Reflections Of Mo Yan And The Nobel Prize

On11October2012, Mo Yan became the first Chinese person, acknowledged by the Chinese government, to be awarded a Nobel Prize, as he was announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature2012.This research project sets out to investigate how Mo Yan and the Nobel Prize for Literature2012was covered by the Norwegian media. It is focused on how two selected daily newspapers covered the author and person Mo Yan and him winning the prize, as well as reflecting on coverage of Chinese culture in general.The theoretical context and conceptual framework informing the study is based mainly on mediation, media representation and otherness, global imagination, media power, soft power and the question of moral judgement.A qualitative content analysis of the media coverage in the time period between the announcement of the winner and the award ceremony was conducted. To complement the findings, two structured interviews with reporters from the newspapers were carried out.Key findings show that there was a fair bit of coverage around the news of the winner, presenting who he is and his work. However, the focus soon shifted to become a political debate about Mo Yan and his links with the Chinese Communist Party, and his approach to the debate around freedom of speech and human rights in China.The conclusion of this paper considers options for future research on this topic and suggests various ways to expand the topic and get a deeper insight and broader perspective and context.