The social construction of international imagery in the post-Cold War era: A comparative analysis of US and Chinese national TV news

Against the backdrop of the post-Cold War world and within the frame-work of the social construction of reality, this paper argues that social structure, both internal and external, is a major influence on the news. Using data collected during a 26-day period from China's CCTV and the United States' ABC, this study examines how the form and content of international imagery are socially constructed. Results show that the worlds created by ABC and CCN apparently were molded according to the logic of views from "here and there" that are bound up with the social location of the respective news organization. The social construction of reality perspective suggests that the selection and presentation of news on the two networks depend not so much on the properties of the event or issue itself, but rather on its position in the broader social structure relative to ifs external context.