The Comparative Analysis Of The Coverage On Tibet And Xinjiang In The "New York Times"

The national image and international news coverage is closely related. Foreign media plays a significant role in shaping the national image of other countries. In the current communication environment, the Western media plays an important role in building China's national image. For a long time, Tibet and Xinjiang are the focus of the western media's main agenda when reporting China, and they are also the main factors affecting China's national image.Therefore, based on the latest relevant research, using the frame theory and the theory of national interest, this paper analyzed the media coverage of Tibet and Xinjiang in the "New York Times" from 2000 to 2009. The author tried to find out the similarities and differences between Tibet and Xinjiang, and also tried to dig out the deep reasons behind them to gain a better understanding of how the American's mainstream media portray China, hoping to make a benefitial reference for future research.The results show that, when reporting Tibet and Xinjiang, the Western media tend to report from an ideological point of view, then using the framework theory to seclet the issues and sources. However, there is a certain difference on the two regions, like the ownership of Tibet and Xinjiang, words of the issues of violence, and attitudes towards political leaders, etc. "The New York Times" takes a more hard-line attitudewhen reporting Tibet, the negative reports on the Tibetan issue is more serious; While the reporting approach is relatively soft on Xinjiang. After detailed analysis, we know that the national interests American is the main determinant factor when coverage international news. The United States has different strategic interests towards China, and it can largely influence the tone of reporting on the Tibetan issue or Xinjinag issue.Finally, this paper put forward some recommendations to improve China's national image, both on the government side and the media side, such as improving people's livelihood, to speed up the process of industrialization; relaxation of the reporting diameter, promoting Chinese culture, enhancing communication and eliminating barriers. Media strategies include: actively participate in setting the agenda of international public opinion, to grasp the initiative and attraction in discourse; paying attention to language skills, building self-confidence with an open attitude, and taking a rational interpretation of international public opinion.