian foreign policy is not an area that has received a great deal of scholarly attention. What we do know from American research, as well as the limited studies that have been done in Canada, is that of all policy areas, foreign policy is that which is of least interest to the mass public. As a result, it is here that elites have the greatest amount of latitude in crafting policy (Almond, 1950; Caspary, 1970). However, such latitude is relative as there are issues on which elites at least feel constrained by mass public opinion, in the sense of "parameter" or "boundary" settings with respect to policies that are perceived to be acceptable (Kegley & Wittkopf, 1991; Stairs, 1977-78). Other studies have shown broad correlations between public opinion and policy direction over time (Funkhouser, 1973; Mazur, 1981; Page & Shapiro, 1983).

In his study of American decision-making during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Etheredge (1985) accords considerable importance to the press:

two American institutions -- the press and universities -- do have the power, the role, and the independence to effect long-term change.

The [New York] Times creates the upper boundary of political system sophistication, and principal news media are the daily guardians of truth, memory and standards for what will be accepted as accurate knowledge and serious discussion of foreign policy issues. (p. 199)

Two Canadian studies also conclude that the press is indeed influential in foreign policy decision-making with respect to both the mass public and elites. In a study of public attitudes toward arms control, Munton (1983-84) argues that "evidence strongly suggests that the media can have a considerable effect not only on what issues the public thinks about, in the sense of a foreign policy agenda, but also on its attitudes toward these issues" (p. 209).

In the context of Canada's reaction to Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Dewitt & Kirton (1982) discuss press impact on elite decision-makers:

the direction and intensity of [press] coverage influenced the basic assumptions that members of Parliament had about Israel and as a result Canada's traditional Middle East policy came close to being overturned. Members came to see Israel in a negative light and an attempt was made in the Liberal party caucus to press for a policy that would be more sympathetic to the P.L.O. (As reported in Taras & Taras, 1987, p. 552)

In short, over the past decade, researchers have tended to attribute greater rather than lesser importance to non-governmental sources of foreign policymaking, which include both the press and public opinion. While we are in no way suggesting that Canadian foreign policy is driven by public opinion, there is enough evidence in the literature to suggest that in certain instances public opinion can be an important factor in foreign policymaking, and thus the roles and linkages between the press and public opinion in this process deserve our attention.

In assessing the importance of the press in the process of foreign policy formulation it is important to recognize that the press plays such a role whether or not this is explicitly recognized or understood by those working in the field of journalism. Theories of gatekeeping and agenda-setting have established such importance beyond question (Iyengar & Kinder, 1987; McCombs & Shaw, 1993; Rogers & Dearing, 1988; Whitney & Becker, 1982).

Methods

Newspaper content is determined by many factors, only one of which, the attitudes of newspaper editors, is examined in this study. While editors' self-evaluations of their product do not provide hard evidence of the quality of international reporting, they do reveal the opinions of those individuals who are perhaps best placed to assess the past, present, and future of Canadian newspapers (Soderlund, Krause, & Price, 1991). In that sense, they are worthy of serious attention and investigation.

The data on which this paper is based come from a survey of Canadian newspaper editors done in the spring of 1995. Questionnaires were sent to 107 daily newspaper editors and, after two follow-up letters, 48 responses were received, yielding a response rate of 45%. The sample overrepresents editors of large-circulation dailies and those located on the Prairies and in Ontario, while it underrepresents those of small-circulation papers and those located in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. The sample roughly parallels the size and composition of the sample obtained for the 1988 study. In both studies, the most important independent variables were the region and language in which the newspaper was published, its circulation, and whether or not it was independent or chain-owned.¹

As in the previous study, the 1995 survey specifically addressed the problems that were identified in the Davey and Kent reports, including such issues as Canadian papers' reliance on American news organizations and the adequacy of all sources of international news. It also asked editors to gauge the overall quality of international reporting, and whether or not that reporting had improved or declined during the past five years. As well, they were asked to identify the most important geographic regions in their international coverage and to assess the relative importance of international news in comparison with local, provincial, and national news stories. Finally, in relation specifically to the process of foreign policymaking, editors were asked to evaluate the relative impact of newspapers on the mass public and foreign policy decision-makers, as well as the broad impact of public opinion on decision-makers.

The status of international reporting

The first and most general question asked editors to evaluate Canadian newspaper coverage of international news on the basis of such factors as "amount, quality, depth, range, and objectivity." The respondents' answers to this question set the tone for the remainder of the survey. None of the editors surveyed characterized international reporting as "excellent" and only 10% classified it as "very good." Of the remainder of the sample, 60% described the coverage as "good," while 29% believed it to be "less than satisfactory." No editor described it as "poor." This distribution seems to suggest that international reporting is perceived by newspaper editors as, at best, adequate.

Support for this analysis is provided by two further points. The first of these emerges when the data is examined by circulation of newspaper (see Table 1). While the small size of the survey sample produced few statistically significant results, the data produced a notable correlation with respect to size of newspaper. It was only those editors whose newspapers had a circulation of under 40,000 who evaluated international coverage as "very good." Those with circulations ranging between 40,001 and 150,000 were the most critical group, with 46% describing coverage as "less than satisfactory." Those editors whose papers had a circulation of over 150,000 characterized international coverage as "good" at best.

Second, these results stand at variance from the 1988 data. At that time, 21% of editors rated coverage as "very good to excellent" and 57% rated it as "good," while 23% rated it as "less than satisfactory." While approximately the same percentage in both samples described the coverage as "good," the percentage who found the coverage to be "less than satisfactory" in 1995 increased marginally (to 29%), while the percentage describing the coverage as "very good" declined by about half, from 21% to 10%.

Given this finding, it is not surprising that when asked to assess changes in the character of international reporting during the past five years based on the same criteria, data in Table 2 show that only 8% of editors believed that it had "improved" and 52% stated that it had "remained the same." Notably, 40% described it as having "declined."

This represents a marked change from the 1988 survey. At that time, when editors were asked to identify the trend in international reporting in the preceding five-year period, a full 51% believed that it had "improved" and 49% believed it had "remained the same," while not a single editor described it as having "declined." As well, in 1988 circulation was a statistically significant determinant of opinion as to whether international reporting had "improved," with 92% of Canada's largest papers (X² Sig. at <.05) indicating that improvement had occurred. Thus, within a relatively brief period of time, a significant number of Canadian newspaper editors have come to perceive the quality and quantity of international coverage to be in a state of decline.

Data in Table 3 show the results of a series of questions in which editors were asked to estimate the relative importance that they accorded to local, provincial, national, and international news and assign each a score on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 representing "unimportant" and 10 representing "very important."

Local stories received the highest mean score (9.43), followed by provincial stories (7.98) and national stories (7.10). International stories received the lowest mean score (5.38). When these data are analyzed using circulation as the independent variable, statistically significant findings were found only with respect to international stories. It is clear from this analysis that, as one might expect, it is the largest papers that are most interested in national news (mean score 8.0) and especially in international news (mean score 7.14). Conversely, smaller papers are most interested in local news stories (mean score 10). Of comparative interest, in the 1988 research the international news category received an overall mean score of 6.6, over a full point higher than it received in 1995, providing further indication of the decreased importance of this category of news.

As mentioned above, the Davey and Kent reports criticized not only the quantity of international news coverage in Canadian newspapers, but also its quality. They found that Canadian newspapers employed few foreign correspondents and thus relied too heavily on news agencies for their international stories. This tendency, they argued, contributed to an American bias in Canadian news reporting. The 1970 Davey Committee, for example, directly criticized Canadian Press (CP), which it argued attempted to "Canadianize" Associated Press (AP) wire stories with mere editorial tinkering (Canada, Senate, 1970, p. 233; see also Scanlon, 1974). The 1988 Windsor study also found the lack of Canadian foreign correspondents capable of giving international news a specifically Canadian dimension to be a major deficiency in international reporting (Soderlund, Krause, & Price, 1991).

The 1995 data indicate that, since 1988, this problem appears to have worsened. In 1988, eight newspapers reported employing journalists who were located outside of Canada; in 1995, only three papers reported doing so. Indeed, when editors were asked to rank their three most important sources of international news, columnists and freelancers did not appear as either the first or second choice of a single editor and were the third choice of only 10% of the sample. The majority of editors surveyed (56%) listed CP as their most important source of international news. AP and Southam News Service both ranked a distant second, each receiving 10% of first-position mentions. Agence France Presse (AFP) received a mere 2.1% of first-position mentions, with only 20% of French-language newspapers listing it as their most important source. (This data is not shown in tabular form.)

These findings indicate that during the past seven years not only have Canadian newspapers reduced the number of foreign correspondents they employ, but that a single source, CP, which is heavily dependent on non-Canadian wire services for international stories, has become the primary source of international news for most Canadian papers. (CP employs only two foreign correspondents, one in London and one in Washington.) In the 1988 study, CP overshadowed its competitors by achieving over twice as many first-place ratings as AP, its nearest competitor. That margin has now grown to the point where in 1995 it clearly dominated the market, with over five times the number of first-place ratings as its nearest competitors.

Interestingly, editors did not see this trend as entirely problematic. When asked if they were satisfied with the quality of reporting on international news that was available to them, 73% indicated that they were satisfied, 17% indicated that they were undecided, and only 10% expressed dissatisfaction with the international news that was available to them. These results are roughly similar to those obtained in 1988; in fact, in 1995, editors were slightly more satisfied with sources of international news than they had been in 1988.

A major concern expressed by both the Davey Committee and the Kent Commission dealt with the role that American sources played in Canadian international news coverage. This criticism was well summarized by Scanlon in the title of his 1974 article: "Canadians See the World Through U.S. Eyes." Both the 1988 and 1995 surveys used Scanlon's words and asked editors to rate the importance of this criticism on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 representing "frivolous" and 10 representing "very serious." In 1988 the mean scale score on this measure was 6.9, which was interpreted by the researchers as an indication that there was a "consensus on the part of the editors that it [was] a serious problem" (Soderlund, Krause, & Price, 1991, p. 13). In 1995, the mean scale score for this question decreased by a full point to 5.8.

These results suggest that although editors are still concerned about this issue, they perceive the problem to be less significant than it had been seven years earlier. While the reasons underlying this change are unclear, we may speculate that as owning corporations increasingly put the financial squeeze on newspapers, editors perceive that no realistic alternatives are available.

As shown by data in Table 4, when an analysis of variance is undertaken, the independent variable circulation reveals that it is the editors of the nation's smaller papers (under 40,000 circulation) who are most concerned with the problem of American domination, while those whose papers have a circulation of over 150,000 are least troubled. While the pattern of concern is not statistically significant, it does parallel the results of the 1988 survey with respect to the effects of newspaper circulation on perception of the impact of American news sources.

In order to ascertain the relative importance of various areas of the globe in Canadian news reporting, editors were asked to employ a 10-point scale on which 1 represents "unimportant" and 10 represents "very important," and rate various geographical areas. Not surprisingly, the United States had the highest mean scale score on this measure (8.8), followed by Western Europe (mean score 7.1) and Eastern Europe (mean score 6.0). The high mean score assigned to the United States no doubt reflects its role as the sole remaining superpower and, perhaps more importantly, its proximity to Canada and its growing economic importance in Canadian international affairs due to NAFTA. Third World or developing regions had mean scores that fell within a very close range. The Middle East registered a mean score of 5.6, Asia had a mean score of 5.5, and the Latin American / Caribbean region had a mean score of 5.4. Standing somewhat apart from this group was Africa with the lowest mean score of 4.2.

The 1995 and 1988 mean scores are roughly similar, with the United States topping the list and Africa in last place in both years. Two noticeable changes, however, are the decline in perceived importance of both the Middle East (second in 1988 and fourth in 1995) and the Latin American / Caribbean region (fourth in 1988 and sixth in 1995). Also of interest is the greater range in scores between first and last place in 1995 (8.8 to 4.2) as opposed to 1988 (8.6 to 5.1). These results suggest the continuation and strengthening of an Anglo-centric bias in Canadian editors' views of the world, which probably has some impact on international story selection.

The press and Canadian foreign policymaking

A number of dimensions will be investigated in our examination of this issue. First, in both 1988 and 1995 editors were asked to rate the interest of the general Canadian public in international affairs generally. Responses in 1988 were 28% "very interested," 64% "somewhat interested," and 8% "not very interested." In 1995, these figures stood at 17%, 79%, and 4% respectively, indicating a drop of about 10% from the "very interested" to the "somewhat interested" category.

Second, editors were also asked to estimate the percentage of newshole allocated to international news in their newspapers. The mean score on this measure was 12.3%. This average reflects the fact that 51% of those editors surveyed estimated the percentage of newshole that they devoted to international news at between 10.1% and 15%, and that 19% estimated it at between 15.1% and 20%. While these numbers are roughly comparable to the estimates in the 1988 study, the outlying scores show that a change had occurred. In 1988, 22% of those editors surveyed estimated that they devoted between 20.1% and 35% of their newsholes to international stories as opposed to only 4% of editors in 1995. As well, while in 1988 only 10% believed that they used less than 10% of newshole for international news, in 1995, that number leaped to 25%.

As noted above, because these figures are based on self-evaluation, they cannot be taken as "hard evidence" of a percentage decline in newshole devoted to international stories. They are, however, consistent with other studies that have examined this issue more directly. Burton, Soderlund, & Keenleyside (1995), for example, found that in their content analysis of six Canadian newspapers between 1982 and 1992, the number of Canadian foreign policy stories declined by 30%. The authors suggest that this decline was due, at least in part, to a reduction in the overall size of newspapers which had occurred during this period.

Third, Canadian readers are getting a middle-of-the-road to slightly-right-of-centre editorial spin on their news. Approximately two thirds of respondents identified the editorial position of their newspaper as in the centre of the political spectrum and 25% placed their papers to the right of centre, while only 7% indicated a left-of-centre editorial position.

Finally, answers to the question that asked editors to identify the best newspaper in Canada for coverage of international news over the preceding five years indicate that The Globe and Mail had emerged dominant over its main competitor, The Toronto Star. The Globe and Mail increased its lead in first-place choices from 57% to 75%, while The Toronto Star's first-place selections dropped from 13% to 8%. These factors, taken together, suggest that Canadian newspaper editors see the population as less interested in international affairs and, as a result, supply their readers with less international information. Coincident with this trend, The Globe and Mail has emerged as the dominant Canadian voice in the coverage of international affairs.

19P 1 Channels of Press Influence on Decision-Making
(Mean scores indicating relative degree of influence:
1 = not influential and 10 = very influential)
1988 1995

Figure 1 indicates three possible channels of press influence on foreign policymaking, along with editors' assessments of the relative influence of each channel, both in 1988 and 1995. Data for 1988 show that when editors were asked to rank on a 10-point scale their ability to influence foreign policy, they felt they had a marginally greater influence on decision-makers (6.0) than they did on the general public (5.9). At the same time they perceived the power of public opinion to shape foreign policy as slightly higher (6.4) than their own ability to influence public opinion. In 1995 the gap between perceived influence on elites versus the mass public had increased. Perceived influence on mass public opinion had fallen to 5.6, while perceived influence on decision-makers had increased to 6.3. Again, it was the influence of mass public opinion that was seen as having the greatest impact (6.7). Since these scores are tightly bunched, it would be inappropriate to make too much of differences. However, in both years, editors saw their influence as weakest on influencing mass public opinion, while that very public opinion was seen to be growing in importance as an influence on foreign policymaking elites. These relative rankings are not what one would expect, as agenda-setting research has clearly established the power of mass media to lead public opinion (McCombs & Shaw, 1993; Rogers & Dearing, 1988).

Conclusion

In spite of the limitations arising from a survey based on self-evaluation and a relatively small sample, this study, taken in conjunction with other research, reveals much about the state of international news reporting in Canada.

In spite of a history of criticism directed against Canadian international reporting, studies based on content analysis of foreign policy reporting, along with the previously mentioned 1988 survey of newspaper editors, gave reason for some optimism regarding the state of international reporting in the country. For example, Keenleyside, Burton, & Soderlund (1987) found nearly nine foreign policy stories per newspaper issue in 1982 and, in the 1988 survey, newspaper editors were, on the whole, satisfied with the quantity of international reporting and the sources which supplied it, and saw its quality as increasing.

By 1995, it was clear that the economic recession and resultant downsizing of the newspaper industry had taken their toll. A replication of the 1982 foreign policy content study done in 1992 found only 6.2 stories per newspaper issue, a decline of approximately 30% (Burton, Soderlund, & Keenleyside, 1995, pp. 55-56). Editors responding to the 1995 survey were also less enthusiastic about the state of international reporting than they had been seven years previously. While the majority still characterized it as "good," the number who described it as "very good" had declined by over half. Moreover, 40% of those surveyed responded that they believed that the quality of international reporting had declined during the past five years. As well, the overall importance accorded to international news had dropped, and the percentage of editors who devoted less than 10% of newshole to international news had more than doubled (to 25%). By 1995, CP had become the dominant source of international news and editors expressed less concern about American influence on the news stories they publish.

With respect to the effects of press reporting on the formation of Canadian foreign policy, the findings and their implications are less clear. What appears to be the case, however, is that as international affairs have become more important to Canada, editors see the mass population as less interested in them. Also, it is apparent that fewer international news stories are being run, and editors' responses indicate a lessening interest in the developing world. These findings are consistent with editors' evaluations that place international news at the bottom of the hierarchy of relative importance. This may mean that newspaper editors have simply given up competing with television on international news coverage. Our data indicated that this is not the case, although concern with the powerful electronic media competitor is obvious. Given the limitations of the electronic medium to deal with complex subjects in depth (where the average time of a news story on The National might be a minute and a half ), the low priority that editors assign to international news is discomforting.

On the battery of questions focused specifically on the influence of the press on Canadian foreign policy, editors see their papers as having more influence directly on decision-making elites than they do on the mass public. Somewhat paradoxically, they perceive the mass public as a good deal more powerful than newspapers on influencing those entrusted with making the country's foreign policy. This seems problematic in that newspapers are, without question, the source to which those citizens interested in influencing decision-making elites have to turn for serious information on international affairs.

When quantity and quality of reporting and influence on foreign policy are taken together, there seems little doubt that as the globe is getting smaller and Canada's role in the world economy and world politics is increasing, press coverage of international affairs is declining. As this limits input into the foreign-policy process at both the mass and elite levels, this decline could prove to have a significant negative political impact.

Notes

1

Data were obtained from questionnaires mailed to 107 editors of daily newspapers in Canada (in French and English as appropriate) in the spring of 1995. Our response rate, with two follow-up mailings, was 45%. Responses received yield the following distributions on key independent variables: Region: Atlantic Canada, 8%; Quebec, 8%; Ontario, 48%; Prairies, 19%; British Columbia and the Territories, 17% (Total: 100%). Language: English, 90%; French, 10% (Total: 100%). Ownership: Chain, 85%; Independent, 15% (Total: 100%). Circulation: 10,000 and under, 19%; 10,001 to 40,000, 40%; 40,001 to 150,000, 27%; over 150,000, 15% (Total: 101%).

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