A Study On Cultural Values Contributing To The Differences Of Sino-American Disaster Report

At the turn of the 21 st Century, the human race is not only facingunprecedented prosperity and opportunities, but also devastating disasters which may cause high mortality rate and great economic loss. Despite the sameness in the coverage of the essential information, reporting style and angles taken by media of different countries differ greatly. Based on intercultural perspectives, this thesis explores how cultural factors contribute to the differences of Sino-American Disaster coverage. Based on Hofstede’s value dimensions, the author uses content analysis to analyze some disaster reports from People’s Daily and the New York Times which represent the mainstream of the media respectively in China and America.The study reveals that disaster news reports in China and the United States are quite different on several aspects. First of all, in the process of news dissemination, Chinese media is greatly influenced by the notion of “the Harmony between Human and Nature” while American communicators believe in “Division between Heaven and Man”. Secondly, the emphases of the disaster news are different.The Chinesenews reporters focus on the positive factors during the disaster and tryto minimize the negative ones, while the American journalists seldom avoid reporting the negative factors. Finally, attitudesof the news reporters towards the governments are different. Chinese media usually speak highly of the government’s behavior instead of directly pointing out its deficiency while American journalists have the courage to question what the government has done.