Government Concerns and Coverage ofU.S.-China Relations:

　　－A Content Analysis of The New York Times & People’s Daily 1987-1996

　　Xigen Li 　　Manship School of Mass Communication　　Louisiana State University

　　　ABSTRACT

　　This study tested the effect of government concern on the coverage of U.S.-China relations by The New York Times and People’s Daily. It examined the relationship between extramedia variable and the news coverage, and the relationship between intramedia variable national interest emphasis in the news coverage and the references to trade and non-trade political issues. The findings support the proposition that government concern affects the coverage of U.S.-China relations both in The New York Times and People’s Daily. However, neither extramedia variables nor intramedia variables were found to be strong predictors of the news content for both newspapers. In The New York Times, emphasis on national interest was associated with reference to trade; while in People’s Daily, emphasis on national interest was associated with reference to non-trade political issues.

　　 Reporting government activities is media routine whether in the U.S. or in China. But to what degree coverage of government activities reflect the government concerns is an issue worth exploring. Study shows that media speak for the nation (Pool 1952a, 1952b). But it is not so clear to what degree government concerns affects news content. Few studies have investigated the influence of government concerns on news content, whether demonstrated through president documents in the U.S. or documents of State Council in China as extramedia variables, or through reference to issues addressed by the government in the news content as intramedia variables. This study examines national media coverage of U.S.-China relations in their respective elite newspapers of record, The New York Times and People’s Daily for the 1987-1996 period.

　　Literature Review

　　Factors that influence news content

　　Factors that influence news content could be observed from macro and micro scope. (Shoemaker and Reese 1996). The Macro ideological perspective specifies the frame that the news media define themselves. The media serve as means of the ruling power to produce and maintain the dominant ideology by accepting the frames imposed by the powerful groups. News as an ideological product reflects the interest of the powerful in both Western capitalist and communist societies. Galtung and Ruge (1970) argue that news is an ideological product in both Communist and free market countries.

　　Studies have been done to explore the impact of more direct economic factors on international news. Analyzing data from the American component of the UNESCO study, Ahern (1984) found that, among extrinsic variables, GNP, trade, and political relations exerted the most powerful influence on coverage. Rosengren and Rikardsson (1984) found a relationship between trade and foreign news coverage in their study of Mideast news in Swedish press. However, Lacy, Chang and Lau ‘s (1989) study of American newspaper content found no relationship between economic factors and the news content, and they argued that economic factors may not be strong predictors of coverage patterns.

　　 Government views are considered by some scholars a strong extramedia factor influencing media content. Zeidenstein (1984) described the government’s influence on the media succinctly: “The White House can influence - if not completely control - the content, timing, and methods of publicizing the news.” Graber (1993) found that foreign news tends to emanate primarily from various beats in the executive branch, especially the White House, the State Department, and the Pentagon. The president's views tend to dominate whenever situations are controversial. While government was considered a strong factor which influences news coverage, to what degree the major decision makers of a government, such as the president of the United States, can affect news coverage on specific foreign relations issues remains a question largely unsolved.

　　News media are social institutions. They are constrained by their own political and economic nature. Altschull (1984) has proposed a framework for studying variations within owner control of the media: whoever pays the piper calls the tune. Herman and Chomsky (1988) assume that media primarily serve the dominant elite. They argue that this is equally true when the media are privately owned without formal censorship, as when they are directly controlled by the state. In recommending media routine approach, Paul Hirsh (1977) says that the mass media may serve different functions, but they share many organizational similarities that outweigh many of the differences.

　　The organizational perspective proposes another factor that might affect news coverage: even though the media are not financed by the government, they are in many ways controlled by the state. On the national level, private newspapers such as The New York Times serve the dominant elite and preserve the best long-term interest of the capitalist system. In the international realm, such media control leads to the assumption that news content is influenced by government concerns.

　　Coverage of Issues of International relations

　　 When examining the news coverage of foreign policy process and international events, researchers tend to agree that in international news coverage, media primarily focus on the events and issues which represent the national interest (Shoemaker et al. 1991), especially the elite newspapers that are read by policy makers. De Sola Pool (1952) points out that the elite press speaks for the interests of its own country, regardless of the nature of the political system. The “prestige paper” is always in some way tied to the government, the degree of intimacy being a function of the politization of the particular elite.

　　Chang’s (1990) survey of American newspaper editors suggested that their primary concerns centered on coverage of U.S. interests and involvements abroad and threats to world peace. Gans (1979) asserted that foreign news in the U.S. media covers stories relevant to Americans and American interests. Paletz and Entman (1981) argued that international reporting tends to be monolithic and consistent with U.S. foreign policy because reporters rely almost exclusively on sources sympathetic to representing the American interest.

　　 On the other hand, some studies found that the elite newspapers do not necessarily follow government line. Kern et al. (1983) and Goodman (1996) found that The New York Times is among the media that are most independent of government. When the government gave limited to great attention to specific China policy issues, the press did not follow suit.

　　 Government concerns are the best indicators of national interest. The different and changing government concerns may distinguish the media in their coverage of international events, which explains the phenomenon in international reporting: elite press speaks for the nation. The literature on factors influencing news content and coverage of issues of international relations reveals that the decision-makers are driven by the shifting national interest in dealing with the issues of international relations. Despite the fact that some studies found government one of the most powerful factors in influencing the coverage of international news, few studies have looked at how government concern, perceived by the key players in international relations and represented through political and economic events, affects coverage of international news.

　　The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of factors associated with government concern on the news content. Government concern is defined as the expression by a country’s authority on cost and benefit that certain policy or events may bring to the country in international relations. Government concern in U.S.-China relations refers to the level of gain and loss in political and economic activities involving two countries. To test the notion that news content has been driven by government concern, we propose to use extramedia variables, concerns raised by the U.S. president and China’s government on U.S.-China trade and non-trade political issues, such as issues regarding Most Favorite Nation status and human rights.

　　Hypotheses

　　Based on the literature on factors that influence news content coverage of issues in international relations, two groups of hypotheses were derived. Each group contains several hypotheses that apply to both newspapers. The following hypotheses groups corresponding respectively to The New York Times and People’s Daily were tested.

　　HG1. Relationship between Extramedia Variables and News Content

　　The New York Times People’s Daily

　　Independent variable Dependent variable Independent variable Dependent variable

　　1) More U.S.-China trade issues in Presidential Papers More emphasis on trade interest in coverage 1) More U.S.-China trade issues in Chinese government papers More emphasis on trade interest in coverage

　　2) More non-trade political issue in Presidential Papers More reference to non-trade political issue 2) More non-trade political issue in government papers More reference to non-trade political issue

　　Hypothesis group 1 tests the relationship between the real life indicators of U.S. and China’s government concerns and the emphasis on government concern in the news coverage. It explores to what degree respective government concerns on U.S.-China relations were reflected in the coverage by the two newspapers. The common interest involved in U.S.-China trade and different stands on human rights are likely to generate divergent patterns in dealing with the issues relating to trade and non-trade issues in the coverage of U.S.-China relations by the two newspapers.

　　HG2. Relationship between Intramedia Variables

　　The New York Times People’s Daily

　　Independent variable Dependent variable Independent variable Dependent variable

　　3) More emphasis on national interest More reference to trade 3) More emphasis on national interest More reference to trade

　　4) More reference to trade Fewer reference to non-trade political issue 4) More reference to trade Fewer reference to non-trade political issue

　　Hypothesis group 2 examines the relationship between the issues involving national interest in the coverage of U.S.-China relations and reference to trade and non-trade political issues. It is expected that emphasis on national interest is associated with references to trade and non-trade political issues. The issues relating to trade are entwined with non-trade political issues, and may have a suppressing effect on issues relating to non-trade issues.