The two-way flow of news: A comparative study of American and Chinese newspaper coverage of Beijing’s air pollution

Abstract

This study compares newspaper coverage of Beijing’s air pollution in China and the United States (2008–2013). There are two aims: (a) to systematically compare how such a local environmental crisis has been reported across the two countries, and (b) to explore how the news coverage were produced under the influences of social systems and news flows between the two countries. Based on the hierarchy of influence theory, the content analysis reveals that US media covered the issue earlier, having more topics ‘politicizing’ the pollution, using more negative complaints as overall themes of the news articles, more US sources, and a noticeable number of Chinese NGO sources. By comparison, Chinese media reported pollution with more Chinese sources, more self-legitimizing overall themes in which topics regarding strategies and solutions of the pollution were emphasized; it also covered the issue with mild self-criticism. The results contribute to the literature of comparative media analysis between China and the US as well as the hierarchy of influence model by suggesting a two-way flow of news between the two countries.