From The Point Of View Of Latin American Media Influence China's Xinhua News Agency

Although Xinhua News Agency’s influence and achievements in the world are growing, in the eyes of Spanish media in Latin America, its status is still lower than Western news agencies.Xinhua set up a correspondent in Costa Rica since1978:however, nowadays, when Costa Rican media select international news sources, they primarily choose Western reports-not Xinhua reports. So, what are the factors influencing Costa Rican media’s decision to not choose Xinhua news?This thesis focuses on researching, analyzing and evaluating the influence of Xinhua News Agency on Costa Rican media (the author’s country). Using a survey, the author will analyze Costa Rican journalists’opinions about the different characteristics between Xinhua and some major Western wire services reports, as well as Costa Rican media’s choices in terms of international news sources.The thesis is composed of four chapters. The first chapter is a description of the international sources of information that are most commonly used in Costa Rican media. Firstly, in order to know if Xinhua news had an impact on Costa Rican media coverage, we explore the news sources that were used by them to cover the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15and COP16). Moreover, through a survey conducted on Costa Rican reporters, we also describe the international news sources that are most commonly used by them.In the second chapter, the author explores Costa Rican journalists’ views about Xinhua. We firstly do an historical sketch of Xinhua News Agency, and then describe the results of the survey, after which we analyze Costa Rican reporters’ opinions about the Chinese News Agency. including how much attention they give to the news about China.The third chapter compares the views of Costa Rican reporters about Xinhua, the Spanish news agency EFE and CNN. Considering four aspects-technical elements of news reporting, professional ethics, political ideas and social roles-, we compare the influence of these three news sources on Costa Rican media.Finally, in chapter four, using the theory of influences on Mass Media content as proposed by Scholars Shoemaker and Reese, we analyze whether reporters’personal characteristics and work habits in Costa Rican media, have influenced their views on Xinhua and other international news sources.