school
Macau Periodical Index (澳門期刊論文索引)
- Author
- Wang, Di；Li, Yinyun；Mao, Zhifei；He, Mengfan；Hon, Chitin；Liu, Zige
- Title
- Risk definers and media coverage of GM foods: a comparative analysis of the People's Daily and the New York Times
- Journal Name
- 澳門科技大學學報
- Pub. Info
- Mar 2025, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 147-176
- Link
- https://www.mustjournal.com/CN/10.58664/mustjournal.2025.03.005
- Keyword
- GM foods；Framing；Tone；Source；Comparative study
- Abstract
- Literature on GM foods reports often examined article tones in general, omitting the differences in various social actors' attitudes. To explore such differences, we conducted a comparative framing analysis of news reports on genetically modified (GM) foods in the United States and China, two large markets of GM foods, to examine (1) the use of frames on GM foods; (2) who has more power in defining the risks of GM foods and (3) the tones towards GM foods of the sources in each country. We used both article and source assertion as the unit of analysis. By content analyzing 267 news articles on GM foods from 2014–2023, including 126 from the People’s Daily (PD) and 141 from the New York Times (NYT), we identified the frames, sources, and tones of each article. We also identified 1, 496 source assertions to examine the tones of each source. Results showed PD used more treatment responsibility frame than NYT, while the latter used more conflict and causal responsibility frames than the former. While both publications primarily published neutral articles, NYT published more anti-GM food articles than PD. The NYT used a broader range of sources and more anti-GM food sources than PD, while PD cited more pro-GM food sources. The two newspapers both held neutral attitudes toward GM foods. By reporting both sides of the opinion on the issue, most news articles framed it as uncertain rather than having harm or benefit to human society, which may lead to public confusion about GM foods. Paragraph Headings: 1. Introduction 2. Literature review 2.1. GM foods in China and the United States 2.2. Media framing of GM foods: angles，sources，and tones 2.3. Sources: who dominated the communication of GM foods，and whose voices were marginalized? 2.4. Tones: attitudes toward GM foods 3. Method 3.1. Data 3.2. Coding procedure 4. Results 4.1. Differences in sources between the People’s Daily and the New York Times 4.2. Differences in article tone 4.3. Differences in source tone 5. Discussion 5.1. Frames: different perspectives on GM foods 5.2. Diversity in source and source tone: who has more power in defining the risks of GM foods 5.3. Article tone: more neutral reports than pro- and anti-GM foods reports Tables: 1. Coding book 2. Percentage of News Articles Featuring Specific Frames in the People’s Daily and the New York Times-related “Genetically Modified Food” Coverage，2014-2023 3. Percentage of GM Foods Related News Articles Featuring Specific Sources in the People’s Daily and the New York Times，2014-2023 4. Percentage of GM Foods Related News Articles Featuring Specific Source Tone in People’s Daily and New York Times，2014-2023 5. Source Tone in the People’s Daily，2014-2023 6. Source Tone in the New York Times，2014-2023