LES OVNI dans la presse (1) ETUDE DES QUOTIDIENS NATIONAUX

This research report, dated October 1981, was produced by the Laboratory of Social Psychology at the University of Paris V under a convention with the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and its UFO research group, G.E.P.A.N. The primary objective of the study was to analyze the representation of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UFOs) in the French national daily press between January 1, 1974, and December 31, 1980. The researchers aimed to understand how the media shaped public perception of UFOs and to compare media accounts with official Gendarmerie reports. The study initially intended to cover national dailies, regional dailies, and ufological journals, but due to material and temporal constraints, it focused on seven national daily newspapers: L'Aurore, La Croix, Le Figaro, France-Soir, L'Humanité, Le Monde, and Le Parisien Libéré. The methodology involved a two-level content analysis. The first level categorized articles by their general theme and content type, while the second level focused specifically on articles reporting UFO observations or identifications. The researchers developed specific coding grids to quantify and qualify the information provided to readers, including the date of publication, the 'trigger' for the article (e.g., an observation, a book release, a conference), the form of the article (e.g., report, interview, reader letter), and the prominence given to the article (e.g., page placement, presence of illustrations). The report details the findings for each newspaper, noting significant variations in how they covered the subject. For instance, some newspapers like Le Monde and La Croix were found to accord a more scientific status to the topic, while others like Le Parisien Libéré or France-Soir showed different editorial priorities. The study also attempted to compare these media reports with Gendarmerie records, finding that while some observations were documented in both, there were frequent discrepancies in the classification of the phenomena. The report concludes that there is no uniform 'press image' of UFOs; rather, coverage is highly dependent on the editorial style and priorities of each publication. The researchers emphasize the need for caution when interpreting these results due to the non-exhaustive nature of the archives for some newspapers and the inherent difficulties in comparing media narratives with official administrative reports. The document includes extensive tables and appendices detailing the methodology, coding grids, and statistical data gathered during the research.