Global Policy Forum

By Owen Gibson

Global TV coverage is increasingly turning against the US, with attitudes towards the US administration falling to an all-time low in December, according to research. According to analysis of TV news around the world, the British broadcast media is taking a hard line on the US, with 33% of all stories being classed as negative.

The researchers behind the statistics have warned the coverage is likely become even more negative following the widespread coverage of the weekend's peace marches and an avalanche of opinion-based programmes such as the BBC's Iraq: Britain Decides have prompted.

The figures have been released as the Italian state broadcaster, RAI, comes under fire from opposition parties in Rome for not broadcasting live coverage of the anti-war protests. The march in Rome, which was the largest in Europe and attended by up to 3 million people, was broadcast live on rival channels but not on the state channel. And although prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's private TV stations did cover the protests, the inference is the state broadcaster is kowtowing to the premier's pro-war policies. "This is inexcusable censorship that will not be forgotten. RAI has lost touch with the world," Massimo D'Alema, the leader of the Democratic party of the left, said yesterday.

The research - by German media monitoring agency Medien Tenor - shows the different stances adopted by UK and US TV stations. The latter have been criticised for their lack of independence and blatant support for war.

"A closer look at international coverage of the US reveals that, despite Tony Blair's alliance reassurances, TV is turning against the US," it said. The report claims that, in the UK, there were five times as many negative stories compared with positive ones about George Bush.

On British television, 35% of all coverage of the US dealt with its foreign policy, followed by crime, human interest and the environment, which accounted for just 1% of overall coverage. In Germany, where opposition to the possibility of war in Iraq has hardened since Gerhard Schroder pledged not to get involved in military action, about 20% of the coverage of US affairs was negative in December.

Medien Tenor said the coverage had taken an increasingly negative tone since the start of the year. If it had not been for the extensive television coverage of the Oscar nominations in March, then percentage of negative reports would be even higher, it said.

While the issue has polarised the nation's press - the Sun, Times and Telegraph are backing a war while others such as the Daily Mirror campaigning against - the effect of the balance of television news reports is more subtle. Influential media moguls such as Rupert Murdoch, who owns Fox News, have come down firmly on the side of military action and his newspapers and channels have followed suit.

He said last week that Mr Bush was acting "very morally and very correctly" and Mr Blair was being "extraordinarily courageous and strong" in facing down opposition from within the Labour party. He described anti-war Labour MPs as "largely knee-jerk anti-American and sort of pacifist".

The owner of the Telegraph, Conrad Black, condemned the BBC's coverage of the countdown to a possible war. Writing in the Spectator, Lord Black said Newsnight anchor Jeremy Paxman represented the "nadir of journalistic insolence" when, in an interview on BBC2, he asked the prime minister if he and President Bush prayed together. The analysis of TV news stories around the world showed that, with the build up to possible military action in Iraq topping the news agenda throughout December, coverage has generally been weighted against the Bush administration.

As Mr Blair and Mr Bush harden their pro-war stance, Media Tenor suggested their images were likely to suffer further damage at the hands of the media. A recent YouGov poll found 60% of UK respondents had little or no confidence in Mr Blair with regard to Iraq. The same poll found 75% of Britons disagreed with Mr Bush's policies.

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