Asian Journal of Communication

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rajc20

Western and Chinese media representation of

Africa in COVID-19 news coverage

Samuel Mochona Gabore

To cite this article: Samuel Mochona Gabore (2020) Western and Chinese media representation
of Africa in COVID-19 news coverage, Asian Journal of Communication, 30:5, 299-316, DOI:
10.1080/01292986.2020.1801781

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2020.1801781

Published online: 05 Aug 2020.

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ASIAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION
2020, VOL. 30, NO. 5, 299–316
https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2020.1801781

Western and Chinese media representation of Africa in

COVID-19 news coverage
Samuel Mochona Gabore
School of Journalism and Communication, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

In news production and dissemination, media represent Received 12 August 2019
communities, countries, and continents by constructing concepts, Revised 16 July 2020
images, and identities as viewed by selected information sources. Accepted 17 July 2020
It is often assumed that foreign countries are labelled ‘Others’ by
KEYWORDS
global media and misrepresented. This study aims to explore how Media representation;
differently Western and Chinese media source and frame events sourcing; framing; Western
in Africa. Comparative content analysis of news coverage of media; representation of
COVID-19 prevention in Africa revealed that Western media used Africa; Chinese media
African official, African non-official, and Western non-official coverage; news tone
channels as information sources whereas Chinese media mainly
used African and Chinese official sources. The result demonstrated
that Western media covered events in Africa in Conflict,
Negativity, Human interest, Impact, Eminence, and Novelty frames
in positive, neutral, and negative tones whereas Chinese media
covered mainly in Impact, Eminence and Novelty frames mostly in
positive tone. Overall, the results suggest that Western media
coverage of the events is not predominantly negative; and
Chinese media coverage is uncommonly affirmative. The findings
also suggest that sourcing shapes frames, tones, and
representation of ‘Others’ by news media.

Introduction
Mass media compose and disseminate recent and relevant stories of events, issues, people,
politics, disasters, conflicts etc. In news production and distribution, journalists do not
simply present information and portray reality. Instead, they construct reality by
defining events and using some elements of the event as evidence to legitimise their
interpretation (Brookes, Lewis, & Wahl-Jorgensen, 2004; Entman, 2007; Gamson,
Croteau, Hoynes, & Sasson, 1992; Scheufele, 1999). In reality construction, media
present a particular consideration of the situation and then report evidence to strengthen,
legitimise, and naturalize the interpretation (Erjavec, 2001). By creating realities and con-
structing identities and images, which are usually attached to some predefined symbols,
news media establish norms and common sense about people, communities, institutions
and the world around in order to promote a specific world view or ideology (Fürsich,
2010). Ahmed and Matthes (2016) also share the argument that media representations

CONTACT Samuel Mochona Gabore smochona@gmail.com

© AMIC/WKWSCI-NTU 2020
300 S. M. GABORE

create and distribute ideologies by attaching different symbols and images to various
groups.
Media’s popular presentation of particular image of communities and countries are
powerful in promoting, confirming and reinforcing constructed identities (Iwashita,
2006). As argued by Wright (2002), a particular perception of any group of people in
many cases depends on the way the media constructed concepts about the group.
Groups of people and communities considered ‘Others’ are most often misrepresented
by media for being different from the dominant group in skin colour, culture, language,
religion, origin, social orientation, nationality, political affiliation etc. (Ahmed &
Matthes, 2016; Saeed, 2007). Huang and Leung (2005, p. 302) argue that ‘Western-led
media tend to be biased against third world countries and communist others – portraying
them as a bad other’.
It is often assumed that Western media misrepresent Africa the worst. Jarosz (1992)
says Western media, in their persistent use of historic, ideological, racist and hostile meta-
phor ‘the Dark Continent’ extremely misrepresented the entire African continent and its
people. The common tendency of Western media in covering African issues is represent-
ing Africa in rhetorical tropes of disaster (Myers, 2001). Hammett’s (2013) study also
reported that British news media has constructed pessimistic image of Africa. A few excep-
tions disagree with the assumption that Africa has been extremely misrepresented by
Western media. For instance, Ojo (2014) and Obijiofor and MacKinnon (2016) argue
that Africa was not negatively represented in special manner by Western media.
Nothias (2014) says that representation of Africa in the globalization age by Western
media is evolving towards ‘hopeful Africa’ image.
On the other hand, Chinese media coverage of other countries is guided by its media
strategy of promoting good relationships and, as a result, focuses more on positive side
of realities (Delgado, 2016). Alongside validating China–Africa economic relations,
Chinese media are creating positive image of Africa (Gagliardone, 2013). However, Li
and Rønning (2013) do not agree with the view that Chinese media portray Africa in posi-
tive light and argue that Chinese media representation of Africa is not much different from
that of the Western media as some Chinese reporters cover African stories reflecting
sadness, conflict and despair with views often borrowed from Western media by synthe-
sizing Western media reports and information from the Internet.
One of the major powers behind media reality constructing, image crating, and rep-
resentation are sources of information. Information sources exist behind all news dissemi-
nated. News sourcing that determines what information the journalist obtains from whom
is critical in affecting what news a media organization disseminates (Hermida, Lewis, &
Zamith, 2014).
Media sourcing practice provides one individual to present his/her account and give
evidence for the argument and excludes the information of the other person. By giving
information from one source privilege over the other information, sourcing determines
how reality is defined, what image of society is represented, whose world view is presented,
how frames are shaped, and with what content news stories are constructed (Carlson,
2009).
Another media technique that determines representation is framing. Framing explains
that images and representations of reality are reflections of selection and presentation of
the reality by the media. Perceptions, representations, and construction of images of a
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION 301

reality depend on media because individuals understand and explain issues in a similar
manner as they are presented in news (Iyengar, 1987). In other words, creation of
images in public mind requires information and such information is provided by the
media in selected and crystallized manner (Lecheler & de Vreese, 2010).
Several studies have been conducted on Western media representation of Africa (e.g.
Fair, 1993; Hammett, 2013; Jarosz, 1992; Ogunyemi, 2011; Zhang & Matingwina, 2016)
and Chinese media coverage of events/issues in the continent (e.g. Delgado, 2016;
Franks & Ribet, 2009; James & Boukes, 2017; Madrid-Morales & Gorfinkel, 2018).
However, sourcing that mainly shapes media representation has been overlooked by scho-
lars in studying how global media portray Africa. Comparative studies of Western and
Chinese media representation of Africa are also limited.
The present study aims to investigate how differently Western and Chinese media
source African events and issues. The study also examines framing and tone differences
between the two media in representation of Africa. US, British and French media that
have strong presence in Africa were chosen to represent western media.
This empirical investigation conducts comparative content analysis of Western and
Chinese media coverage of COVID-19 prevention in Africa. First, media representation,
sourcing and framing are conceptually discussed, and research questions are formulated
based on the theoretical discussion. Then, research questions were answered by comparing
Western media news with Chinese media coverage through quantitative content analysis
of information sources, frames and tones of the two media. Finally, conclusions are drawn
after presenting results and discussing findings. Western news sources in this study are
used to mean sources from what is conventionally taken to be from the West, i.e.
Europe and North America.

Literature review
Media representation
Media representation refers to the media’s creation of concepts and images about individ-
uals, communities, places and countries, and recurring presentation of the constructed
identity. In the representation practice, news media brings a particular definition to an
event, attaches the interpretation to selected information of the event, and presents evi-
dences from the event to promote, strengthen, legitimise, and naturalize this interpretation
(Erjavec, 2001; Gamson et al., 1992). The main purpose of such construction of images by
news media based on ideological assumptions is to popularize hegemonic interpretations
of politics and society (Brookes et al., 2004). Media organizations with hegemonic dom-
inance usually create negative images and stereotypes of groups they identified as
‘Others’ (Saeed, 2007). For instance, global media are biased against developing countries
and represent the ‘Others’ in negative light (Huang & Leung, 2005). In the media space
dominated by racist ideology, impregnated with unconscious racism, and predicated on
unrecognized assumptions, a good and honest journalist covering race related problem
may broadcast contents implying ‘that the blacks are the source of the problem’ (Hall,
1990, p. 20). This is because media contents or news are constructed socially in newsrooms
(Tuchman, 1978), presented with socially shared meaning (Harley, 1982), and interpreted
with socially and culturally determined inferences (Berger & Luckmann, 1991). In media
302 S. M. GABORE

representation practice, the ‘Others’ are commonly referred to as problems, abnormalities,

or just oddities (Ahmed & Matthes, 2016). Media representation most often with con-
structed images and carrying ideological connotation distribute problematic and stereoty-
pical definitions about ‘Others’ (Fürsich, 2010). Media representation that constructs,
promotes, confirms and reinforces particular images and identities affects the way the
world is viewed by the public (Iwashita, 2006). The present study conducts comparative
analysis of Western and Chinese media representation of Africa in regard to sourcing,
framing, and tone of news.

Western media representation of Africa

Western media research on representation of Africa, particularly the earlier studies, is
dominated by findings of negative stereotypes. For instance, Jarosz (1992) explained
how Western media labelled the entire African continent and its people the ‘Others’ in
their widespread use of the ‘Dark Continent’ metaphor. Fair (1993) says image of
Africa and Africans with a set of extremely unfavourable attributes has been invented
and constructed by racist media. According to the this perspective, Western media
through their ideological and/or national interest hegemonic articulation that revolves
around poverty, conflict, disease, instability, and illiteracy negatively stereotyped Africa
and created widespread public perception of developing world people as victims, inferior,
and less than human (Ogunyemi, 2011).
The finding that Africa has been negatively portrayed over decades by Western media is
resonated by some recent media representation studies. For instance, Zhang and Mating-
wina (2016) observed that Africa was negatively stereotyped by BBC. Franks (2010, p. 71)
pointed out that BBC’s representation and reporting of Africa, which is dependent on
information from aid organizations, ‘has been misleading and misinformed’. Awondo,
Geschiere, and Reid (2012) concluded that the image of Africa as homophobic is portrayed
by Western media focusing on homophobic statements of some leaders. Similarly,
Hammett (2013) reported that British newspapers (The Guardian, The Times, The
Daily Mail, and The Daily Star) in their coverage between January and July 2010 promoted
stereotypical images of South Africa as Afro-essentialist, Afro-pessimist and neocolonial.
Lee, Maslog, and Kim (2006) also highlighted that stories of African countries were
covered focusing on conflict by American and British media. Huang and Leung (2005)
also argue that the Western media are biased against third world countries and most
often portray them as ‘bad Others’. This view of covering African news in violent and
hopeless frames by Western media was also shared by Schwalbe and Dougherty (2015).
Similarly, Besova and Cooley (2009) considered that African countries are always
covered by western media in violence, crisis, and disaster frames.
Another continental bias in the coverage of Africa by global media is neglect. Africa has
been inadequately covered by the Western media unless there is conflict and disaster
(Franks, 2010). African continent received limited coverage of US media based on
‘deviance, relevance, cultural affinity and location in the world system’ (Golan, 2008, p.
41). Kalyango (2011, p. 160) says the appeal of CNN International has been diminished
in Uganda because ‘[v]iewers considered its coverage largely biased and ill-motivated
towards Africa’.
However, a growing number of studies have recently started to challenge the extant lit-
erature on the generalization that Africa is negatively represented by Western media. For
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION 303

example, Ojo’s (2014) study on Canadian press, unlike the previous research, showed that
Africa was represented negatively as well as positively by The Globe and Mail. Similarly,
Bunce (2016) concluded that international news coverage of Africa has become less nega-
tive. Obijiofor and MacKinnon (2016) concluded that Africa is not depicted and rep-
resented negatively in Australian press.
Some scholars argue strongly against the notion that Western media portrayed a nega-
tive image of Africa. For instance, Scott (2015) who called representation of Africa ‘the
myth’ argued that Afro-pessimism assumption does not reflect current reality. According
to Nothias (2014), representation of Africa by Western news media between 2011 and
2013 showed evolution from Afro-pessimism to Afro-optimism. Bunce, Franks, and
Paterson (2016) also showed that Africa’s media image and the narrative are changing.
According to Scott (2009, p. 534), ‘UK press coverage of Africa is not as marginalized,
negative or trivial as it is often accused of being’. Magombe (2006, p. 119) described the
evolution in the BBC’s coverage of Africa:
British television and radio audiences were to be introduced to a new diet of African images.
The ‘dark’, ‘sick’ and ‘savage’ Africa was to be no more. Instead, a new-look Africa – happy,
vibrant, exquisite, radiant in all its glory – was to be born, and from thence on it would live on
the BBC under the corresponding brand name of – ‘Africa Lives on the BBC’.

Nevertheless, as suggested by Nothias (2016), scholarly debates on Western media report-

ing of Africa should be supported by empirical analysis. As advised by Jacobs (2015, p. 73)
stereotypical coverage and continental bias of Western media can be addressed when jour-
nalists in Africa help the rest of the world ‘understand the continent, its politics, econ-
omics and social relations, in new ways than those inherited from Western journalism
and scholarship’. In this regard, Bunce (2014) says African journalists have already
started to (re)construct image of Africa with their deep local knowledge and networks.

Chinese media coverage of events in Africa

The recent rise of China has been accompanied by a media strategy promoting its positive
image and relationships with other countries as win-win cooperation. Chinese media
strategy presents the state as a positive, friendly and reliable player in the international
arena (Delgado, 2016). Chinese media presence in Africa mainly to validate China’s ascen-
dance and China–Africa economic relationship is assumed to have created some kind of
world view, images and discourse to shape the way people make sense of the continent
(Franks & Ribet, 2009). In support of this argument, Gagliardone (2013) stated that along-
side promoting China’s interest abroad, Chinese media (e.g. CCTV) is creating a positive
image of Africa through its ‘rising Africa’ narrative. Madrid-Morales and Gorfinkel (2018,
p. 917), in their study of the documentary series Faces of Africa, broadcast on CGTN
Africa, concluded that the documentary ‘allows a more positive and humane portrayal
of African people’. The East African community economy is featured more optimistically
by Chinese media through focussing on opportunities only rather than the risk frame
more prominently used by Western media (James & Boukes, 2017). Li (2016) also
showed that Chinese media portray a bright future in Africa.
As a result, its media influence has been increasing steadily in the resource-rich Africa
over the past several years. China has increased noticeably its influence on the African
media space and several state-owned Chinese media houses (e.g. Xinhua news agency,
304 S. M. GABORE

China Daily newspaper, China Central Television, and China Radio International) have
established offices in Africa (Madrid-Morales, 2016; Wasserman, 2016; Zhang, Wasser-
man, & Mano, 2016).
Although China’s media engagement in Africa is motivated to advance its influence
through positive coverage of events and issues in Africa in terms of bilateral and economic
relations frames (Wu, 2016), it is serving as alternative foreign information source to the
Western media. In this regard, Marsh (2015) says even though Chinese interests were dis-
proportionately presented, CCTV news showed more positive representation of Africa
than the Western portrayal of Africa as litany of conflict and famine. Puppin (2017)
who investigated the Chinese-language African Chronicles (Feizhou jishi 非洲纪事), a
TV documentary screened by CCTV-9 in 2011 to domestic audience, also revealed that
the documentary narrating the ‘emotional bond’ between Chinese and African peoples
focus on promoting Chinese image and economic interests. Chinese media focus on posi-
tive China–Africa relationship and positive China’s image coverage by applying ‘construc-
tive journalism’ and this coverage is drawing more interest all across Africa (Zhang &
Matingwina, 2016).
However, Li and Rønning (2013) argue against the view that Africa is positively rep-
resented by Chinese media and concluded that despite government control of the
media and pressure to build positive China–Africa relationship, stories in Chinese
media about Africa are not so different from Western media reports on Africa. In this
regard, it was necessary for the present study to examine how differently Western and
Chinese media cover African events.

Sourcing
Journalists gather information about events and issues from sources to produce news. In
journalists’ selection of an element of an issue or an event, construction of media messages
and presentation, information sources who stand behind all news (Reich, 2011) define
reality. This is because as Sigal (1986, p. 15) said ‘News is not what happens, but what
someone says has happened or will happen’. In the selection, construction and presen-
tation practice, reporters and editors decide who is included and who is excluded to act
in the media as authoritative information source based on credentials such as position
of power, representing significant segment of society, and expertise (Hermida et al.,
2014). However, all individuals, groups, communities, and organizations are not equally
treated as news source to provide their information because of preferences of journalists
and media organizations. Carlson (2009) argued sourcing is not simply information
seeking because one individual’s or group’s information is privileged over the other infor-
mation, and it gives authority and legitimacy to some sources to define events and give
evidence by excluding others.
Sourcing is critical in deciding the contents of messages journalists produce and
present. Research shows that sources influence news more strongly than journalists (Ber-
kowitz & Beach, 1993) because they shape what information the journalist obtains, how
events and issues are reported, and who is influencing public understanding of the
world (Hermida et al., 2014). In addition, sourcing has direct effect on the way things
are represented and image of society is presented as it determines whose account and
version of reality is supplied (Carlson, 2009). Undoubtedly, sources are most decisive
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION 305

forces behind media framing, representation, influencing, manipulation, and credibility

(Cozma, 2015).
In this study, news sources are classified into two categories: (1) official and (2) non-
official. Official sources are political, economic, social, or cultural elite sources including
routine channels such as government officials, public relation heads, press conference,
news release, periodic briefings, official proceedings, pre-planned events, and background
briefings. Non-official sources are ordinary people such as victims of crime, families on
welfare, and farmers facing bankruptcy who become news sources when journalists
want to add human face on the raw statistics and not holding office in established insti-
tutions or recognized groups (Brown, Bybee, Wearden, & Straughan, 1987; Sigal, 1986).
Experts not holding offices in formal institutions are also considered as non-official
sources.

Framing
Framing refers to the phenomenon that explains news media’s selection, emphasis, organ-
ization, and presentation of a message to audience members. In this process journalists
choose some elements of reality, focus, language, tone, placement of certain facts and evi-
dence, values, and norms (Ford & King, 2015). Through framing, media organize infor-
mation into packages containing story line (Gamson & Modigliani, 1989) that
interprets an issue or event (Scheufele, 1999; Schuck & de Vreese, 2006). Here frames
are used in two senses: the first is the media’s organization and presentation of a
message and the second is the thought processes by which audience members perceive
and interpret a given situation (Chong & Druckman, 2007).
Different patterns of framing can show the same event differently as they select, empha-
size, interpret, exclude, organize, and present differently (Borah, 2011; Semetko & Valken-
burg, 2000). Providing specific clues, interpretations and evaluations, suggesting decisions
(Scheufele, 2006), stressing certain considerations or only parts of an issue to make them
more perceivable (Schuck & de Vreese, 2006), excluding or muting other elements of the
reality (Stauffacher, Muggli, Scolobig, & Moser, 2015) and favouring one side over another
(Entman, 2007, 2010) are the techniques most often used by media. By transmitting
importance of a specific aspect of reality, framing influences perception of audience
members (Stauffacher et al., 2015) and, as a result, causes change of judgments
(Iyengar, 1987).
In addition to being journalistic routine, framing shows prior beliefs and ideological
preferences of third actors like government (Larcinese, Puglisi, & Snyder, 2011) and influ-
ential groups such as stakeholders or social movements (Stauffacher et al., 2015). Guiding
ideology embedded in a framing of media content can be identified in possible devices
such as metaphors, exemplars, catchphrases, depictions and visual images (Xie & Ding,
2016).
Framing has two broad foundations, sociological and psychological. Framing research
that grew from sociological foundations refers to the frames focusing on words, images,
phrases, and presentation styles that are used to construct news stories and the processes
that shape this construction (Entman, 1991; Gamson & Modigliani, 1987; Gitlin, 1980;
Goffman, 1974); whereas framing with psychological background studies the processes
involved in the formation of the audience frame (Borah, 2011; Pan & Kosicki, 1993).
306 S. M. GABORE

As a communication concept, frames are identified among three groups: 1. media or

journalists, 2. audience or society, and 3. elites or political, economic, cultural actors
and organizations (Scheufele, 2006). Hence frames guide how elites construct reality,
affect how journalists select information, and influence cognitions and attitudes of audi-
ence members because they are part of culture and socially shared (Matthes, 2012).
Previous research suggested episodic or issue-specific frames (specific or unique frame that
demonstrates a single particular event or issue) versus thematic or generic frames (consistent
frames originating from a broader context or prior research and applied to different study set-
tings regardless of research topics) in classifying framing (Borah, 2011; de Vreese, Peter, &
Semetko, 2001; Matthes, 2009; Nelson, Clawson, & Oxley, 1997). Generic frames have a con-
ceptual overlap with news values and, therefore, there are similarities between the lists of news
factors and generic frames (Brüggemann, 2014). As pointed out by Semetko and Valkenburg
(2000, p. 96), a frame ‘is an important news value’. de Vreese et al. (2001) also explained that
generic news frame research is consistent with studies of news values.
This study uses Semetko and Valkenburg’s (2000) generic frames applicable to different
events/issues.
By applying the four frame criteria: universal perceptibility, identifiable conceptual and
linguistic characteristics, representational validity, and possibility of distinguishing the
frame reliably from other frames (de Vreese, 2005), Negativity, Eminence, and Novelty
frames, which are used by media as news presentation package commonly, are included
to the generic frame (Table 1).

Tone of news
Tone of news refers to the affective component of media message construction and pres-
entation of an event or issue as positive/good, neutral, or negative/bad (Newhagen, 1994).
News tone shows how journalists and their information sources are critical of the event
and its participants. Tone as an affective attribute can be attached to individuals,
groups, organizations, communities, events, and issues in news story construction and
affects how the world is viewed by the public (Sheafer, 2007). As a result, individuals
and communities are approved or disapproved by the public not for what they are but
to the extent to which they are linked by media with mythological positive or negative
symbols and images (Abney et al., 2011).

Table 1. Summary of generic news frames.

Frame Presentation practice
Conflict Presents news in terms of disagreement among individuals, groups, and organizations as means of
capturing audience interest (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000).
Negativity Reports events/issues by focusing on bad side of events such as damage, accident, disaster, and
negativity frame is the most common news presentation package (Bednarek & Caple, 2012).
Impact Reports event in economic, political and other consequences to individuals, groups, organizations, and
nations (An & Gower, 2009).
Responsibility Presents news by assigning responsibility to individuals and groups for causing or solving catastrophic
events (Olsson, 2009; Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000).
Human Brings emotional and personalized angle to the coverage of the event, including eyewitness report
interest (Gabore & Xiujun, 2018; Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000).
Eminence Presents news in terms of involvement of high status of individuals (e.g. celebrities, politicians), elites,
organizations, nations, including quoted sources (Bednarek & Caple, 2012).
Novelty Reports an event or some aspect of it as unexpected, surprising, unusual, rare, strange etc. (Harcup &
O’Neill, 2001).
Morality Presents events in the context of religious tenets or moral prescriptions (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000).
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION 307

Based on the theoretical discussion, the following research questions are formulated:

RQ1: What are the sourcing differences between Western and Chinese media in the cover-
age of African events?
RQ2: How differently do Western and Chinese media frame events in Africa?
RQ3: What are the differences in tone of news between the two media?

Research method
Context of the study
This study analyses Western and Chinese media coverage of COVID-19 prevention in
African. This issue was selected because it was given wide coverage by Western as well
as Chinese media. The US, British and French media were chosen to represent Western
media because Britain and France, the two former colonizers of most of African countries,
and US have strong media presence in Africa; all three have been strengthening their
media in Africa in response to increasing Chinese media expansion in Africa and to
present Western involvement in Africa as more benign and developmental than that of
China (Carmody & Owusu, 2007).
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus.
This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in December 2019 in
Wuhan, China. COVID-19 pandemic has spread fast throughout the world and sickened
millions of people and caused hundreds of thousands of confirmed deaths globally when
this article was written. To prevent COVID-19, African countries have been making pre-
paredness such as raising the public awareness through media messages, making surveil-
lance or early detection and testing, training health workers, quarantine, repatriation of
citizens, preparedness at workplaces, diagnostics, clinical care and treatment. The analysis
of this case focuses on how differently the two media source and frame Africa’s COVID-19
prevention and preparedness.
Comparative content analysis was carried out: (1) to examine sourcing differences
between the two media in the representation of Africa; and (2) to compare Western
and Chinese media framing of events and issues in Africa.

Sampling and data collection

In the analysis of COVID-19 prevention in Africa, news (N = 282) published between 23
and 29 March 2020 were retrieved from websites of three Western and three Chinese
media (Table 2). The media were selected because each gives coverage daily to Africa

Table 2. Summary of data collection from Western and Chinese media.

Media Number of news articles
Western CNN 14
BBC 99
France 24 18
Chinese CGTN (formerly CCTV) 65
China Daily 40
Xinhua 46
308 S. M. GABORE

and has page totally dedicated to Africa in their websites. Accordingly, 99 news from BBC,
14 news from CNN, 18 news from France 24, 65 news from CGTN, 46 news from Xinhua,
and 40 news from China Daily were collected between 30 March and 2 April 2020.

Measures and coding categories

The unit of analysis was one news article. Seven news sources (Western official channels,
Western non-official channels, Chinese official channels, Chinese non-official channels,
African official channels, African non-official channels, and official United Nations
sources), eight generic frames (Conflict, Negativity, Impact, Responsibility, Human inter-
est, Eminence, Novelty, and Morality frames), three tones (positive, negative, and neutral
tones), the name of the media, and the date the news was published were used as coding
instruments. Then frames, tones, and news sources were coded. The use of sources was
coded as 0 = source is not used and 1 = source is used. To determine the occurrence of
the frames in the news stories, presence or absence of the frame was coded as 0 = frame
is absent and 1 = frame is present. To measure the presence of each news tone (positive,
neutral and negative) 0 = tone is absent and 1 = tone is present was used. In the analysis,
reporting of confirmed cases and deaths were not coded as negativity frame and negative
tone because confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths were normal parts of the event (the
pandemic).

Inter-coder reliability
To code news article, three post-graduate students were selected as coders. To ensure
inter-coder reliability, training in rules of coding categories was given to all coders and
inter-coder reliability was computed for all categories and coders.

Data analysis
Chi-Square test of association (independence) was conducted using Statistical Package for
the Social Science (SPSS) Version 20 to analyse the differences in framing, sourcing and
tone between Western and Chinese media.

Results
Pre-test results
To test inter-coder reliability, each coder coded randomly selected 10% of news articles
independently. Among the three coders, Krippendorff’s alpha (KALPHA) scores were
reported as .93, .84, .86, .90, 86, .85, .85 and .96 for Conflict, Negativity, Impact, Respon-
sibility, Human interest, Eminence, Novelty, and Morality frames respectively. For the
Western official channels, Western non-official channels, Chinese official channels,
Chinese non-official channels, African official channels, African non-official channels,
and official United Nations sources the scores were reported as .83, .86, .90, .80, .85, 89,
and .85. The scores for news tone were reported as .89, .83, and .85 for positive, neutral
and negative news tones.
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION 309

Main results
Sourcing differences between Western and Chinese media
Comparison of Western and Chinese media sourcing data are reported in Table 3. As pre-
sented in Table 3, Western media used 13.7% Western non-official information sources,
45% African non-official information sources, and 36% African official channels;
whereas Chinese media used 100% African and Chinese official information sources in
the coverage of Africa’s COVID-19 prevention measures. Chi-Square test result (χ 2 =
141.3, df = 4, p = .001) showed that there was statistically significant difference in sourcing
between Western and Chinese media in the coverage of COVID-19 prevention in African.
Data of comparison between Western and Chinese media sourcing showed that
Western media used official as well as non-official information sources whereas Chinese
media used mainly official channels of information. In addition to the official information
given by government officials and public relation heads, Western media incorporated the
views of Western academic and research experts who provide positive and negative infor-
mation such as strengths and weaknesses as well as the perspectives of local residents in
Africa. Unlike the Western media, the major sources of Chinese media news are official
news information sources such as government officials, public relation heads, press con-
ference, news release, official proceedings, and pre-planned events.

Western and Chinese media framing of events in Africa

Table 4 presents the difference between Western and Chinese media framing of events in
Africa. The Western media framed the coverage of Africa’s COVID-19 prevention efforts
more on Impact (44.3%), Conflict (16%) and Negativity (10.7%). Together these three
frames constituted 71% of the coverage. Impact frame focused on the consequences of
the pandemic by reporting confirmed cases, deaths, and socio-economic effects.
Conflict frame of the Western media selected and highlighted disagreements and incom-
patibilities between pressure caused by the pandemic and capacity of African health
systems, ruling and opposition parties, COVID-19 response of African countries and
the problem, and the need and supply of personal protective equipment. Negativity
frame focused on issues such as how Zimbabwean broadcaster died scared and alone in
isolation ward, masks missing in Kenya, and how African governments are ill-prepared.
In contrast, the major frames of Chinese media were 47.7% Novelty frame (e.g. present-
ing actions of government leaders, artists and rich people in prevention of the pandemic as
uncommon), 31.8% Impact frame (impact of the pandemic), and 18.5% Eminence frame
by attaching importance to the preparedness made by African countries. The difference in

Table 3. Comparison of Western and Chinese media sourcing.

Media use of the sources
Sources Western media Chinese media χ2 df P value
Western official channels 4.6%
Western non-official channels 13.7%
Chinese official channels 14.6%
Chinese non-official channels
African official channels 36.6% 85.4%
African non-official channels 45% 141.3 4 .001
310 S. M. GABORE

Table 4. Comparison of Western and Chinese media framing of events in Africa.

Media use of the frame
Frame Western media Chinese media χ2 df P value
Conflict 16% 0.7%
Negativity 10.7%
Impact 44.3% 31.8%
Responsibility 8.4%
Human interest 6.9% 1.3%
Eminence 6.9% 18.5%
Novelty 6.9% 47.7% 106.4 6 .001

coverage between the Chinese and Western media was statistically significant (χ 2 = 106.4,
df = 6, p = .001).
The data showed the differences that Western media covered events in Africa in
Conflict, Negativity, Human interest, Impact, Eminence, and Novelty frames by present-
ing thoroughly and comprehensively. Chinese media covered mainly in Eminence, Impact
and Novelty frames by focusing on involvements and achievements of elite political
leaders such as prime ministers and presidents.

Difference in tone of news between Western and Chinese media

Table 5 shows the difference in the tone of news between Western and Chinese media.
Western media were mainly neutral (41.2%) with the rest of the stories being more nega-
tive (34.3%) than positive (24.4%); whereas Chinese media coverage was overwhelmingly
positive in tone (75.5%) with the remaining stories mostly netural (23.2%) and only a
small proportion neutral (0.7%). The difference in tone between the Western and
Chinese media was statistically significant (χ 2 = 92.2, df = 3, p = .001).
The data showed that Western news tone in coverage of African events was positive,
neutral, and negative based on the all aspects of the event given more consideration
whereas the Chinese media news tone was mainly positive.

Discussion and conclusions

This study found differences in the use of information sources between Western and
Chinese media in the coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa. The Western
media used official African as well as non-official African and Western sources of infor-
mation. As a result, Western media diversely represented Africa as viewed by African gov-
ernment officials, African individual citizens, and Western analysts. Chinese media mainly
used routine official African government information sources by focusing on

Table 5. Tone of Western and Chinese media news in African event coverage.
Tone
Positive Neutral Negative
Media use of the tone Western media 24.4% 41.2 34.3
Chinese media 75.5% 23.2% 0.7%
χ2 .001
df 3
P value 92.2
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION 311

involvements and achievements of elite political leaders. This created an image of Africa as
portrayed by government officials, public relation heads, press conferences, news releases,
official proceedings, and pre-planned events.
Western media framed African stories in Conflict, Negativity, Human interest, Impact,
Eminence, and Novelty frames by presenting comprehensively. The diverse framing of
Western media seems closely related to diverse sources and news values, which guide
decisions of journalists’ news selection and audiences’ news consumption. This result chal-
lenges the dominant perspective that representation of Africa by Western media is totally
crisis oriented. This result is consistent with the findings of Obijiofor and MacKinnon
(2016) on the Australian media framing of events in Africa that the continent is not por-
trayed predominantly in negative light. On the other hand, Chinese media coverage was
limited to Eminence and Novelty frames, with a focus on involvements and achievements
of elite national leaders. The Chinese media focus was on official positions of governments,
shying away from dissenting views, and validating China’s actions by maintaining good
China–Africa relationships. This result resonates the finding of previous research (e.g.
Gagliardone, 2013) that Chinese media’s consistent positive coverage to justifying
China–Africa relationship is also promoting rising Africa image.
The positive, neutral, and negative news tone of Western media coverage of events in
Africa and the positive news tone of Chinese media finding suggests that the more the
media uses diverse types of sources it presents news in diverse tones and when it uses
one type of source the tone would also be unified. The Western media present in negative
tone when an African resident or expert expresses fear of the event whereas Chinese media
report news in negative tone only when it is considered by official information source
especially government as negative.
Africa is framed and represented differently by Western and Chinese media as the two
media make different judgements to produce African stories, choose the language, tone,
considerations to focus on, placement of certain facts and arguments, on their selection,
emphasis, and presentation of contents. In framing African stories, Western and
Chinese media used different patterns of selection, composition, interpretation, presen-
tation, emphasis, and exclusion and highlight some aspects of reality while excluding
other elements, which might have portrayed one and the same event in very different
ways. Western media representation of Africa that is evolving from Afro-pessimistic por-
trayal of the continent and its people as victims, inferior, and less than human through
their racist, ideological and national interest hegemonic articulation that revolves
around poverty, conflict, disease, instability, and illiteracy to Afro-optimism mixed posi-
tive Africa image with extremely unfavourable attributes (Nothias, 2014). Chinese media,
orchestrated by media strategy of Chinese government to build positive relationships with
other countries, consistently cover African events in affirmative manner despite the pres-
ence of negative events.
Overall, the results suggest that Western media coverage of African events presently is
not predominantly negative; and Chinese media framing is uncommonly affirmative.
Chinese media coverage can better reflect reality if they make the news selection decision
based on news values and diversify their information sources. The findings also suggest
that sourcing shapes frames, tones, and representation of ‘Others’ by news media. The
results also suggest that presently the Western media are also covering positive events
in Africa in contrast to the previous accusations for focussing only on disaster and conflict.
312 S. M. GABORE

The results of this study are based on the media coverage of only one issue. In addition,
only English Language Chinese media were included and these media may not be repre-
sentative of Chinese media news coverage of Africa. Future research needs to analyse
Chinese language news on Africa produced in China as well. Future studies can also con-
sider the impact of exposure to Chinese Vs Western media contents, and audience percep-
tion of Chinese and Western media coverage of Africa.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributor
Samuel Mochona Gabore, PhD, is Assistant Professor in the School of Journalism and Communi-
cation, Addis Ababa University.

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