Buddhism and the Mass Media: the Representation of Buddhism in American, British, and Chinese (English Language) Newspapers

Miklos Sukosd
(Associate Professor, Department of Media, Cognition and Communication, University of Copenhagen; e-mail: kjm518@hum.ku.dk)

How is Buddhism represented in the media of different cultures around the world? This paper explores and compares the representation of Buddhism and Buddhists in seven American, British and Chinese (English language) newspapers (New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Time Magazine; Guardian and Daily Telegraph; and South China Morning Post and China Daily), respectively, in the period between 2001- 2013. Multiple research methodologies are employed, including quantitative framing analysis; qualitative narrative analysis of individual newspaper stories; the analysis of visual canons; and critical discourse analysis of press discourses.

In the quantitative framing analysis, I developed framing categories for articles that covered or mentioned Buddhism. I was able to separate 14 framing categories, i.e., 14 major cognitive frames of interpretation (ways or angles) how the articles approached, presented or interpreted the Buddhism-related subject matters. The 14 framing categories include 1. Cultural frame (related to Buddhist art, museum, exhibitions, literature); 2. Religious (rituals, teachings); 3 Political (relating Buddhism with politics in some ways); 4. Tourism (referring to Buddhist tourism destinations or pilgrimage); 5. Lifestye/Health (including articles focusing on meditation that is used for psychological wellbeing or medical healing); 6. Celebrity (involving Buddhist celebrities like actors); 7. Social/Charity (articles on Buddhist charity activities); 8. Commercial (on commercialization of Buddhism); 9. Conflict (Buddhists conflicting with other groups); 10. Ecological (Buddhist environmentalism); 11. Criminal (Buddhists as criminals or victims of crime); 12. Innovation/Modernization (challenges of modernization and related changes in Buddhist organizations); 13. Educational (Buddhist schools); 14. Management (of Buddhist institutions). I coded all articles in 13 years in all seven newspapers according to these frames.

The results show that the journalistic coverage of Buddhism is dominated by cultural, religious and political frames. Other cognitive frames (including tourism, lifestyle/health, celebrities, charity, ecological, commercial and criminal frames) are less frequent yet prevalent and influential.

At the same time, significant differences exist between the symbolic media universes of the American vs. the British press; the Western vs. the Chinese newspapers; and different journalism traditions (democratic media in the UK, US and Hong Kong vs. propaganda media in communist mainland China).

At the level of macro-level press discourses regarding Buddhism, two discourses represent a postmodern, meditation-oriented, Western Buddhism; and an art-oriented perception and integration of Buddhism into Western life, respectively. Two further press discourses express Western textual and visual canons of Asian Buddhist clergy in exotic, Othering, often Orientalist terms. A fifth Western press discourse blends a pro-Tibet foreign policy line with the image of victimized, mysterious land and its people.

The two key Chinese press discourses of Buddhism differ from the Western ones as well as among themselves. The Hong Kong press discourse represents the mundane (practical, organizational, financial, building construction, etc.) issues of Buddhism as an integral part of everyday social life in Asia. However, the discourse of state Buddhism represents mainland China’s official political and cultural line in press propaganda.