An Assessment of Media Coverage of the B-2 Stealth Bomber
Abstract
The B-2 Stealth bomber has been labelled by some media as the most expensive airplane ever, while others have proclaimed it as the most innovative and most efficient aircraft ever built. This dichotomy of the press can be attributed to the sources being quoted in a specific article, according to the results of this study. The content analysis of hard news stories in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times revealed that from the 13 categories analyzed as favorable or unfavorable, 55% of the 365 articles were favorable; the remainder was classified neutral because the direction equalled zero. The qualitative part of this study consisted of personal and telephone interviews with military and political leaders. Although some military leaders expressed contempt for the media, they mainly pointed fingers at Congress for being tenuous in statements about the B-2 to the press. Since certain aspects of the media coverage were unfavorable, the media appeared to rely more on the agenda set by Congress than the military leaders' agenda. However, since both Congress and the military placed the B-2 prominently on their agendas, so did the press. Keywords: Mass media; Public opinion; Jet bombers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA224646
Entities
People
- Virginia L. Sullivan
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology