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American Press Coverage Of China And U.S China Policy-----A Longitudinal Study Of The 1990-1999 Period

Posted on:2001-06-28Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:J ZhangFull Text:PDF
GTID:2156360002450459Subject:English for Specific Purposes
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The present thesis is an attempt to study the American press coverage of China and U.S. China policy in the 1990s. The review of previous studies into the relationship between mass media and U.S. foreign policy indicates that most of the research has focused on the process of U.S. foreign policymaking and particular cases. Few efforts have been made on U.S. China policy from the perspective of the influence of the press. Even fewer longitudinal studies have been made. The present study is conducted with a view to finding out whether there exist any correlations between the American press coverage of China and U.S. China policy in the 1990s. The research questions of the study are: 1) Are there any correlations between the American press coverage of China and U.S. China policy in the 1990s? 2) If so, in which way are they correlated? If not, for what reasons?The data on American press coverage of China are collected from four prestigious American newspapers桾he New York Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Los Angeles Times梐nd consist of headlines of news stories published in "foreign", "international" or "world" desk of the four newspapers. Analysis of the data and discussions are carried out along three lines: the volume of coverage, range of topics, and attitudes revealed.It is discovered that on the whole the American press coverage of China is closely correlated with the U.S. China policy output, which is reflected in the following areas:1) The increasing amount of coverage in the press accords with the growing importance of China in U.S. China policy consideration across the 1990s.2) The two topics that enjoy the highest coverage are business & trade and human rights, which constitute the most essential concerns in U.S. China policymaking.3) The trend displayed in the coverage of these two topics also correlates with the U.S. China policy in these two areas.4) The pattern of attitudes revealed on the two topics is in agreement with theprinciples reflected in U.S. China policy decisions.At the same time, a lack of correlations has also been discovered with regard to the press coverage of certain topics in specific periods:1) The long-lasting issue of Taiwan gets comparatively insufficient coverage in the press except in crisis, in spite of its significant position in China-U.S. relations in the 1990s.2) The trend revealed regarding the pattern of attitudes in the coverage ofbusiness & trade over the period is not correlated with U.S. policy decisions over trade with China.3) Contrary to U.S. China policy decisions after 1994, increasingly negativeattitudes dominate the headlines of human rights report on China. Therefore, as to the first question raised, the answer is yes, given the generaltendency; but there also exist minor differences. The occurrence of non-correlations is largely due to the characteristics of the press itself, in particular its interest for humanitarian and adverse news.The thesis is concluded with some suggestions for future academic study and advice for policymakers in China. Given the stereotypes shared by the press and government in the United States, in China, we should pay much attention to the image of China created by and reflected in the American press coverage and enhance publicity to the outside.
Keywords/Search Tags:Policy-----A
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