NOTE: I only placed part of the study's Abstract just to give you the idea of what the study was all about. If you have any inquiries about my paper, send me an e-mail
The study aimed to examine the patterns of treatment employed by foreign and local online newspapers on news stories on the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and the Abu Sayyaf from April 2000 to December 2001. A total of 707 news stories from foreign (i.e., the International Herald Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle) and local (i.e., the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Philippine Star) online newspapers were content analyzed using the indices of quantity, prominence, triggering events, tone, and valence.There were obvious differences in the quantity and placement of stories between foreign and local online news sources. Moreover, in the chi-square test there were significant relationships found between type of online newspapers and the indices of triggering event, tone, and valence of words descriptive of the Abu Sayyaf group. In addition, both online sources featured the Abu Sayyaf more frequently than other Muslim armed groups, and focused on the political and armed characteristics of the MNLF and the MILF.
The frequency of reports on the Abu Sayyaf and on the kidnapping and violent skirmishes in both foreign and local online newspapers highlights this study's finding that negative news sells. Local online newspapers gave more importance to conflict or events that threaten national security, while foreign online newspapers gave more importance to events that threaten to endanger its citizens.