Networked Framing: Chinese Microbloggers’ Framing of the Obamas’ Political Discourses at the 2012 DNC

22 Pages Posted: 2 May 2013 Last revised: 3 Sep 2018

See all articles by Richard Leeman

Richard Leeman

Communication Studies

Min Jiang

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Charlotte

King-wa Fu

The University of Hong Kong

Date Written: August 1, 2013

Abstract

The complexity of foreign affairs has increased exponentially in the digital age, with political discourse intended for domestic audiences now distributed through and commented upon by foreign social media. This study examines Chinese Sina Weibo users’ framing of the Obamas’ speeches at the 2012 Democratic National Convention (DNC). A critical investigation of the sources of the most popular microblogging posts on the Obamas’ speeches reveals that influential independent users and alterative commercial media rather than official media dominate the framing of these two DNC speeches on Sina Weibo. A close textual analysis indicates that elite Chinese microbloggers have a good understanding of U.S. electoral politics, although the “social media contest” frame and issues related to China and Asia received particular attention. Our exploration suggests that traditional framing research needs to take into account a new form of “networked framing” that relies on the interactions between elite and non-elite users and algorithmic aggregations afforded by new digital platforms.

Keywords: Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, DNC, public diplomacy, social media, microblog, China, Sina Weibo, discourse, campaign

Suggested Citation

Leeman, Richard and Jiang, Min and Fu, King-wa, Networked Framing: Chinese Microbloggers’ Framing of the Obamas’ Political Discourses at the 2012 DNC (August 1, 2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2259295

Richard Leeman (Contact Author)

Communication Studies ( email )

9201 University City Boulevard
Charlotte, NC 28223
United States

Min Jiang

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Charlotte ( email )

9201 University City Boulevard
Charlotte, NC 28223
United States

King-wa Fu

The University of Hong Kong ( email )

Pokfulam Road
Hong Kong, Pokfulam HK
China