Digital News Conference
Digital News, Social Change & Globalization
Code 404Z
Title Debates for and against the US-Iraq war on the Internet: The implications of BBS on the development of international news reporting in China and discussion of international issues
Author Terry Baohua ZHOU
Affiliation Communication Research Division, School of Journalism, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China
Abstract This paper explores the role of Internet especially BBS (Bulletin Board System) in the communication and discussion of international affairs in China through a case study of Iraq War in 2003. Based on the content analysis of hundreds of messages posted on Strong China Forum (Qiangguo Luntan, a famous Chinese electronic forum), this paper finds that ordinary Chinese people use BBS to express their personal opinions on Iraq War, some of which are different from those of Chinese government and mainstream media. The author concludes that BBS, which is seen as one kind of alternative media, has been proved to expand the sphere for the discussion of international affairs in China. Besides, BBS is proved to be an alternative international news resource, which can provide Chinese people additional information that cannot be gotten through traditional media in China. (Chinese version)