How Does the Zambian Media Report China? Examining Episodic and Thematic Frames in the Zambian Newsrooms

Abstract

This study examined Chinese news content in the Zambian media, classified as government, commercial, Community, and religiously owned. The purpose was to investigate how each media category frames stories about China (either as episodic or thematic) and the implications of such frames. By analyzing 1321 news items published between 2012 and 2020, we were able to show that in all the four media categories, stories about China mainly were routine/ready-made and culled from Chinese-owned organizations. Second, China’s dominance continued to grow over time as the reporting shifted from being treated as an object to the story’s subject. As a result, the majority of stories were episodic and positively framed in favor of China. When China was presented negatively, the frames were thematic, yet China still held a “subject” position in the narrative. In this view, negative cases mentioning China were attributed to individuals.