Examining the Relationship Between Presumed Influence of U.S. News About China and the Support for the Chinese Government’s Global Public Relations Campaigns

Authors

  • Ran Wei University of South Carolina & Shanghai Jiao Tong University
  • Ven-hwei Lo Chinese U. of Hong Kong
  • Guy Golan University of South Flordia

Keywords:

influence of presumed influence, corrective action, U.S. news on China, international communication, mediated public diplomacy, public relations

Abstract

 Inspired by the influence of presumed influence (IPI) framework, the current study examines the inferred effects of American media coverage of China, which tends to be negative and to portray China as the West’s next enemy, and the potential real-life consequences of these perceptions in the form of support for China’s global public relations efforts. A survey of a large representative sample of residents in China’s five largest cities showed that Chinese respondents believed that dominantly negative U.S. news about China was influential on Americans’ perceptions of China. Further, the more they paid attention to such news, the greater they presumed the influence of the news on Americans. Structure equation modeling (SEM) analysis shows that presumed influence of U.S. news about China on Americans and negative emotions elicited by the news predicted support for the Chinese government’s global public relations campaigns. We discuss the implications of these findings for the robust influence of presumed influence research and globalized cross-border communication.

Author Biographies

Ran Wei, University of South Carolina & Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Ran Wei (Ph.D., Indiana University, 1995) is the Gonzales Brothers Professor of Journalism in School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Univeristy of South Carolina, USA, and Visiting Chair Professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China.

Ven-hwei Lo, Chinese U. of Hong Kong

Ven-hwei Lo (Ph.D. University of Missouri, 1985) is a professor in the School of Journalism & Communication, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Guy Golan, University of South Flordia

Guy Golan is an associate professor in public relations at the University of South Florida.

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Published

2017-07-14

Issue

Vol. 11 (2017)

Section

Articles

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