Roya Akhavan-Majid

Framing and Ideology: A Comparative Analysis of U.S. and Chinese Newspaper Coverage of the Fourth United Nations Conference on Women an the NGO Forum

In this study, we examined framing in the U.S. and Chinese press coverage of the Fourth United Nations Conference on Women and the Non-Governmental Organizations Forum in Beijing in 1995. This study had 2 objectives: (a) to systematically assess the coverage of this global feminist event and the extent to which its critical areas of concern were communicated to the public, and (b) to illuminate the dynamics of framing in a comparative context and contribute to its further theoretical development. Employing quantitative and qualitative methods, this study found evidence of the operation of an anticommunist and an antifeminist frame in the U.S. coverage. Under the influence of dominant ideology, the U.S. coverage of the conference focused considerably on an extended criticism of China as a communist nation. The goals of the global feminist movement and their critical areas of concern appeared to hold far less immediacy and salience for the U.S. press than the need to assert dominant U.S. values. On the othe...

Mass Media Reform in China Toward a New Analytical Framework

Historically, analyses of change in mass media systems have tended to draw upon a ‘dissident vs state’ framework, derived largely from the western historical experience. In the case of China, a ‘state vs market’ scenario has been superimposed on this basic framework, in the context of which the Chinese Communist party-state is often portrayed as a monolithic entity intent on promoting market-oriented reform in China’s economic base, while keeping a tight grip on the country’s mass media system and political superstructure. These dominant analytical frameworks tend to mask a number of important dynamics unique to Chinese history and society, that have played a significant role in the mass media transformation process. The purpose of this article is to outline a new conceptual framework incorporating these unique dynamics. In particular, it is the contention of this article that many of the changes in China’s mass media system during the post-Mao period have been achieved by non-state actors, not in an adversarial process vis-à-vis the state, but through what may be called ‘creative renegotiation and expansion’ of new policy openings initiated by the state. The success of these non-state actors, furthermore, has been due to three major systemic factors: (1) the increasing ‘deideologization’ of the Chinese society set in motion by Deng’s pragmatic policies; (2) the gradual functional shift on the part of the local party cadres and bureaucratic authorities from ideological supervision to entrepreneurial collaboration with private investors; and (3) the increasingly common core of interest created by the media’s commercialization among the party cadres, bureaucratic bodies and media entrepreneurs and managers in extracting profits from the media.

Framing Beijing Dominant Ideological Influences on the American Press Coverage of the Fourth UN Conference on Women and the NGO Forum

This study examined framing in the American press coverage of the Fourth UN Conference and the NGO Forum in Beijing as a means of (1) assessing the coverage of this event and the extent to which its critical areas of concern were communicated, and (2) exploring the influence of dominant ideology on framing in the news. Employing qualitative and quantitative methods, the study found evidence of an anti-communist as well as an anti-feminist frame. Under the influence of dominant ideology, the newspaper coverage of the conference focused considerably on an extended criticism of China as a communist nation. The study found that the goals of the global feminist movement and their critical areas of concern held far less immediacy and salience for the American press than the need to assert dominant American values.

Chain Ownership and Editorial Independence: A Case Study of Gannett Newspapers

A comparison of the editorial positions taken on three public issues in 1989 by 56 newspapers in the Gannett group with a matched set of 155 other newspapers finds that Gannett newspapers were more likely to take positions, but also less likely to vary in the positions taken. (Also, 72% of the Gannett newspapers responded to the survey of editors versus 52% of the matched set of editors queried.) The study did not seek to find evidence that the newspapers were influenced by higher headquarters, but does suggest a number of ways that subtle influences may work within groups.

American mass media and the myth of libertarianism: Toward an “elite power group”; theory

This paper presents evidence of the demise of Libertarianism in the U.S. mass media system and proposes an “elite power group”; model as an alternative explanation of the workings of the mass media in the United States. In sharp contrast to the structural characteristics implied by the Libertarian model, the U.S. media industry is organized as an elite power group characterized by (a) growing concentration and conglomeration, (b) integration with other power elites, and (c) ability to exercise self‐serving control on the government even as it is controlled by it.

Chain Ownership, Organizational Size, and Editorial Role Perceptions

This study examined the relationship between chain ownership and editorial role perceptions to illuminate the impact of chain ownership on content. Based on 258 questionnaires returned by a nation-wide sample of daily newspaper editors, the study found the editors of chain-owned newspapers to be more likely than their independent counterparts to subscribe to activist role perceptions. The tendency toward activist values increased as the size of the chain increased. Further, in general, editors of larger news organizations tended to subscribe to activist values more than did editors in smaller organizations.

The Press as an Elite Power Group in Japan

A lengthy field study in Japan using interviews and other sources and focusing on the nations five leading national newspapers and Tokyos major television stations finds evidence of much overlap between industry and the news media, through interlocking directorships and social club memberships, for example. Also journalists and other industrial leaders tend to be educated at the same exclusive universities and journalists also belong to professional clubs in which common values are shared. There already is a concentration of ownership of Japanese mass media and, through the mean sketched in this study, one can find how the mass media are integrated with other power centers of Japanese society.

DBS policymaking in Japan : An interpretive history

Despite Japans successful experimentation with DBS technology, fundamental conflicts of interest between NHK and Japans commercial broadcasters continue to chart an uncertain course for the future of Japans DBS programme. This study traces the history of DBS policy-making in Japan, focusing on the role of the conflict between the two power groups in shaping Japanese DBS policy. The author highlights important policy considerations and discusses how the conflict between NHK and the commercial broadcasters must be resolved in order for Japans DBS programme to be successfully implemented.

Telecommunications policymaking in Japan: The 1980s and beyond

The major law which provided for the privatization of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in 1984 is up for review by the Japanese government in April 1990. Given the continuing domination of Japans telecommunications market by NTT, ultimate divestiture of the privatized NTT remains a likely outcome of the review. Against this backdrop, this study presents an analysis of the forces which have shaped Japans privatization and liberalization policy throughout the period 1980-1989, and are likely to lead to additional reforms in Japans telecommunications system in the course of the upcoming policy review.

Role Perception as Predictor of Editors' Job Satisfaction

This survey of newspaper editors finds those who see their roles as disseminators or interpreters more satisfied than those who see their role as adversary or watchdog.