The Representation Of The14th Dalai Lama In The New York Times

The14th Dalai Lama is a religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism. He had been in a good relationship withthe central government of China. After the riot in Tibet in1959the14thDalai Lama fled to India. In thenext few decades, the domestic masses in China got little information about him. On the eve of theBeijing2008Olympic Games, a large-scale riot took place in Tibet, the14thDalai Lama was lashed bymany Chinese, because he was proved as one of the instigators and plotter of that, so, he was morefirmly regarded as "a separatist" and "a political monk ". However, since the1970s, the14thDalaiLama’s influence in Western society had been increased, and now he has high prestige and influenceamong Western people. After all, few Westerners has gone to Tibet or seen the14thDalai Lama, theWestern media undoubtedly are the main ways for them to know about him. Thus, it is helpful toexplain why the14thDalai Lama is so popular in the West to explore the image of him presented by theWestern media.This thesis makes analysis of the reports about the14thDalai Lama in the New York Times from1979to2011, Using the the theory of framework and the method of content analysis, on the macroscopic level,mesoscopic level and microscopic level, meanwhile on seven aspects of the reports, such as the number,the theme,the genre, the source of the information, the source of the report, the narrative framework,and key words in them. The discovery of my research is that there is some fixed coverage framework inthe reports of the New York Times, which is strengthened through long-term and lasting reports, and theNew York Times shape the media images of the14thDalai Lama as a spiritual leader, a peacekeeper, apolitical star and a weak old man under the narrative frame.The New York Times choose the facts and information under the guidance of some coverageframeworks, which affect people’s judgment and viewpoint of the14thDalai Lama. The Western peoplewho have little real understanding of the14thDalai Lama and Tibet will tend to support him when theyare strongly impacted by the information with distinct emotional tendency.This study reveals the media images shaped by the New York Times, and makes brief analysis of thereasons why it construct such images. I hope it could provid some reference to the InternationalCommunication on the theme of the14thDalai Lama...