Media Venezuela President Hugo Chavez announced that he had cancer in 2011, and since then, headlines have frequently related to his health. For the most part, these articles provide a means by which to also comment on Chavez's politics, persona, and policy: all of which are controversial. Therefore, it is fruitful to examine differential coverage of Chavez's deteriorating health from a number of different news sources from around the world. Headlines in March, 2013 reveal that the president's health has taken a turn for the worse and he might not survive much longer. The following analysis draws from two American news sources (CNN and the Miami Herald) and two foreign but English-language news sources (BBC and the Irish Examiner).

Positioning of the Story: Newspaper Section, Size and Location

The position of the story reveals much about the editorial board's valuation of the story.

BBC

The Chavez story is on the front page of the BBC website, but is not the Top News story -- an honor given today to the stock markets. This is likely because Chavez has been in the news for quite some time, and unless he passed away or there was truly nothing else of note to report, is unlikely to enjoy Top News status. The news story is located in the Latin America section of the BBC World website.

CNN

Logged in the Latin America section just as with the BBC, CNN also gives the Chavez story secondary front-page placement. Interestingly, both the BBC and CNN place the story in a box to the left of the main story. However, CNN led not with the stock markets but with the Pope.

However, the Miami Herald offers a tiny image and small-print headline that a casual reader could easily overlook. This gives the Chavez story secondary importance. Because Miami is the gateway between Latin America and Anglo-America, the paper does not place the Chavez story in a global section but rather, in the regular "news" section.
Irish Examiner

The Irish Examiner is the only one of these four papers to place the article about Chavez's ailing health in a Viewpoints/Comments/Analysis section. This placement allows for more editorializing than if it were a standard news piece.

Images

The images selected to accompany the story reveals much about the tone and slant of the news organization.

BBC

The BBC selected two images: one for the front-page teaser and one for the actual article. Both of these images emphasize the Venezuelan people, as opposed to Chavez himself. The images show the impact of Chavez's failing health on a populace that largely loves and supports the politician. Crying, adoring fans of Chavez are shown in front of billboard pictures of the president, as opposed to an actual picture of the president himself. The second image attached to the article does not even show Chavez at all. The BBC's selection of images depicts Chavez as being like a cult leader. This corresponds to the BBC's coverage of the event as affecting the people.

CNN

CNN chooses to use the widely circulated image of Chavez, in bed and smiling widely, surrounded by two of his daughters, also smiling broadly. The family focus of the image humanizes Chavez.

Miami Herald

The Miami Herald uses a small image of Chavez at an older press conference in which he points with his index finger to his bald head. Ostensibly, the image corresponds to Chavez's statement referring to his hair growth after chemotherapy. Yet the image has a symbolic function, too. It appears Chavez is pointing a gun at his own head; or, it appears Chavez…