Global TV critical of U.S. guns

Media assessment of gun crime/culture in the U.S., Jan 1, 2012- Jun 15, 2014

New York, June 19, 2014. The image of the U.S. on international television news programs has declined sharply over the last two years when it comes to gun crime and gun culture, states Media Tenor International, a research institute with offices around the world.

“Incidents of violence will almost always generate a negative image in the news media,” says Racheline Maltese, a researcher at Media Tenor. “But what is striking is the sharp decline over the last two years, with non-U.S. news broadcasts increasingly critical not just on acts of violence, but on U.S. gun-related legislation.”

TV news broadcasts in Austria and Germany were the most negative in gun-related stories regarding the U.S. during the analysis period, but all news broadcasts included in the research were critical. Positivity appeared rarely for legislative efforts to change laws related to gun access.

“What is particularly important is the volume of these stories,” Maltese adds. “Gun-related stories made up 1.5% of the international TV coverage on the U.S. We describe this as being above the awareness threshold, meaning that a person who watches TV news is able to remember this information and make decisions based on it. Among other things, an impact on tourism is possible.”

This research examined all 123,826 reports regarding the U.S. on 20 international TV news programs.

For over 20 years Media Tenor’s mission has been to contribute to objective, diverse and newsworthy media content by bringing together the diverse parties. Media Tenor’s global research projects include analyses of election campaigns, investor relations, public diplomacy, corporate communications and other topics critical to news makers and news audiences.

For more information, please contact Racheline Maltese at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 212-935-0210.