Global risk,domestic framing: coverage of the North Korean nuclear test by US,Chinese, and South Korean news agencies

Comparative framing analysis on coverage of the North Korean nuclear test in the US Associated Press, Chinese Xinhua, and South Korean Yonhap news agencies identified four major media packages. First, a common ‘threat’ frame dominated coverage by all news agencies, represented by reconfiguration of geopolitics and an emphasis on global cooperation in both perception and resolution of the nuclear test. Second, with each nation positioning itself differently in the world power system, the issue was notably domesticated in the news, with Associated Press connecting the nuclear test to the broader ‘War on Terror’ framework found frequently in US media, Xinhua promoting a negotiation principle in handling the issue, and Yonhap framing the test with a ‘Cold War’ perspective. In all three cases, national political interests exerted important impacts on the construction of frames. The compatibility of the seemingly opposite packages (globalizing vs. domesticating) signifies both intensification of worldwide social relations and reassertion of national stands. This finding lends support to the transformationalist view of globalization, which suggests that the nation state still matters in a globalized world, but is being recontextualized in a more complex world of politics and culture.     

How partisan newspapers represented a pandemic: the case of the Middle East respiratory syndrome in South Korea

This study analyzed the coverage by two partisan South Korean newspapers of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) pandemic, examining differences in their use of news frames and cited sources. A content analysis revealed that Hankyoreh, the left-wing newspaper, placed more emphasis on attributing responsibility to the government and society. In contrast, Chosun Ilbo, the right-wing newspaper, placed more emphasis on attributing responsibility to the individual. Severity/uncertainty, economic consequences, and statistical data frame were utilized more in Hankyoreh than the expected frequency. On the other hand, human interest and reassurance frame were utilized more in Chosun Ilbo than the expected frequency. Regarding the sources used in news stories, Hankyoreh used significantly more sources from local governments than did Chosun Ilbo. On the other hand, Chosun Ilbo used significantly more sources from medical agencies and experts than did Hankyoreh. This study advances previous research on the framing of a pandemic in the media by exploring how the partisan leanings of newspapers influence the framing.     

A cross-national analysis of election news coverage of female candidates' bids for presidential nomination in the United States and South Korea

This study has explored the US and Korean newspapers' election coverage in regard to their respective nations' female candidates relative to male rivals during the 2007–2008 presidential nomination campaigns. The findings reveal that both US and Korean newspapers displayed no bias in adopting personal, issue, and viability frames to cover the female candidates versus the male candidates. Additionally, the US dailies gave Clinton as much attention as Obama, as can be seen in the similar amount of articles, headlines, and primary coverage; however, Park, the female candidate in Korea, garnered a lower amount of articles and headlines, and was featured much less as the primary focus when compared to Lee, her male rival, in the Korean dailies. Evidence of biased coverage in the USA is found in the slant of coverage Clinton received. The overall tone of campaign coverage was less positive toward Clinton. While there was no tonal difference between Park and Lee in overall stories and headlines, the tone of Park's viability coverage was less positive than that of Lee, indicating that she was less likely to be the elected nominee for the party.     

The bad guy is one of us: framing comparison between the US and Korean newspapers and blogs about the Virginia Tech shooting

This study examines cross-national and cross-media differences in framing, particularly regarding the salience of collectivistic storytelling, based on the US and Korean newspapers and blogs about the Virginia Tech campus shooting incident. Although collectivistic storytelling is a common practice of news domestication, the degree of its salience is affected by a nation's orientation toward collectivism. Cross-media level of difference also exists because journalistic perspectives and the public's interpretation of those perspectives, as reflected in newspapers and blogs, are different. Findings indicate that while there are some consistent framing patterns, the degree of collectivism was different between the two nations and between the two media.     

Cognitive and emotional dimensions of perceived risk characteristics,genre-specific media effects,and risk perceptions: the case of H1N1 influenza in South Korea

This study explicates the mechanism underlying the process through which news and entertainment media shape people's personal- and societal-level risk perceptions. It combines the psychometric paradigm with the impersonal- and differential-impact hypotheses, highlighting the roles that cognitive and emotional dimensions of risk characteristics play in risk perceptions. Analysis of an online survey among 384 adults from the general population of South Korea in the context of H1N1 flu yields three major findings: (1) exposure to news media is positively correlated with the cognitive dimension of risk characteristics, while exposure to entertainment media is positively correlated with both the cognitive and the emotional dimensions of risk characteristics; (2) the emotional but not the cognitive dimension of risk characteristics is positively related to both personal- and societal-level risk perceptions; and (3) exposure to entertainment media affects personal-level risk perceptions – not directly but indirectly through the emotional dimension of risk characteristics. Theoretically, this study expands the impersonal- and differential-impact hypotheses by explicating their underlying mechanisms and incorporating arguments from the psychometric paradigm. It also adds new knowledge to the psychometric paradigm by highlighting the differential roles of the cognitive and emotional dimensions of people's perceived risk characteristics in risk perceptions. For risk communicators, this study highlights the importance of using entertainment media for shaping risk perceptions and educating the public about risk issues.     

Market uncertainty and mimetic isomorphism in the newspaper industry: a study of Taiwan's mainstream newspapers from 1992 to 2003

Mimetic isomorphic theory explains the process through which organizations in the same environment imitate each other's actions to become more similar to each other. Adopting the theory, this study examined the content of Taiwan's three major newspapers from 1992 to 2003 to investigate the relationship between market uncertainty and mimetic isomorphism. The data analysis shows that the uncertainty in Taiwan's newspaper industry created an environment of mimetic isomorphism, and the findings are congruent with the predictions of mimetic isomorphic theory.     

Framing the crisis by one's seat: a comparative study of newspaper frames of the Asiana crash in the USA,Korea, and China

This study compared newspaper frames of the 2013 Asiana Airlines crash in the three countries involved: the USA, Korea, and China. The results revealed distinct patterns of news coverage under the particular influence of national interests. The responsibility frame was the most frequently used, but the attribution of responsibility varied across the three countries. US newspapers overwhelmingly attributed the causation to pilot error, Korean media framed the causation as being open to multiple explanations, and Chinese newspapers were less likely to speculate about causation before the final official conclusion was reached. US and Korean media maintained a negative tone toward each other, while Chinese newspapers took a similar standpoint as the US media but were slightly less negative toward Korea. Further, divergence of news frames used across countries was associated with the different use of sources by different newspapers across countries. In particular, Korean media indicated reluctance to use US officials and a preference to cite alternative sources which offered diverse opinions regarding the attribution of responsibility. Finally, emotions of the crash stories varied by attributions of causation in Korean but not in the other countries’ news reports.     

Demystifying the demand relationship between online and print products under one newspaper brand: the case of Taiwan and the emergence of a universal pattern

This study uncovers a universal pattern regarding the oft-misunderstood demand relationship between online and print products under one newspaper brand. Growing from the portfolio management perspective and building on previous research conducted in the US and Hong Kong, this study examines the newspaper market in Taiwan. Secondary analysis of survey data collected from 7706 Web users confirmed that: (1) the print edition attains a much higher penetration relative to its online counterpart, suggesting that more people would rather consume the print edition over free Web offerings; and (2) compared with the general public, readers of the online edition were more, not less, likely to read the same newspaper's print edition. Such counter-intuitive findings carry important theoretical and managerial implications regarding the management of multiple product offerings under one newspaper brand.     

Inter-media agenda setting in global news production: examining agenda attributes in newspaper coverage of the MH370 incident in the U.S., China,and Hong Kong

The disappearance of Malaysian Airline Flight MH370 attracted high media attention across countries. To explore how news media outlets influence each other in transnational settings, this study focuses on the coverage of MH370 by three major newspapers in the U.S., China, and Hong Kong, and examines the inter-media agenda-setting effect as an indicator of media’s mutual influence. A content analysis of 255 news articles revealed significant correlations among the issue agendas of the 3 newspapers, suggesting the existence of reciprocal, though asymmetrical, influence among the news media in the U.S., China, and Hong Kong. The findings also suggest that news media differ in power and that news media in high-power countries play a key role in shaping the global news agenda.     

News values of sports events: an application of a newsworthiness model on the World Cup coverage of US and Korean media

This study examined whether news value indicators influenced sports coverage of the 2002 World Cup soccer games by using a newsworthiness model. The model hypothesized that the more significant and the more deviant an event is, the more prominently the event is covered by the media. Significance and deviance of each match in the World Cup games are operationally defined by using world rankings such as FIFA points, William Hill betting points, and CNN power rankings. Prominence of media coverage for each match was measured as the dependent variable in four different contexts: US traditional media, US online media, Korean traditional media, and Korean online media. The results of our study show that the newsworthiness model is partially effective in predicting media coverage of sports events. Traditional media coverage is better explained by the newsworthiness model than online media coverage.     

Connecting social media use with gaps in knowledge and participation in a protest context: the case of candle light vigil in South Korea

This study sheds light on the recent use of social media for protests, with the 2016 South Korean candle light vigils as the case study. An extensive amount of literature has explored social media’s potential for informing and mobilizing the public to engage in protest activities. Previous research has mainly focused on the direct effect of social media on protest engagement. Moving beyond the direct effect, this paper sought a better understanding of social media’s role in the democratic process by examining how social media affects political knowledge and protest participation, depending on an individual’s political interest level. To test these relationships, this study used survey data collected in South Korea during the mass candlelight vigils in South Korea in 2016 (N?=?922). Findings suggest that the knowledge gap narrowed amongst those with high social media use, mainly due to a greater knowledge drop for those with high political interest. On the other hand, when it comes to participation, the participation gap widened amongst those with high social media use, largely due to a greater increase in participation for those with high political interest. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.