Coverage of the Tibet Crisis (March 2008) and the Olympic Games in China (August 2008) in the German-language mass media

Abstract

The perception by the German media of Tibet, on the one hand, and China, on the other, could not be more contrary: the current image of China is fully in the tradition of the threatening yellow - respectively red - threat and so is strongly opposed to the positive image of Tibet (peaceful, esoteric, in need of protection). Given this double agenda setting and framing, an almost insurmountable communicative and media-political obstacle stood in the way of positive reporting on the Beijing Olympics in summer 2008. The media reports on the social unrest in Tibet in March 2008 and those on the Olympic Games several months later reveal the following. (1) The numerous, highly professional media activities by groups of exiled Tibetans relating to Tibet and the Olympic Games were planned long in advance and were well coordinated The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Washington played a vital role here. (2) Important parts of the anti-Chinese media work were done before and during the Olympics by the British advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi commissioned by the supposedly independent NGO Reporters without Borders. (3) Essential parts of the pro-Chinese media work were done before and during the Olympic Games by the US-American PR Agency Hill & Knowlton. This supports the conclusion that during the period of time in question German media recipients were provided with authentic news neither about Tibet nor about China. Instead, they were victims of competitive rivalry between two western PR and advertising agencies.