Dominance of US Officials in the Pakistani TV Channels: A Case Study of the Media Coverage of Osama Bin Laden’s Death

Abstract

This research paper attempts to show the dominance of US officials in the Pakistani TV channels through the coverage of the death of Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The three TV channels selected in this research study include the private broadcasters–Geo News and Dunya News; and public broadcaster, Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV). Starting from the killing of Bin Laden on 2 May 2011, we study the coverage of the three TV channels for ten consecutive days. The findings–based on the Quantitative Content Analysis–show that US officials dominated the coverage in the Geo News and Dunya News while the Pakistani officials dominated the coverage in Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV). The dominance of US officials in the coverage also shows their control over the content besides setting the agenda of the coverage.