Agenda setting of Chinese Traditional Festivals in Chinese English-language Newspaper: A Content analysis of China Daily, 2011-2023

Abstract

China Daily, as the leading English-language newspaper in China, plays an important role in promoting Chinese traditional festival culture to the world. The main objective of this study is to analyze the agenda setting of the articles about Chinese traditional festivals in China Daily from 2011 to 2023, and examine whether there are significant differences between different time periods in agenda setting. Based on the agenda setting theory, content analysis was used to study articles in China Daily. The coverage from 2011 to 2023 is divided into three time periods, and they were compared to examine whether there are significant differences between them in issue agenda setting and attribute agenda setting. The research results show that in issue agenda setting, with the development of time, the topics of politics and technology, as well as the reports on foreign regions and the world show an increasing trend. In attribute agenda setting, the proportions of the front page, long articles with more than 1,000 words, the types of news, and the presentation form of words and pictures coexisting all show an obvious increasing trend. Articles of Chinese traditional festivals in China Daily show significant differences in three different time periods at both issue agenda setting and attribute agenda setting levels, indicating China Daily has paid increasing attention to Chinese traditional festivals and made more and more efforts to promote Chinese traditional festivals to the world.