The effect of national interest on coverage of United States-China relations: A content analysis of ``The New York Times'' and ``People's Daily'', 1987--1996

This international comparative study tested the factors that influence media coverage of international news. It applied Shoemaker and Reese's theories of influence on news content. The particular focus was how national interest affected coverage of U.S.China relations in The New York Times and People's Daily over a ten-year period, 1987 to 1996. A total of 225 stories from The New York Times and 230 stories from People' s Daily was selected for analysis.; Two groups of hypotheses were tested: the relationship between extramedia variables and news coverage, and the relationship between media emphasis on national interest and other aspects of news coverage, e.g., source attitude and fairness and balance. Six research questions were also investigated.; The notion that the newspaper speaks for the nation was supported. National interest was found to have some impact on the coverage of U.S.-China relations both in The New York Times and People' s Daily between 1987 to 1996. However, neither extramedia variables nor intramedia variables were strong predictors of the news content in both newspapers. The notion that more emphasis on trade interest will suppress emphasis on non-trade interest and reference to non-trade political issues found no support from both newspapers.; Overall, the four extramedia variables, U.S. investment growth in China, U.S.-China trade, U.S. and Chinese government concerns on trade, and U.S. and Chinese government concerns on non-trade issues were weak predictors of news content. The findings indicate that there was almost no combined effect of the extramedia variables on newspaper coverage of U.S.-China relations both in The New York Times and People' s Daily. Comparing to previous studies, U.S.-China trade was found to have a weaker influence on The New York Times and People's Daily's coverage of U.S.-China relations. U.S. presidential concerns on trade had a clear impact on references to trade in The New York Times, while Chinese government concerns on non-trade political issues had an evident effect on references to non-trade political issues in People's Daily.; Intramedia variables such as emphasis on national interest and reference to trade in the coverage were weak indicators of news content in both newspapers. For The New York Times, emphasis on national interest was only associated with references to trade, while in People' s Daily, emphasis on national interest was only associated with references to nontrade political issues.; The findings suggest that fairness and balance were basically unaffected by the extramedia and intramedia variables in both The New York Times and People's Daily.; U.S.-China trade was the most frequently covered single topic in both newspapers. Government officials were found to be the most frequently cited sources in both newspapers. While The New York Times tended to be negative and People's Daily tended to be positive in their coverage, government leaders of both countries tended to be positive towards U.S.-China relations.