A study examined the influence of national political and economic interests, culture, and history on the portrayal of Arabs in two weekly news magazines. Sample articles from the American weekly "Time" magazine and the British weekly "The Economist" were examined for coverage of the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war and the June 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The comparative content analysis consisted of (1) an examination of portrayals of Arabs in British and American news magazines, (2) an examination of the cultural-political-economic bases of these portrayals, and (3) a search for evidence of ideological links between these bases and the media's portrayal of Arabs. The Arab characterizations were examined across four major categories: Arab referents, general source of attribution, nationality of source, and favorable/unfavorable direction. The Arab characterizations in each country's magazine were expected to be distinctive to the extent that they were affected by the cultural-political-economic situations out of which they arose and to the extent that the cultures and interests of the nations differ. Results showed a more diversified portrayal of Arabs in "The Economist" in 1973 than in 1982; however, more diversity had been expected in the British magazine than actually existed. Indications were found of ideological links between cultural-political-economic factors of the two nations and the portrayal of Arabs in their media. The British historical role as a colonizer, as well as American and British dependency on Arab oil appeared to have influenced the Arab portrayals. (Tables of data and 54 footnotes are appended.) (Author/NKA)