Framing US Elections of 2012 in Iranian Press

AbstractReporting an election campaign from any elite nation by newspapers around the world is usually a routine act of international journalism. A critical reading of Iranian national newspapers and the way by which they've framed the US election campaign of 2012 in a context of conflict situation needs further attention and might draw a different picture of foreign news.The aim of this study is to investigate the way over 15 daily papers and their website reported or projected the election campaigns and those events surrounding the US presidential election campaign of Nov. 2012. The reporting of this election campaign was important for the Iranian public, because it was related to regime of sanctions against the country and people's everyday life under new situation and even a possible foreign military intervention against the country. The main research question was whether the presentation of the campaign events was biased towards one or another candidates and how the press are interpreted the campaign process and its results? How does the press frame democratic values?This study comprises the analysis of two weeks of the campaign news and views on all papers under study. The content of this paper includes a quantitative content analysis as well as qualitative framing analysis together with historical interpretation of diplomatic relations between two countries. In terms of theoretical framework, the study tested agenda setting theory as well as framing.Key Words,, US election, Foreign news reporting, Iranian newspapers,