Relation Between Economic Dependence And Media Bias In International New Making

Combining content analysis and critical discourse analysis,this study explores the relationship between economic dependence and media bias of international news-making.The thesis research is a case study of articles on the Sino-US trade war in four European online newspapers.The hypothesis is that a country's economic relation with China is a variable that will impact reporting bias on China.This impact is expected based on the media model were media corporations are part of the political,economic and cultural discourse of their respective countries.730 Online articles of four European newspapers were selected for a content analysis based on the topic ‘Sino-US trade war'.Through discourse analysis and framing theory four different frames were developed to categorize the different narratives that are found in these articles,and to analyze how those frames are related to positive/negative bias.By way of systematically exploring the narratives,it became obvious that the bias is depending on the frame choice,in particular the choice between economic interest or political or ideological interest.In articles on the Sino-US trade war,economic narratives are more likely to show a positive China bias,while political narratives within the case study always show a negative China bias,or exclusion of China.The conclusion of this dissertation therefore is that media face a frame selection dilemma in their reporting on China in the trade war.The growing economic relation with China gives incentive for more positive reporting on China,however as these media companies traditionally have a “watchdog” function and a strong democratic-idealist foundation,the political frame is more important in media reporting.More empirical research would be required,but the tentative conclusion of this dissertation is that the reason China can be expected to remain at the receiving end of criticism is because itdoes not share western media's democratic ideals.Economic incentives do inspire positive bias,but not only when an article is not referring to social political issues.