Multi-Dimensional News Diversity During Social Unrest: U.S. vs. Canadian Coverage of COVID-19 Protests

Background: It is crucial for democracies to ensure diversity in news content so as to offer varied journalistic perspectives. Yet how to define and measure this diversity is open to debate. Too often, the focus is on a single dimension. Analysis: Relying on a computer-assisted content analysis and a multivariate analysis, our study uses a multidimensional approach to examine 12,907 news articles on pandemic-induced protests in Canada and the United States from 2020 to 2022. Conclusions and implications: We found a more balanced coverage of topics in Canadian outlets, and a broader emotional range in U.S. articles. In general, corporate media tend to show polarized sentiments, a notable difference between independent media and media conglomerates. Our findings emphasize the need for a comprehensive approach to diversity in news content and challenge simplistic country-based categorizations of media systems.