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Background: Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) is a neurosurgical intervention to reduce spasticity in children with cerebral palsy. Parents researching SDR for their child may be influenced by framing of SDR in news media articles they read. This study examined framing of SDR in English‐language news media. Methods: Content analysis of English‐language news media articles including the search term 'rhizotomy' in the Factiva database published July 2015 to July 2018 in online or print form in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, United States of America and the United Kingdom. Results: One hundred and eighty‐six articles were identified describing 91 different children (45 male), almost all with cerebral palsy, median age 4 years old. One hundred and twenty‐six articles were written prior to surgery; in many articles, SDR surgery involved travel overseas and/or fundraising. SDR was described universally in positive terms with little discussion of risks. Content of articles variably included the specialized nature of SDR, parental frustration with their local health system and their hope for positive outcomes. There was geographical variation in both numbers of articles and content. Conclusions: SDR is a common focus in cerebral palsy news media articles in some countries. Framing in these articles supports SDR as a beneficial and specialized procedure and may lead families to believe they need to work outside their local health systems. As news media are likely an important influence on families' attitudes to SDR, clinicians should be aware of this influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although largely forgotten, the newsreel industry was the first news broadcasting system to convey visual news reports to a worldwide audience. This study presents the first systematic, cross-national comparison of the news content delivered through this broadcasting system. Our analysis confirms that similar news content was internationally distributed and editorially “glocalized” to fit local audience tastes. Contrary to their reputation for being light and frivolous, newsreels during World War II were usually descriptive and straightforward. We conclude that the global newsreel system should be seen as a rudimentary precursor to today’s satellite news channels. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Within the context of a sharp rise in Americans' access to foreign news, especially since September 11, 2001, this article examines the limits of effectiveness of such foreign news influences in influencing the public debate on major policy issues within the United States. With the focus on a major U.K.-originated news story--the "Downing Street Memo" and subsequent leaked U.K. government documents--the article applies and expands the concepts of boundary maintenance and news repair beyond the domestic news realm and considers these as mechanisms by which the U.S. mainstream news media can still contain and limit the effectiveness of such stories in the U.S. public sphere. This study shows that although the rise of the Internet provides substantial new openings for important foreign-originated news stories in the United States, U.S. news media retain some ability to close down stories perceived as threats to their journalistic credibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the UK and US were staunch allies before and during the Iraq War, differing sociopolitical milieus existed within the countries regarding support for the war. This cross-national content analysis compared stories on antiwar protest by leading newspapers in each country to determine if the differing sociopolitical environments were reflected in each nation's press coverage. Results indicate that the US press invoked the ‘protest paradigm’ to a greater extent than its UK counterpart by being more likely to implement marginalization techniques in its coverage of protest- ers. Additionally, a greater number of marginalization techniques were associated with negative overall story tone toward the protesters within US coverage when compared to UK coverage. These results underscore the importance of cross-national research in examining the generality of contemporary mass media theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial discusses the role of journalism in world events. The author discusses the infamous "Downing Street Memo" on the Iraq War, circulated around the British government and reported to the public by the British press. The author examines how this news story was managed by the British press, and compares the practice of journalism in Great Britain with journalism in the U.S. The author notes that the U.S. media largely ignored the "Downing Street Memo" story, despite the fact that it was considered highly important in Great Britain.