The data used in this study are drawn from a large random sample of news collected in New Zealand in 1974. All news broadcast on the six radio stations in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, was recorded on five days (approaching 400 OOO words). Over one third of the analysable sample was international news, which the stations received from a common source. At this period, all staple international news entered New Zealand at Wellington (the capital) on the Australian Associated Press-Reuter wire from Sydney, Australia. AAP received most of its copy from Reuters, some from Associated Press and United Press International, and a little from Agence France