| This study examines how Chinese media were used to launch and continue the Cultural Revolution (1965–1969), how strong the media effects were, and Mao's personal role in the usage of media during this period.; People's Daily and Red Flag magazine were chosen as the main subjects of the study. About 400 articles and editorials from those two publications were included in the database, and the themes in those articles were systematically analyzed along with seven important events that took place during the time period under study.; The following conclusions are reached: (1) Media coverage, appearing throughout the course of an event, altered said event, causing it to develop in a direction the media wanted, or assisted in shaping the nature of the event. (2) In some cases, the media coverage before an event differed from that after the event, mainly because of power struggles between various factions and the resulting shift in who controlled the media. This shows that whoever had access to the media decided the media content. (3) Throughout the time period covered by this study, Mao Zedong played an active and pivotal role in the usage of media, and in most cases, the Chinese media covered the events according to Mao's orders. Without Mao, and specifically without the help of the media, the Cultural Revolution would not have occurred.; The above conclusions suggest that the Chinese media had great power to influence the masses, further verifying the powerful-effects model. Inspired by the spiral of silence theory, this study suggests a “spiral of noise” phenomenon. During the Cultural Revolution, people depended on the media to determine the views of the majority on an issue and to see whether public opinion was changing to agree with them. If they found themselves to be in the majority or if they think the climate of public opinion went with them, they tended to be more outspoken on the issue. This encouraged other people to express their points of view more openly, creating a spiral of noise. |
