A Study On Chinese Migrant Workers Reported In American Mainstream Media And Their Image Analysis

Since reform and opening up,the reform of economic system affects all aspects of social members,but also strongly shocked farmers who lived with land for years.The implementation of household contract responsibility system,so that the rural labor force increased,a large number of farmers from rural to urban migration,and has a new endorsement of "migrant workers." With the progress of social reform and urbanization,migrant workers have become an important part of the urban landscape composition.The large number and specificity of the groups provide a rich media resource for the society.In this context,Media image research began to appear in sociology,communication and other fields,become the focus of social concern.At the same time,under the background of globalization,the international communication is more and more frequent,and the Chinese migrant workers' group has also entered the field of foreign media attention because of its "Chinese characteristics".Therefore,this study selects two mainstream media in the United States-The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal as the representative media to analyze how the mainstream media,represented by the two newspapers,reported on the Chinese migrant workers and constructed what kind of image of migrant workers,the imageof the Chinese nation as a whole will spread and Shaping what kind of impact.The study finds that the mainstream media consistently pay attention to Chinese migrant worker issue,which can be proved by the number as well as length of reporting articles about this issue.The migrant worker issue is mainly connected with protection of rights and interests and living conditions.Media reporting tend to shape migrant workers as a group,who are playing great roles in economic construction and social development but at the same time unable to gain their own right.The image of this group can be described specifically by four phrases: unsung heroes of economic development,victims of reform,lost of social welfare and activists.American media coverage of Chinese migrant workers is highly related to the China image,which will certainly have an impact on the construction and communication of the China image.It has been found that the China image,which has been told and reflected in the media reporting,is mainly a negative one,which can be a harmful factor in the process of shaping and outspreading of China's national image.