Punctuating the homogeneity of institutionalized news: Abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib versus killing civilians at Fallujah

An investigation of a central assertion of new institutionalist approaches to news through illustrative case study of abuse of Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison than to killing of Iraqi civilians in Fallujah is presented. The case study explains how combining the institutionalist approach with existing models of media and foreign policy could illuminate paths toward a more thorough understanding of the media's roles in democratic politics.