How effective are Chinese media in shaping audiences’ attitudes towards China? A survey analysis in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa

Online Media and Global Communication Pub Date : 2022-12-01 DOI:10.1515/omgc-2022-0047

Dani Madrid-Morales, H. Wasserman

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract Purpose This paper measures how often audiences in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa consume Chinese media, and investigates whether a positive relationship exists between the consumption of English language Chinese media and attitudes towards China. Method We analyze three waves of survey data collected in 2017/2018, 2020 and 2021 (N = 5876) in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. Findings We show that, while Chinese State-owned news media have a growing but limited following, the minority of media users who report getting news from Chinese media have better attitudes towards China than those who don’t. Implications Our findings suggest that Beijing’s external communication activities might have the potential to fulfil Beijing’s goal of improving the country’s image overseas, provided that media reached a wider audience. Value The paper overcomes the limitations of previous studies on the reception of Chinese external communication practices in Africa (i.e., small sample sizes, failure to differentiate between increased presence and increased impact, and use of indirect rather direct measures of media use to infer possible effects on public opinion).

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中国媒体在塑造受众对中国的态度方面效果如何?对肯尼亚、尼日利亚和南非的调查分析

摘要目的本文测量了肯尼亚、尼日利亚和南非的观众消费中国媒体的频率，并调查了英语中国媒体的消费与对中国的态度之间是否存在正相关关系。方法我们分析了2017/2018、2020和2021年在肯尼亚、尼日利亚和南非收集的三波调查数据（N=5876）。调查结果我们发现，尽管中国国有新闻媒体的追随者越来越多但数量有限，但少数报道从中国媒体获得新闻的媒体用户对中国的态度要好于那些没有报道的媒体用户。启示我们的研究结果表明，如果媒体能接触到更广泛的受众，北京的对外传播活动可能有潜力实现北京改善国家海外形象的目标。价值该论文克服了以往关于中国在非洲接受外部传播实践的研究的局限性（即样本量小，未能区分存在的增加和影响的增加，以及使用间接而直接的媒体使用衡量标准来推断对公众舆论的可能影响）。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Online Media and Global Communication Communication, Media Studies, Internet Studies, International Studies, International Relations-

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期刊介绍： Online Media and Global Communication (OMGC) is a new venue for high quality articles on theories and methods about the role of online media in global communication. This journal is sponsored by the Center for Global Public Opinion Research of China and School of Journalism and Communication, Shanghai International Studies University, China. It is published solely online in English. The journal aims to serve as an academic bridge in the research of online media and global communication between the dominating English-speaking world and the non-English speaking world that has remained mostly invisible due to language barriers. Through its structured abstracts for all research articles and uniform keyword system in the United Nations’ official six languages plus Japanese and German (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, and German), the journal provides a highly accessible platform to users worldwide. Its unique dual track single-blind and double-blind review system facilitates manuscript reviews with different levels of author identities. OMGC publishes review essays on the state-of-the-art in online media and global communication research in different countries and regions, original research papers on topics related online media and global communication and translated articles from non-English speaking Global South. It strives to be a leading platform for scientific exchange in online media and global communication. For events and more, consider following us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/OMGCJOURNAL. Topics OMGC publishes high quality, innovative and original research on global communication especially in the use of global online media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Weibo, WeChat, Wikipedia, web sites, blogs, etc. This journal will address the contemporary concerns about the effects and operations of global digital media platforms on international relations, international public opinion, fake news and propaganda dissemination, diaspora communication, consumer behavior as well as the balance of voices in the world. Comparative research across countries are particularly welcome. Empirical research is preferred over conceptual papers. Article Formats In addition to the standard research article format, the Journal includes the following formats: ● One translation paper selected from Non-English Journals that with high quality as “Gems from the Global South” per issue ● One review essay on current state of research in online media and global communication in a country or region