Critical Choice: Newspaper Framing of China’s High-Speed Rail Coverage 2004-2019

Abstract

China’s high-speed rail system grew from a single limited service connecting Shanghai’s airport with its downtown to a network consisting of dozens of lines crossing the country. This engineering feat was completed within 16 years, and although major news organizations in China and the United States were slow to cover the early expansion of the system, subsequent events put a spotlight on high-speed rail’s triumphs and tragedies in China. This study examined the coverage by two major newspapers in each country between 2004 and 2019: The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in the United States and China Daily and the South China Morning Post in China. A content analysis of 392 articles revealed that the economic frame dominated the newspapers in both countries. Other popular frames in the Chinese newspapers included inventiveness and the impact on culture and China’s image abroad. The U.S. newspapers relied on the environment and safety frame, followed by inventiveness. This analysis also examined whether the articles conveyed a positive, negative, or neutral tone, as well as whether the content came from elite or non-elite sources. Articles captured the ebb and flow of news coverage as it shifted from curiosity to criticism and finally a renewed enthusiasm for high-speed passenger rail service in the Middle Kingdom.