A Movement of Varying Faces: How “Occupy Central” Was Framed In the News in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, the UK, and the U.S.

Abstract

This research applied framing theory, in combination with the protest paradigm, to the specific context of a significant protest event in Hong Kong’s history. A total of 191 news stories concerning the “Occupy Central” crisis were examined to delineate how the events were framed in the UK, the U.S., mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The newspapers in all five media markets were found to have differing news stories about the same event or the same issue. News framing was analyzed in terms of selection and description biases, including news perspective, favorability toward the protesters or the government, sourcing pattern, and attribution of responsibility. The results show significant differences among the five markets, not only between contrasting media systems, but also between comparable ones. The frames employed in the coverage are interpreted in terms of the markets’ ideological differences. The reasons for these differences and theoretical implications are explored.