News media play a significant role in shaping the national image of other countries, especially in the context of China (PRC). They have been and remain the main source of information for the British public about developments in China but representations evolve over time. This thesis examines how a particular aspect of China s state actions has been reported. The study examines how the national imagery of China and Tibet has been represented in the British national press over the Cold War period and beyond. This study investigates media representations of the Tibetan conflict and how the events related to this were represented and portrayed in the British national daily newspapers from 1949 to 2009. It examines the frames chosen by the press and the influence of the sources (especially external journalistic influence) on the frame-building process. Through a comparison of coverage by the British newspapers over time, it determines the changing similarities and differences in representations of Tibet according to their partisanship and newspaper formats. The research involved a quantitative content analysis and a qualitative frame analysis. The research showed that generally there were greater similarities than differences in the way the British press represented the Tibet issue from 1949 to 2009. Only the pro-Communist Daily Working/Morning Star with a purely Communist canon of news values adopted a completely different framing strategy to report the events. Other British press aligned closely with the UK government by reproducing and reinforcing the dominant capitalist ideology. This political motivation resulted in their approval of stable and familiar frames. In addition, there were differences in the frame types used by the British press between the early Cold War, near the end of the Cold War and the post-Cold War periods. The year 1989 could be seen as a turning point. The research enriches the concept of Herman and Chomsky s propaganda model and contributes to existing media framing studies on Western media s representations of China.

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This study’s purpose is to explore the online medium known as “Actual Play” through the perspective of both content creators, who work within the format as well as their audience who consume and interact with the content. This is a qualitative interview and observation study on the subject of Actual Play. The empirical material consists of four interviews with participants who are in one way or another involved with Actual Play content creation or distribution, an entire episode of an Actual Play series has also been analyzed to demonstrate the concept to readers unfamiliar with Actual Play and/or role-playing games. The questions this study has sought to answer regard what Actual Play is and looks like in practice and what the interactions between participants within Actual Play as well the interactions between these Actual Play creators and their audience looks like. The study’s findings show that the interaction between the different social actors within Actual Play is similar to that of improvisational theater. To maintain the trust between the participants, social contracts that employ safety tools are often used. The interaction between the Actual Play content creators and their audiences seems more personal than average, since they’re all able to inhabit and interact over the Internet. The audience also seems to enjoy that aspect of getting to know the Actual Play actors and/or creators on both a personal level and through their characters. Finally, Actual Plays main appeal appears to be based around being a way to share and engage with others around a shared interest.

No description available.