Domestic Extension of Public Diplomacy: Media Competition for Credibility, Dependency and Activation of Public

This dissertation connects theories of political communication, public relations and international relations to conceptualize a new model of public diplomacy, where boundaries between distinct types of actors are drawn. It proposes an ecological model and a competition model of public diplomacy. Based on these conceptual models, it empirically supports the academic rationalization of governmental interference in foreign media effects among its domestic citizens: Using a quota sample of 560 survey respondent from mainland China, the empirical part of the dissertation illustrated: 1. Governmental control on foreign media accessibility has significant effects on perceived media credibility and thus dependency on it; 2. Availability of domestic media resource negatively impacts dependency on foreign media; and 3. Foreign media and domestic media, as currently conceptualized, have distinct effects on the psychological activeness of Chinese publics to speak out against social issues.