“They Took It Down”: Exploring Determinants of Visual Reporting in the Toppling of the Saddam Statue in National and International Newspapers

Abstract

This cross-national research examines the visual framing of the toppling of the Saddam Hussein statue. It explores the influences of competing contextual variables and newspaper attributes on frequency and overall tone of photographs. The results of examinations of the coverage in 43 newspapers of 30 countries suggest one important difference across newspapers involved the number of photographs each newspaper published. Further, findings indicate U.S. newspapers overall ran more visuals depicting a victory/liberation frame than newspapers from coalition and non-coalition countries.