Images of China: A comparative framing analysis of Australian current affairs programming

Research into China's image in Australia is helpful to promote the mutual understanding and the bilateral relations between the two countries. Informed by national image theory and media framing theory, this study uses content analysis and framing analysis to explore the prestigious current affairs programs: Foreign Correspondent produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Dateline by Special Broadcasting Service. It examines both the frames and the framing patterns used by the two programs in their coverage of China in the past ten years. The study looks into the structures of theme, syntax, script and rhetoric of the episodes. The results show that both programs represent China negatively in a political sense, but neutrally in economic and environmental terms. However, Foreign Correspondent portrays China favourably regarding the cultural aspect. Framing devices are evident, including presentation format, animal images, ideological words, the public memory of the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The analysis argues that Foreign Correspondent and Dateline serve the mission to build the Australian national identity as well as attempt to present a balanced picture of China, as stronger economic ties are developed and frequent cultural exchanges are encouraged. Framing techniques, however, have been consciously or unconsciously influenced by historical stereotypes and the conventional fear of communism expressed during the past two centuries.