News Framing: The Sino-U.S. Spy Plane Collision

Paper Summary:

On April 1, 2001, what began as a minor training exercise turned into a post-Cold War confrontation between two of the world's nuclear powers. On this date, a collision of a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet resulted in a tense - but not hostile - political confrontation between the two nations. This paper examines how although the actual details of the spy plane collision in April 2001 differed substantially in their respective accounts in the Chinese and U.S. media, these differences were not so important to many observers as how important the role they played in shaping public opinion as the events unfolded. It provides a side-by-side comparison of the accounts from China and the U.S. to show how the "New York Times" and the "People's Daily" seem to be covering two completely separate incidents. It also defines and discusses the media framing functions that were categorized into three dimensions: visual framing, contextual framing and operational framing.

Outline:
Introduction
Background and Overview
Differences in Media Accounts
Categorization of Framing Functions in Media Accounts
Review of the Literature
Role of the Media in News Presentation
Gatekeeping and Presentation of News Reports
Additional Factors Influencing Presentation of News Reports
The American Position as Reflected in "The New York Times"
The Chinese Position as Reflected in "The People's Daily"
The International Community's Position
Method
Data Analysis and Findings
"People's Daily": April 2-April 27, 2001
"New York Times" Analysis
Validity and Reliability
Conclusion
References

From the Paper:

"From a subjective perspective, one can almost envision the Chinese leadership hunkered down in the Forbidden City formulating a cogent but forceful response to the spy plane incident that would show the world that they still meant business militarily, but one which would not go so far as to jeopardize what was really important: the American markets. However, from an international perspective, the evolution of the Sino-American trade bloc may be thwarted by future recurrences of this level of hostility, and in the post-Cold War globe, former allies may become potential enemies. "

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