A study was conducted to discover differences in foreign affairs news coverage in newspapers from countries with differing concepts of the role of the press. The study used data gathered in a content analysis of newspapers from 16 countries and the findings of an independent assessment of the relative freedom of press systems in those countries. This assessment categorized three countries as having a free press system (Iceland, the United States, and Turkey); six as having a partially free system (Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, and Zambia); and seven as having systems that were not free (Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Thailand, Argentina, Algeria, Soviet Union, and Zaire). The study found that, while the press in each of the countries gave heavy coverage to executive leaders, the press systems labeled as not free were more likely than those labeled free to give top billing to the executive branch of the government. The nonfree press systems were less likely than the free systems to use direct quotations, but more likely to quote executives when such quotations were used. These newspapers were also less likely to emphasize political or civil conflict. (FL)