The image of Beijing in Europe: findings from The Times, Le Figaro, Der Spiegel from 2000 to 2015

Jian Xu () and Yongrong Cao ()
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Jian Xu: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Yongrong Cao: Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 2019, vol. 15, issue 3, No 6, 185-197

Abstract: Abstract This study investigates how mainstream European publications covered Beijing between 2000 and 2015 by analyzing news reports in The Times (UK), Le Figaro (France) and Der Spiegel (Germany). Framing theory provides the theoretical framework for the study, and quantitative and qualitative analysis are used to conduct the research. The frames (namely national traits, relatedness, and events) are produced by applying international news flow theory. A total of 2273 reports were downloaded and analyzed. The results show that Beijing’s capitalness is strong; relatedness and events frames contributed to 80% of Beijing’s newsworthiness in the three publications, while national traits accounted for only 22% of reports. The results enrich our knowledge on capitalness and international news flow theory. The analysis also yields implications for the practice of public diplomacy: (1) Culture is an effective means for Beijing to conduct public relations diplomacy; (2) Sports mega-events do not always significantly improve the host city’s image, and a successful campaign of public diplomacy requires a more creative design.

Keywords: City image; Beijing; Capitalness; Framing analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1057/s41254-018-0103-0

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