"9.11" Incident In The Mainstream American Media Image Of China Research

9·11 attacks have significant impacts on the U.S. media as well as the U.S.-dominated international communication, which in turn influences the shaping of China's image. By resorting to the content analysis and the framing analysis, the present thesis analyzed TIME's reports on China after 9·11 attacks in terms of issue frame and reporting frame.According to the issue frame analysis, the thesis has found that the U.S. media's reports on China after 9·11 attacks basically create a progressing-but-dangerous image for China:1) Political image: China plays important roles in international affairs, but the defects of its internal system cause many problems that can affect its stability and development; 2)Economic image: China actively participates in international economic interactions, but the imbalanced industrial structure and disordered management harm its healthy and sustainable development; 3) Social image: The traditional Chinese culture possesses the charm of a long history and its newly-born culture changes day by day. Social problems, regarding public health care and environmental protection, have become one of the key factors restraining the political and economic development of China. Meanwhile, on the basis of reporting frame analysis, this thesis also finds that the U.S. media create the above images for China through balanced reporting and vague coding.Finally, this thesis explores the reasons that influence the U.S. media's reports on China after 9 ? 11 attacks from such perspectives as media diplomatic, geopolitics and media pseudo-environment. It is suggested that China should make full use of the current chance to construct China's national image and gradually improve China's public opinion in the international communications.