A Content Analysis Of News Coverage Of President Hu Jintao's Visti To The U.S. In 2011

This content analysis compares news coverage by The New York Times, China Daily, Global Times and Xinhua Daily Telegraph of Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to the United States and major events and issues around the visit during January 2011 for finding differences in the coverage's framing and news sourcing. The thesis found that while focusing on conflicts and co-operation between China and the United States, The New York Times did not covered relative events and issues so negatively the way as U.S. media used to do but took a realistic, balanced and somewhat positive stances, especially in framing of economic news stories. To some extent, the tendency may reflect U.S.'s national interests and foreign policy toward China and the U.S.-China relations. Different from relatively balanced and cautious reporting by China Daily and Xinhua Daily Telegraph on U.S. affairs and China-U.S. relations, the Global Times pays more attention to depth of relative coverage and takes a harsh tone toward the U.S., especially in framing news coverage of military affairs. Based on that and background of the China-U.S. relations available, the paper discusses reasons and attempts to present explanations of the differences.