| Contemporary Tibet is the subject of one of the world's longest running ethno-territorial conflicts, dating from just after the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949 (Sautman & Dreyer, 2006). And due to the huge difference between U.S. and China on political as well as culture dimension, the understanding of Tibet is also varies. Since observing media frames is one of the ways to better understanding the relationship between U.S. vs. Tibet and China vs. Tibet according to Gamson and Modigliani (1987): a media frame as "a central organizing idea or story line that provides meaning to an unfolding strip of events... The frame suggests what the controversy is about, the essence of the issue" (p. 143). Therefore, this study identifies the news frames present in American and Chinese newspapers' coverage about the Tibet issue, and ascertain differences between the two nations in the performance of the framing function. The study also aims to determine framing patterns: How did these frames change over the years. |
