Discourse of Reciprocity

Discourse of Reciprocity explains an important dynamic in press coverage of the US-Canada alliance and provides a model for using discourse analysis to study news coverage. The cases cover international policymaking in energy, agriculture, and national security since 1980.

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Discourse of Reciprocity reveals patterns of press behavior in the US-Canada alliance at points where the nature of the alliance itself was under stress. Drawing on journalism studies, discourse analysis, political communication, and international relations, the book explores examples of international policymaking in national security, agriculture, and energy issues. Drawing on coverage in The New York Times and The Globe and Mail, the book articulates concepts of news as providing positive symbolic presence, exhibiting forbearance, and exhibiting cooperation. This trio of press behaviors—evident in the structure of the news coverage itself—matches the definition of reciprocity used in fields such as international relations and game theory.

The book gives equal consideration to the coverage in The New York Times and The Globe and Mail, articulating country-specific examples of how press coverage enacts reciprocity. Five cases cover the period from 1980 to the present, including the Keystone pipeline proposal and the discovery of mad cow disease in North America. The cases include Liberal and Conservative governments in Canada and Republican and Democratic administrations in the United States. This binational study sheds light on an understudied dynamic contributing to the reciprocity that sustains the alliance.

The book adds to the relatively limited literature on news coverage of alliances. The book also illustrates how to implement discourse analysis in news framing research in a much more extensive way than previous political communication or international relations literature.