scholarly journals Entertainment media, cultural power, and post-globalization: The case of China’s international media expansion and the discourse of soft power

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 278-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Flew
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Transmission Model ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
International Expansion ◽  
Global Media ◽  
Entertainment Media ◽  
International Media ◽  
Nation States

The concept of soft power has been highly influential in recent years, both as a concept to inform understanding of the cultural dimensions of international relations and as providing a practical guide to state investment in the international expansion of both news and entertainment media. One of the places where it has been most influential has been China, where is has been used to support the international expansion of China Central Television and the growth of Chinese entertainment media conglomerates. It is argued in this article, however, that the concept rests upon a weak understanding of the cultural dimensions of power and upon the transmission model of communication. As a result, there has tended to be a distributional bias in investing in cultural diplomacy and relatively little attention has been given to how audiences actually engage with international media content. Applied to the Chinese case, it is argued that support for entertainment media is more likely to support the aspirations of the Chinese government than news media, although news is likely to be prioritized for political reasons. At a more conceptual level, discussion of national soft power strategies and their relation to global media points to the need for new approaches in global media and communication studies, that could be termed post-globalization, that can address strengths and weaknesses in both critical political economy and media globalization approaches, and recognize the continuing centrality of nation states to the structuring of global media flows across territorial boundaries.

scholarly journals Who makes the news? Promoting gender equality in and through the news media

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Turley
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
News Media ◽  
Television News ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Global Media ◽  
International Media ◽  
Heart Attacks ◽  
The Third ◽  
Media Monitoring ◽  
International Initiative

Women in bikinis posing on a beach, heart attacks and snoring. What’s the connection? Well, to most of us none. Yet one Turkish television news report on 1 February 2000 deemed it appropriate to illustrate a serious story on scientific research into the link between heart attacks and snoring in women with footage of scantily clad women posing on a beach! It is stories like these that have come under the microscope in three international media monitoring projects over the last 10 years. When the first Global Media Monitoring Project (or GMMP as it has come to be known) was conducted in 1995, few of those involved could have imagined that it would develop in the way that it went on to do. Ten years later, with the third such project now complete, the enormous significance of this international initiative is clear. These three projects constitute the most extensive global research of gender in news media ever undertaken and as such they provide an enlightening example of the importance of media monitoring as a tool for change.

CCTV's Global Outreach: Examining the Audiences of China's ‘New Voice’ on Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Gorfinkel ◽  
Sandy Joffe ◽  
Cobus Van Staden ◽  
Yu-Shan Wu
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Brand Awareness ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Cultural Relations ◽  
Global Media ◽  
The World ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
China Central Television

This scoping article introduces key issues surrounding the globalisation of China Central Television (CCTV), focusing on its African operations, content and reception, specifically in Kenya and South Africa. At a time when the Chinese government is seeking to enhance positive perceptions of China and China–Africa relations, and its associated media outlets are seeking to compete with other major global players like CNN and the BBC, this article takes steps towards understanding the extent to which CCTV may be succeeding in these missions. Some of the challenges identified for CCTV-Africa in our small-scale pilot study include attempting to simultaneously target ‘African’, ‘Western’ and Chinese audience groups, which may detract from its ability to appeal to specific international audiences; competition from other international and local broadcasters who already have a strong spectator base; and a lack of accessibility, awareness and sustained interest in the channel. It calls for more in-depth research into global audiences' reception of CCTV-Africa, and CCTV more generally, in order to track CCTV's brand awareness and assess whether China's global media soft power activities actually have any leverage in enhancing cross-cultural relations and international audiences' perceptions of China in Africa and the world.

scholarly journals ‘Four Worlds’ news values revisited: A deliberative journalism paradigm for Pacific media

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 84 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Robie
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
News Values ◽  
International Media ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Community Stakeholders ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Status

South Pacific media face a challenge of developing forms of journalism that contribute to the national ethos by mobilising change from passive communities to those seeking change. Instead of the news values that have often led international media to exclude a range of perspectives, such a notion would promote deliberation by journalists to enable the participation of all community stakeholders, ‘including the minorities, the marginalised, the disadvantaged  and even  those deemed as “deviant’” (Romano, 2010). Critical deliberative journalism is issue-based and includes diverse and even unpopular views about the community good and encourages an expression of plurality. In a Pacific context, this resonates more with news media in some developed countries that have a free but conflicted press such as in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. This has far more relevance in the Pacific than a monocultural ‘Western’ news model as typified by Australia and New Zealand. Early in the millennium, this author examined notions of the Fourth Estate in the South Pacific.  These were applied through a ‘Four Worlds’ news values prism in the global South that included the status of Indigenous minorities in dominant nation states (Robie, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2009b). This article explores how that has been modified over the past decade and its implications for media and democracy in the Pacific.

scholarly journals From Watchdog to Lapdog: Political Influence of China on News Reporting in Malawi

Afrika Focus ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-48
Author(s):  
Mwaona Nyirongo
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
News Media ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Diplomatic Relations ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports

The arrival of China in Malawi has been characterised by a growing sense of uncertainty among academics who have expressed concern over the intentions of the superpower in the country. There are fears that China would like to extend its influence to Malawi as part of a broader push to increase its influence in global politics and economics. That push is in part exercised through the media. This study analyses the perception of Malawian journalists on news media reports of Chinese activities in Malawi. It uses content analysis to understand how the mediascape had changed from 2001-2007 when China had not yet established diplomatic relations with Malawi, and the period from January 2008-2020 in which diplomatic relations with China have existed. The article examines the shifts in journalistic representations of China in Malawi and develops prompts and probes from which journalist interviews were conducted. From the content analysis, it appears that from 2001-2007, Malawian media, especially The Daily Times, was very negative about China, uncritically reproducing Western representations of China. This changed after January 2008 when the press leaned towards an acknowledgement of Chinese activities. Through interviews journalists have indicated that the Chinese government offers certain opportunities such as exchange visits to journalists, making it difficult for them to bite the hand that feeds them. This ‘soft power’ is backed up by the repressive power of the Malawian government that uses intimidation to force journalists to report in their favour, thereby helping to create a positive image for China in Malawi. Journalists report that the significant shifts in journalistic representations of China have been mirrored by changes in the conceptualisation of journalistic roles in Malawi’s mediascape.

scholarly journals From watchdog to lapdog: political influence of China on news reporting in Malawi

Afrika Focus ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mwaona Nyirongo
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
News Media ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Diplomatic Relations ◽  
Chinese Media ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports

The arrival of China in Malawi has been characterised by a growing sense of uncertainty among academics who have expressed concern over the intentions of the superpower in the country. There are fears that China would like to extend its influence to Malawi as part of a broader push to increase its influence in global politics and economics. That push is in part exercised through the media. This study analyses the perception of Malawian journalists on news media reports of Chinese activities in Malawi. It uses content analysis to understand how the mediascape had changed from 2001-2007 when China had not yet established diplomatic relations with Malawi, and the period from January 2008-2020 in which diplomatic relations with China have existed. The article examines the shifts in journalistic representations of China in Malawi and develops prompts and probes from which journalist interviews were conducted. From the content analysis, it appears that from 2001-2007, Malawian media, especially The Daily Times, was very negative about China, uncritically reproducing Western representations of China. This changed after January 2008 when the press leaned towards an acknowledgement of Chinese activities. Through interviews journalists have indicated that the Chinese government offers certain opportunities such as exchange visits to journalists, making it difficult for them to bite the hand that feeds them. This ‘soft power’ is backed up by the repressive power of the Malawian government that uses intimidation to force journalists to report in their favour, thereby helping to create a positive image for China in Malawi. Journalists report that the significant shifts in journalistic representations of China have been mirrored by changes in the conceptualisation of journalistic roles in Malawi’s mediascape. KEY WORDS: SOLUTION JOURNALISM, CONSTRUCTIVE JOURNALISM, CHINESE MEDIA, AFRICAN JOURNALISM CULTURE

How to Tell the Truth without Outraging the Press?

MedienJournal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Li Xiguang
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Stories ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
Chinese News Media

The commercialization of meclia in China has cultivated a new journalism business model characterized with scandalization, sensationalization, exaggeration, oversimplification, highly opinionated news stories, one-sidedly reporting, fabrication and hate reporting, which have clone more harm than good to the public affairs. Today the Chinese journalists are more prey to the manipu/ation of the emotions of the audiences than being a faithful messenger for the public. Une/er such a media environment, in case of news events, particularly, during crisis, it is not the media being scared by the government. but the media itself is scaring the government into silence. The Chinese news media have grown so negative and so cynica/ that it has produced growing popular clistrust of the government and the government officials. Entering a freer but fearful commercially mediated society, the Chinese government is totally tmprepared in engaging the Chinese press effectively and has lost its ability for setting public agenda and shaping public opinions. 

scholarly journals Public Discourses on (Sectoral) Energy Policy in Switzerland

2021 ◽  
pp. 313-343
Author(s):  
Lena Maria Schaffer ◽  
Alessio Levis
Keyword(s):  
Energy Policy ◽  
News Media ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
The Public ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Future Policy ◽  
Transition Policy

AbstractEnergy transitions are based upon policy choices of sovereign nation states. Hence, politics plays a role in determining which policies governments implement and which sectors are targeted. Our chapter looks at the evolution of public discourse on energy policy as one important factor reflecting policy discussion and contestation within the political arena. Our descriptive and explorative analysis of the early public discourse in Swiss energy policy between 1997 and 2011 contributes to three main issues. First, it makes a case for the disaggregation of energy policy and its public perception to add to our understanding of energy transition pathways. We argue that looking at sectoral discourses as well as sectoral policy outputs allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the idiosyncrasies of Swiss energy policy regarding temporal as well as sectoral variation. Second, an increased politicization of energy policy may affect future policy choice, and thus any account on energy transition policy needs to scrutinize potential feedback effects from policies that manifest via policy discourse. Third, and on a more methodological stance, we argue that our approach to use news media as a representation of the public discourse via structural topic models can help to explore and explain the evolving national policy priorities regarding energy transition.

scholarly journals Ong’ong’a: Edutainment through Reality TV Shows in China and its Export

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 40-46
Author(s):  
Oloo Oloo
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Reality Tv ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Chinese Media ◽  
Tv Program ◽  
Tv Shows

In recent years, the Chinese media has grown vastly with the country’s interest in the investment in the developing countries. As the relationship with these countries become, so as the influence of Chinese culture towards the nations through the ever-growing Chinese media. Since the implementation of significant projects in Africa, Caribbean and Asia countries by Chinese government, the Chinese media have been characterized in localizing their TV contents to compete with the host countries and stretching their sense of soft power to these nations. Although they have faced significant challenges in terms of cultural difference, and technological development, the Chinese reality TV shows have continued to be part of the regular host countries' TV program diet while facing fierce standpoint from the initial global dominant media in these markets. This paper analyses these trends in focus on the Chinese reality TV shows that have hit the host countries' market as well as the motivation of their evolution. The article traces the extent of these strategies to be leveraged by states to balance their local production and foster cordial relation with China in a context of edutainment. It is imperative to analyze the development of this crucial phenomenon in the ontological perspective of the internationalization and marketization of products. The article addresses these issues by drawing attention from different players in this conspicuous field.

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