A study was conducted to examine news coverage of the U.S. withdrawal from Unesco. News reports distributed by the Associated Press, United Press International, New York Times News Service, and Washington Post-Los Angeles Times News Service were studied to determine how adequate a foundation they were providing Americans for independent judgment on the merits of the withdrawal. Taken as a whole, the 173 news items were strongly anti-Unesco and supportive of a U.S. withdrawal. More than two-thirds of the themes identified in the reports were critical of Unesco. Only a quarter were favorable toward the agency and critical of the withdrawal. A small proportion focused on the future. Allegations that Unesco was politicized, mismanaged, anti-free press and badly in need of reform greatly outnumbered denials that this was the case, or affirmations as to the value of Unesco programs. The views of those in the United States and elsewhere who see some merit in Unesco's programs and who seek reform from within the organization did not appear to have been adequately represented. The results indicated that American readers with no other source of information than their newspapers would have received a very one-sided picture of the Unesco dispute, one that stressed the position of the U.S. government and largely ignored the views of organizations in the United States and developing nations that would be hurt by the U.S. withdrawal. (HTH)