Article

the International

Framing the flight MH370 Communication Gazette

2018, Vol. 80(2) 158–184
! The Author(s) 2017
mystery: A content Reprints and permissions:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
analysis of Malaysian, DOI: 10.1177/1748048517707440
journals.sagepub.com/home/gaz
Chinese, and U.S. media
Lindsey M Bier
University of Southern California, USA

Sejin Park
Republic of South Korea Army, Republic of Korea

Michael J Palenchar
University of Tennessee, USA

Abstract
This study analyzes frames related to the flight MH370 disappearance in Malaysian
(N ¼ 93), Chinese (N ¼ 155), and U.S. (N ¼ 150) newspapers. The results provide
insight about media orientations in an international crisis, particularly regarding national
interests and international citizenship. Attribution of responsibility is the dominant
frame; secondary frames vary among conflict and human-interest frames, demonstrating
that attribution of responsibility is the most important frame even with unknown con-
trollability and ambiguous intentionality. Results also demonstrate significant differences
in national interest frames and in the roles in the societal evaluation of risk. This study
contextualizes the results in media systems, diplomatic relations, and cultures.

Keywords
Crisis communication, framing, international citizenship, international crisis, national
interests

On 8 March 2014, about an hour after takeoff, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370
mysteriously disappeared from radar. In a news release to media after the dis-
appearance, Malaysia Airlines confirmed the flight was carrying 239 passengers
and crew from 14 different nationalities. The passengers included 154 Chinese,
50 Malaysian, seven Indonesian, six Australian, five Indian, four American,

Corresponding author:
Sejin Park, Public Affairs Officer, Republic of South Korea, PO Box 501, Key-Ryong Si, Choong-Nam,
Republic of Korea 32801.
Email: sj4297@gmail.com
Bier et al. 159

three French, two New Zealander, two Ukrainian, two Canadian, one Russian, one
Italian, one Dutch, and one Austrian (Malaysia Airlines, 2014).
In the days and weeks after the mysterious event, international media reported
extensively on the missing airplane. Such coverage doubled television audiences,
increased primetime ratings, and generated immense internet traffic (news.com.acu,
2014). While many speculated the plane accidentally crashed with the fuselage now
resting at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, others contended hijackers hid the plane
to accomplish malicious purposes at a later time or supernatural forces snatched
MH370 from the sky. Whether a rogue pilot, terrorists, or mechanical failure was
attributed to blame, each story was nothing more than a conjecture because
technological evidence about the actual fate of the flight remains sparse.
The MH370 investigation continues as the most expensive in aviation history
(Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2016; Wardell, 2014). Inhabitants of La
Reunion, a remote Indian island, discovered debris on 29 July 2015, more than a
year after the plane’s disappearance. French and Malaysian authorities confirmed
the debris was from MH370 (Jamieson and Ciganinero, 2015). In October 2016,
authorities confirmed wing fragments, discovered in May 2016 in Mauritius and in
June 2016 in Tanzania, came from MH370 (Westcott, 2016). However, the location
of the fuselage and the conditions under which the plane disappeared remain a
mystery that, more than three years after the event, continues to receive international
media attention. For example, a British journalist released a book about MH370 in
March 2016 (Quest, 2016) and an episode of the Australian edition of ‘60 Minutes’
broadcast in July 2016 with accusations that the Malaysian government concealed
its knowledge of the true fate of MH370 (Vankin, 2016). Further, the mystery of the
missing plane still causes emotional suffering and anxiety for the 239 passengers’
loved ones and has resulted in dozens of lawsuits (Glum, 2016).
The MH370 mystery permits a unique inquiry into media coverage of a crisis
because multiple nations are involved and there is no clarity about what happened
to the flight: This is a crisis without a known cause and, thus, without an individ-
ual, organization, or nation to attribute blame. Further, aviation crises are of
interest because aviation is one of the technologies credited for creating a global
community. According to the International Air Transport Association (2014), air-
lines safely transported more than 3.3 billion passengers, and, while doing so,
sustained 58 million jobs and stimulated $2.4 trillion of economic output.
Critical actions of large organizations, particularly aviation corporations such as
Malaysia Airlines, attract global media attention and influence how the home
country is perceived in other countries (Gotsi et al., 2011).
Media are a primary source of information about international events and
issues, and coverage helps construct perceptions about and evaluations of unfamil-
iar nations, cultures, and ideologies for global audiences (Kucherenko and
Christen, 2014; Orgeret, 2010). Media shape public opinions, particularly in
crisis situations (Coombs, 2007; Knight, 1999). Considerable scholarly attention
has been devoted to the manner in which media frame crises and to the relationship
between national interests and media coverage of political events and wars
160 the International Communication Gazette 80(2)

(Downing, 1988; Paletz and Vinson, 1994; Zaremba, 1988), but little empirical
research has been conducted to elucidate the relationships among national inter-
ests, international citizenship, and communication about international crises.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the framing of the disappear-
ance of flight MH370 in English-language newspapers from Malaysia, China, and
the United States to provide insight about media orientation in an international
crisis, particularly in relation to national interests and international citizenship.

Literature review
Theoretical framework
Media frames are ‘schemata of interpretation’ (Goffman, 1974: 21). Framing ana-
lysis investigates which attributes of an event or issue are presented as important by
media (McCombs et al., 1997; Scheufele and Tewksbury, 2007). Thus, framing
analysis is the interpretation of a reality in a message (McCombs, 2005).
Through exposure to media with manifest and latent frames, audiences construct
shared expectations and values, which affect behavior (Scheufele and Tewksbury,
2007). Therefore, in a strategic attempt not unlike persuasion, the media presen-
tation of an event or issue influences public opinion and collective behavior
(Ghanem, 1997).

National interests and media frames

National interests relate to the political, economic, militarist, sociocultural, and
security objectives of a country and comprise value choices by policymakers to
minimize costs and to maximize benefits for the good of the country (Li, 2003).
Journalists employ national interest frames by explicitly highlighting or making
implicit assumptions about these objectives and value choices to explain an event
or issue and to resonate with domestic audiences (Brewer, 2006; Novais, 2007). In
this manner, media reduce the complexity of foreign cultures (Said, 1993) and
impose elite-defined national interests and agendas onto international matters
(Akhavan-Majid and Ramaprasad, 1989; Dorogi, 2001). Although media often
claim to offer a plurality of viewpoints, they are typically limited to those reflecting
viewpoints from official sources (Ruigrok and Van Atteveldt, 2007) and there is a
close relationship between media organizations and government agendas (Entman,
1991; Hook and Pu, 2006; Paterson, 1999). For example, national interests are
prominent in U.S. media coverage of China, which commonly utilizes an antic-
ommunist frame (Dorogi, 2001; Lee et al., 2011; Mao, 2014), whereas media about
U.S.–Japan relations and U.S.–South Korea relations often employ a cooperative
frame (Park, 2013).
National interests are reflected in culture and operate with the legitimacy of a
country’s citizenship, government, and/or economic activities. Such legitimacy may
be justified with the fabrication of political authority and the coercive control of
Bier et al. 161

cultural values. Culture is the expression of the character of a group of social actors
and is molded by their backgrounds, languages, and beliefs (Bereciartu, 1994).
In this sense, the framing of national interests can be further examined and under-
stood from culture, for culture provides the foundation for social actors to generate
knowledge and to assign meaning to external phenomena (Hall, 1997). Media
content is a direct reflection of culture (Hall, 1980) and media frames are a part
of culture (Entman, 1993; Goffman, 1974), for they link cognition and culture
(Gamson et al., 1992; Lee and Basnyat, 2013). Media producers use cultural
values in content and present them to audiences (Shoemaker and Reese, 1996),
and culture functions to provide understanding between media producers and
media consumers (Van Gorp, 2007).
Amid increased global interconnectedness from technological advancements in
media and travel capabilities, national interests are often in tension with a coun-
try’s desire to be perceived as a respectable international citizen. International
citizenship, also called global citizenship, lacks a singular definition but is often
related to neoliberal economic policy or a sense of cosmopolitanism based on
moral responsibility to the global population. Journalists can function as agents
to promote various facets of international citizenship (Schattle, 2015). According
to Pert (2014), international citizenship is described according to the following
frames: a legal frame featuring compliance with international law, a cooperation
frame featuring support for bilateral or multilateral agreements, a willingness
frame featuring completion of international tasks, an ethics frame featuring good
deeds outside its national boundaries, a leadership frame featuring works to raise
international standards, and a global peace frame as a primary actor in global
peace and stability (Pert, 2014).

Generic roles in the societal evaluation of risk

Palmlund (1992, 2009) identified six generic roles in societal evaluation of risk,
which can be used to examine media crisis frames, especially in relation to attri-
bution of risk concerning individuals or organizations responsible for the crisis
event or responsible for managing the crisis event. According to Palmlund’s
research, risk bearers are the victims of the negative consequences of the risk or
perceive themselves as such. Risk bearers’ advocates speak on behalf of the risk
bearers. Risk generators create and/or fabricate the risks or are at least thought to
do so by others involved. Risk researchers work through various methods to deter-
mine what occurred, why and how it can be abated or mitigated. Risk arbiters
work to protect risk bearers from present or future risks, while risk informers are
not directly affected or involved yet provide information and commentary.

Framing an international aviation crisis

While framing is a factor in media coverage, it becomes even more important in
crisis communication because media frames affect audience perceptions of
162 the International Communication Gazette 80(2)

organizations and behavior in emergency situations (Coombs, 2007). Entman

(1993) identified four basic explicit and implicit media frames in crisis situations:
definition of problem, specification of causes, conveyance of moral assessments,
and endorsement of remedies. Such frames manifest in media through word choice,
metaphors, exemplars, descriptions, arguments, and visual images (Pan and
Kosicki, 1993). More recent studies, including those conducted by crisis commu-
nication scholars with a nuanced understanding of crisis frameworks, identified five
media frames commonly utilized in crises, which will be the focal point of this
present analysis: attribution of responsibility, conflict, economic consequences,
human interest, and morality (An and Gower, 2009; Cho and Gower, 2006;
Coombs and Holladay, 1996; Liu and Pennington-Gray, 2015; Neuman et al.,
1992; Semetko and Valkenburg, 2000). In crisis situations, the morality frame
situates the event within the context of moral or religious values (An and
Gower, 2009; Neuman et al., 1992). The human-interest frame presents an emo-
tional angle (An and Gower, 2009; Cho and Gower, 2006; Semetko and
Valkenburg, 2000). The economic consequences frame reports the financial impli-
cations, either positive or negative, for individuals, groups, organizations, or coun-
tries (An and Gower, 2009; Neuman et al., 1992). The conflict frame highlights
disagreements among individuals, groups, organizations, or countries (An and
Gower, 2009; Neuman et al., 1992; Semetko and Valkenburg, 2000). Finally, the
attribution of responsibility frame offers causes of or potential solutions (An and
Gower, 2009; Semetko and Valkenburg, 2000).

Sociopolitical factors in Chinese, Malaysian, and U.S. crisis frames

The mysterious disappearance of the MH370 flight is a crisis involving several
countries and, thus, diverse national interests and ideologies: Malaysia Airlines,
a corporation in which the Malaysian government holds majority ownership, oper-
ated the flight; most of the 239 passengers onboard the flight were Chinese; and
Boeing, a U.S. corporation with $81 trillion annual revenue, manufactured the
aircraft (Defense News, 2013). While scholars and practitioners have acknowledged
media play an important role in disseminating information about crises (Coombs,
2007), Schultz et al. (2012) contend U.S. media and foreign media present unlike
solutions to crises. Molleda’s research (2011) shows how media frame conflicts
differently according to their geographic location in relation to the crisis location.
Moreover, countries have dissimilar journalistic standards and norms that affect
how media frame crises. While objectivity is considered a universal journalistic
norm, power relations within Malaysia, China, and the United States, respectively,
influence media production, distribution, and consumption. Such power relations
as well as Western and Asian cultural values, respectively, alter conceptualizations
of objectivity and press freedom (Ramanathan, 2016). China is an especially inter-
esting case because it is one of the few remaining communist states, and different
political systems result in different media expectations (Mehra, 1993). The Chinese
Bier et al. 163

media model is based on government censorship as Chinese media are state-owned

extensions of the government that receive daily directives from the Publicity
Department of the Communist Party of China (World Press Freedom Index,
2014). Economic reform has brought the expansion and diversification of
Chinese media, but China still uses media to promote the government image
(Zhao, 2000). Both mainstream print and broadcast as well as online media are
controlled by legal restrictions, although online media expand the boundaries of
permissible reporting (Hassid and Repnikova, 2016).
Media expectations are different in democratic countries than in communist
countries (Mehra, 1993). Malaysia is a parliamentary democracy, and the United
States is a democratic republic. While various political systems have long employed
media to propagandize, spread ideology, and defend regimes, controlled commu-
nication has been an outcome of governments deemed communistic more so than
of governments deemed democratic. In the case of Malaysia, however, media are
censored more than media in most democracies (Freitag and Stokes, 2009).
Ownership patterns and legal restrictions impact the content of mainstream
media in Malaysia, whereas online media are fairly unrestricted (Brown, 2005;
Jalarajan Raj and Sreekumar, 2012; Steele, 2011; Willnat and Wong, 2013). The
Malaysian government uses media as instruments for national development, and,
thus, Malaysian journalists generally report positively about their government
(Jalarajan Raj and Sreekumar, 2012; Ramanathan, 2016). This ‘development jour-
nalism’ model (Taylor and Kent, 1999: 138) as well as Islamic cultural principles
discourage journalists from divulging negative information (Steele, 2011, 2013).
Unlike American journalists, Malaysian journalists often carefully ponder the con-
sequences of their writings in accordance with Islamic social values (Steele, 2011,
2013). Malaysian journalists must practice ‘responsible journalism,’ particularly
when reporting on race, religion, and politics—and some fear arrest for reporting
in a manner deemed inappropriate by the government (Jalarajan Raj and
Sreekumar, 2012: 25).
Free and open media have long been considered crucial to a healthy democracy.
The U.S. media model, in theory, is based on diversity of viewpoints, program-
ming, outlets, and ownership (Scherer, 2016). The concentration of U.S. media
ownership, however, allows for information control. Moreover, journalistic
norms change as U.S. society changes. For example, U.S. media historically
reflected moderate viewpoints, but as viewpoints in society become more polariz-
ing, so do media representations (McLuskey and Kim, 2012). While journalists in
Southeast Asia exhibit values toward promoting national loyalty and building a
sense of community, especially in print media (Massey, 2000; Menon, 1998), jour-
nalists in the United States and other Western countries are more likely to engage
in ‘aggressive journalism,’ including the criticism of national leaders (Ramanathan,
2016: 23). According to the 2014 World Press Freedom Index, the United States
ranks 46, Malaysia ranks 147, and China ranks 175 out of 180 countries in terms of
a free and open media without government censorship.
164 the International Communication Gazette 80(2)

Study rationale and research questions

Although framing theories have long been tested quantitatively through content
analysis, Carragee and Roefs (2004) posit that a problem with framing research is it
often fails to examine the framing process within the broader political and social
context, and Park (2013) calls for additional framing research to provide a more
comprehensive understanding of international media coverage. Van Gorp (2007)
avows research does not adequately consider the influence of culture on archetypal
media frames, and Hume (2010) indicates mediated communication as it pertains
to culture is ripe for investigation. Lee (2004) suggests Western crisis frameworks
are generalizable, but more research is necessary to understand differences in cross-
cultural crisis communication. Pinsdorf (1991) argues an organization, particularly
an airline operating transnationally, must reflect varying cultural values for sur-
vival after a crisis. Since the disappearance of flight MH370, Malaysia Airlines has
incurred financial loss, and the future of the organization is bleak (Centre for
Aviation, 2014; Skynews.com.au, 2016). Understanding how international media
frame an aviation crisis without an obvious cause provides insight toward organ-
izational survival by responding to publics with different political, social, and cul-
tural backgrounds. As such, this present study addresses several of the
shortcomings of the content analyses identified herein and extends the discussion
beyond descriptive findings while maintaining the strengths of quantitative content
analysis.
Furthermore, scholars suggest future framing research should pursue ‘issue-spe-
cific frames related exclusively to a particular topic’ (Santos et al., 2013: 67).
Although the only crisis plagued by ongoing mystery, the MH370 flight was one
of several aviation crises that made 2014 one of the deadliest years for flying in
almost a decade (Grant, 2014). Thus, this study has implications for future research
about response strategies for international aviation crises. Based on a synthesis of
previous research, an analysis of English-language newspapers in Malaysia, China,
and the United States elucidates variations in framing the flight MH370 crisis by
answering the following research questions:

RQ1: How is the MH370 crisis framed in English-language Malaysian, Chinese, and
U.S. newspapers in terms of attribution of responsibility, conflict, economic conse-
quences, human interest, and morality?

RQ2: How does MH370 coverage in English-language Malaysian, Chinese, and U.S.
newspapers reflect national interests in terms of the political, economic, militarist,
sociocultural, and security objectives within each respective country?

RQ3: How does MH370 coverage in English-language Malaysian, Chinese, and U.S.
newspapers reflect international citizenship in terms of each respective country’s com-
pliance with international law, cooperation with or toward formal agreements, will-
ingness to work with other countries, ethical behavior, global leadership, and
promotion of world peace and stability?
Bier et al. 165

Method
Research design
Framing is one of the most commonly applied research approaches in the commu-
nication field (Bryant and Miron, 2004). This study employs a quantitative content
analysis design to analyze statistically the differences among international media
frames and to make inferences about communication about a crisis without an
obvious cause. Content analyses are essential for understanding communication
messages, and ‘communication content merits systematic examination because of
its assumed role as cause or antecedent of a variety of individual processes, effects,
or uses people make of it’ (Riffe et al., 2005: 11). The researchers conducted an
analysis to reflect the overall trends of MH370-related coverage in English-
language Malaysian, Chinese, and U.S. newspapers and counted frequencies and
made comparisons to elucidate the significance of the frames.

Data collection and sample

Data were collected from Malaysian, Chinese, and U.S. sources based on (1) media
primacy in each country, (2) the availability of newspapers in English, and (3) the
availability of newspapers in the LexisNexis Academic database to ensure system-
atic sample collection. Malaysia was selected because it is the country of origin for
Malaysia Airlines, China was selected because the majority of the MH370 passen-
gers were Chinese citizens, and the United States was selected because it is the
country of origin for the Boeing aircraft. English-language newspapers were used in
part because of the researchers’ language abilities but also because English-
language media present global issues to an international readership and, thus,
provide insight into the relationship between national interests and international
citizenship. The oldest remaining newspaper and one of the top English newspapers
by circulation in Malaysia is New Straits Times, a source used in comparative
communication research among international sources (Massey, 2000; Park et al.,
2016; Ramanathan, 2016); further, the New Straits Times is a part of the largest
mass communication organization in Malaysia (Ramanathan, 2016). The top
English newspaper in China is China Daily, which is state-owned and has been
used in Chinese media content analyses (Luther and Zhou, 2005; Tai and Sun,
2007; Zhang et al., 2014). The New York Times is regarded as a model newspaper, is
a top newspaper in the United States by circulation, and is frequently used in
comparative research among international sources (Nossek, 2004; Tunstall, 1977).
All full-text articles related to flight MH370 from 8 March 2014 to 28 January
2015, inclusive, were obtained from New Straits Times, China Daily, and The New
York Times through LexisNexis by key words. The time parameters were deter-
mined by the day flight MH370 disappeared to the day the Malaysian government
declared MH370 likely crashed without survivors to allow insurers to pay the next
of kin. The key words applied in headlines and full articles were ‘MH370’ and
166 the International Communication Gazette 80(2)

‘Malaysia Airlines’ and ‘370.’ Duplicates of articles were deleted. Associated Press
articles published in The New York Times were included in the sample because it is
a U.S. news agency and The New York Times in this study represents the U.S.
perspective. Some articles related to flight MH370 also covered other aviation
crises in 2014, particularly Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and Air Asia Flight
Q78501; these articles were included in the sample. The search yielded 93 articles
from New Straits Times, 155 articles from China Daily, and 150 articles from The
New York Times for a total of 398 articles.

Coding scheme and intercoder reliability

The unit of analysis for this study was the article. The coding scheme was based on
the premise that media frames ‘can be detected by probing for particular
words. . .that consistently appear in a narrative and convey thematically consistent
meanings’ (Entman, 1991: 7). However, because multidimensional and abstract
concepts are complex to study from a social scientific perspective (Riffe et al.,
2005), the researchers developed precise conceptual and operational definitions
of variables in a codebook.
The coding instrument was initially designed based on previous literature and
prior to observation of the sample. The codebook explained the measures to the
extent that each coding category allowed for replicability. First, the codebook
consisted of basic information about the article such as publisher, publication
date, and author of the article to ensure one particular journalist was not framing
the crisis entirely differently than other journalists. The rest of the codebook
focused on the appearance of the five media frames used in crisis communication
and identified in previous literature (attribution of responsibility, conflict, eco-
nomic consequences, human interest, and morality), the presence of national inter-
ests (operationalized as economy, military, sociocultural values, political system,
and security), and the mention of international citizenship (operationalized as legal
issues, cooperation in formal agreements, willingness to work together, ethical
behavior, and global leadership).
To measure nuance within the crisis media frames, the researchers adapted the
20-question coding scheme used by Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) about attribu-
tion of responsibility, conflict, economic consequences, human interest, and morality.
A total of 18 questions were added to account for the distinct attributes of the
MH370 disappearance as an international crisis with an unknown cause. For exam-
ple, the codebook included codes that distinguished between foreign and domestic
governments both as a cause of the crisis and as a postcrisis alleviator, codes for the
role of a corporation as a cause and as an alleviator, and codes for the presentation
of multiple credible causes for the crisis. In total, there were 13 items about attribu-
tion of responsibility, eight items about conflict, nine items about economic conse-
quences, five items about human interest, and three items about morality.
Because this study aims to investigate research questions rather than to support
hypotheses, two authors served as the coders (Park and Reber, 2010). The coders
Bier et al. 167

Table 1. Coding schemes.

Coding scheme Explanation

Five crisis frames Attribution of Offers causes of or potential solutions for

responsibility the crisis and a way of attributing
responsibility
Conflict Highlights disagreements among individ-
uals, groups, organizations, or countries
Economic Reports the financial significance of the
consequences crisis for individuals, groups, organiza-
tions, or countries
Human interest Presents a human face or an emotional
angle to the crisis
Morality Situates the event within the context of
moral or religious values or social
prescriptions

National interests Economy Discusses the country’s activities related to

the production, exchange, or consump-
tion of goods
Military Includes information about the country’s
military, soldiers, or military affairs
Culture and/ Gives information about the beliefs, myths,
or society values, norms, special artifacts, and/or
social practices of the country
National security Offers information about how the country
is protecting citizens
Political system Contains messages about the country’s
political system

International Legal issues Presents the country’s compliance with

citizenship international law
Cooperation Expresses the country’s support for bilat-
eral or multilateral agreements
Willingness Reports the country’s willingness to com-
plete international tasks
Ethics Offers to do good deeds outside national
boundaries because it is moral or right
Leadership Highlights the ways that the country is
raising international standards
Global peace Situates global harmony as a priority for
the country or the country as a primary
actor in global peace
168 the International Communication Gazette 80(2)

Table 2. Number of articles published by publisher.

1 2 3 4 5–8 9–12 12+

Week postcrisis n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%)

NST 13(8.4)a 36(23.2)a 33(21.3)b 16(10.3)b 24(15.5)b 16(10.3)a 17(11.0)b

China Daily 16(17.2)b 10(10.8)a 11(11.8)a 8(8.6)a 16(17.2)b 9(9.7)b 23(24.7)b
b b a b b
NYT 43(30.3) 20(14.1) 19(13.4) 7(4.9) 23(16.2) 8(5.6)a 22(15.5)b
NST: New Straits Times; NYT: The New York Times.
*2 (12) ¼ 34.06, p < .01.
a
Higher than expected value.
b
Lower than expected value.

completed three independent practice sessions, based on eight, 12, and 48 articles,
respectively, prior to the actual coding. Between practice sessions, they discussed
and agreed upon the classification of frames according to operational definitions
and the codebook was modified as necessary. Intercoder reliability was assessed
according to Cohen’s Kappa. The scores ranged from .76 to .95, which are accept-
able coefficients for a content analysis (Neuendorf, 2002).
The coders then independently read each article of the sample one at a time and
coded frames in the article according to the codebook while disregarding outside
knowledge about flight MH370 and other issues discussed in the article. After
coding, the relationships among media frames and variables associated with
national interests and international citizenship were examined statistically to
answer the research questions about communication about an international crisis
without an obvious cause.

Results
Before analyzing the five crisis media frames, though, the number of newspaper
articles published was analyzed. As Table 2 shows, the majority of New Straits
Times and The New York Times articles were published in the first month (n ¼ 98,
66.6% and n ¼ 89, 62.7%, respectively). In contrast, more than half of China Daily
articles (n ¼ 48, 51.2%) were published more than a month after the crisis hap-
pened. The difference among the three publishers was statistically significant,
2 ð12Þ ¼ 34.06, p < .01.

Research question 1
The first research question explores crisis media frames in New Straits Times, China
Daily, and The New York Times. For all three publishers, attribution of responsi-
bility was the dominant frame used (New Straits Times: n ¼ 97, 62.6%; China Daily:
n ¼ 67, 72.0%; and The New York Times: n ¼ 100, 70.4%). However, as shown in
Table 3, the second most frequently used frames were different among the
Bier et al. 169

Table 3. Crisis frames by publisher.

Attribution of Economic Human

responsibility Conflict consequence interest Morality
n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%)

NST 97(62.6)a 21(13.5)a 3(1.9)a 18(11.6)a 16(10.3)b

China Daily 67(72.0)b 5(5.4)b 6(6.5)b 14(15.1)a 1(1.1)b
NYT 100(70.4)b 11(7.7)b 6(4.2)b 22(15.5)b 3(2.1)a
NST: New Straits Times; NYT: The New York Times.
*2 (8) ¼ 23.57, p < .01.
a
Lower than expected value.
b
Higher than expected value.

newspapers. For example, the conflict frame (n ¼ 21, 13.5%) was the second for
New Straits Times, while the human-interest frame was the second for China Daily
and The New York Times (n ¼ 14, 15.1% and n ¼ 22, 15.5%, respectively). Overall,
the proportions of frames in each newspaper were significantly different,
2 (8) ¼ 23.57, p < .01.
To explore the details of the five crisis media frames employed by New Straits
Times, China Daily, and The New York Times, Semetko and Valkenburg’s (2000)
coding scheme was adapted to suit an international crisis with an unknown cause.
Some interesting results were found in the data. First, one of the coding items asked
whether the publisher ‘suggests that some level of domestic government has the
ability to alleviate the crisis.’ Among the 97 articles in New Straits Times that used
the attribution of responsibility frame, 82.5% (n ¼ 80) of the articles suggested the
domestic government, in this case the Malaysian government, was an alleviator.
The percentages for China Daily and for The New York Times, however, were
relatively low (n ¼ 38, 56.7% and n ¼ 39, 39.0%, respectively).
Second, a coding item asked whether the publisher ‘suggests that some level of
foreign government has the ability to alleviate the crisis.’ Among the 100 articles in
The New York Times that used the attribution of responsibility frame, 86.0%
(n ¼ 86) suggested a foreign government was an alleviator. This compares with
New Straits Times and China Daily in which 76.3% (n ¼ 74) and 71.6% (n ¼ 48)
of articles, respectively, suggested a foreign government was a postcrisis alleviator.
Lastly, a coding item asked whether the article ‘makes reference to God or a
higher being or other religious tenets.’ In New Straits Times, 50% (n ¼ 8) of articles
with a morality frame referred to a higher being or religious tenets. In The New
York Times, 66.7% (n ¼ 2) of articles with a morality frame referred to a higher
being or religious tenets. No China Daily articles mentioned God or a higher being
or any religious tenets.
A crosstab test yielded that the generic roles in the societal evaluation of risk
were different among the newspapers, 2 (10) ¼ 47.72, p < .01. As Table 4 indicates,
the top three roles of each publisher were different. For example, risk arbiters, risk
advocates, and risk informers were used most frequently by New Straits Times and
170 the International Communication Gazette 80(2)

Table 4. Generic roles in the societal evaluation of risk by publisher.

Risk Risk Risk Risk Risk Risk

bearers advocates generators researchers arbiters informers
n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%)

NST 5(3.2)a 37(23.9)b 6(3.9)a 10(6.5)a 63(40.6)b 34(21.9)b

China Daily 8(8.6)b 9(9.7)a 4(4.3)b 8(8.6)b 40(43.0)b 24(25.8)b
NYT 16(11.3)b 6(4.2)a 11(7.7)a 12(8.5)b 40(43.0)b 24(25.8)b
NST: New Straits Times; NYT: The New York Times.
*2 (10) ¼ 47.72, p < .01.
a
Lower than expected value.
b
Higher than expected value.

Table 5. National interest by publisher.

Cultural/ National Political

Economy Military society security system Nothing
n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%)

NST 2(1.3)a 15(9.7)b 30(19.4)a 5(3.2)a 1(0.6)a 102(65.8)b

China Daily 1(1.1)a 15(16.1)a 7(7.5)b 0(0)b 0(0)b 70(75.3)a
NYT 0(0)b 32(22.5)a 1(0.7)b 1(0.7)b 0(0)b 108(76.1)a
NST: New Straits Times; NYT: The New York Times.
*2 (10) ¼ 44.28, p < .01.
a
Higher than expected value.
b
Lower than expected value.

China Daily. However, in articles in The New York Times, the dominant roles were
risk informers followed by risk arbiters and risk bearers.

Research question 2
The second research question examines whether national interests were framed
differently among the three newspapers. Table 5 shows the majority of New
Straits Times articles did not contain any national interest frames (n ¼ 102,
65.8%). Sociocultural (n ¼ 30, 19.4%) frames followed by military (n ¼ 15, 9.7%)
frames appeared in New Straits Times articles. Likewise, the majority of China
Daily and The New York Times articles did not have national interest frames
(n ¼ 70, 75.3% and n ¼ 108, 76.1%, respectively). Both China Daily and The New
York Times articles included military (16.1 and 22.5%, respectively) frames fol-
lowed by sociocultural (n ¼ 7, 7.5% and n ¼ 1, 0.7%, respectively) frames.
Bier et al. 171

Table 6. International citizenship by publisher.

Legal Global
issues Cooperation Willingness Ethics Leadership peace Nothing
n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%)

NST 0(0) 7(4.5)a 62(40.0)a 6(3.9)a 2(1.3)a 0(0) 78(50.3)a

China Daily 0(0) 1(1.1)b 29(31.2)b 0(0)b 0(0)b 0(0) 63(67.7)a
NYT 0(0) 0(0)b 24(16.9)b 0(0)b 1(0.7)b 0(0) 117(82.4)a
NST: New Straits Times; NYT: The New York Times.
*2 (8) ¼ 43.40, p < .01.
a
Higher than expected value.
b
Lower than expected value.

The difference among the three publishers in terms of overall national interest
frames was significant, 2 (10) ¼ 44.28, p < .01.

Research question 3
Finally, the third research question investigates international citizenship frames
within the three newspapers. In each of the three newspapers, the majority of
articles did not include any frames about international citizenship and, thus,
were coded as ‘nothing.’ The second most dominant frame for each of the three
publishers was the willingness to work together to complete international tasks.
Nevertheless, the proportions of the categories were significantly different,
2 (8) ¼ 43.40, p < .01. For example, the majority of articles in The New York
Times (n ¼ 117, 82.4%) did not include any information about international citi-
zenship, and only 16.9% of articles in The New York Times discussed the willing-
ness of the United States to complete international tasks. However, for New Straits
Times and China Daily, the proportion of the ‘nothing’ category decreased (n ¼ 78,
50.3% and n ¼ 63, 67.7%, respectively) and the proportion of the ‘willingness’
category increased (n ¼ 62, 40.0% and n ¼ 29, 31.2%, respectively). Interestingly,
New Straits Times published articles about cooperation in formal agreements
(n ¼ 7, 4.5%), ethical behavior (n ¼ 6, 3.9%), and global leadership (n ¼ 2, 1.3%).
For all three newspapers, there were no articles about legal issues and global peace.

Discussion
This study investigates media frames associated with an international crisis without
a known cause and reveals that crisis frames, national interest frames, and inter-
national citizenship frames differ according to the country of origin of the
publisher. Malaysia, China, and the United States have different media systems,
and media ‘reflect the values of the political and economic systems of the nations
within which they operate’ (Hachten, 1987: 16). Because the Chinese government
172 the International Communication Gazette 80(2)

established China Daily to present information about China to an international

English readership (Luther and Zhou, 2005), its articles are considered to charac-
terize China as the Chinese government wishes China to be characterized within the
global community (Ostini and Fung, 2002). In the MH370 disappearance, China
Daily predictably focused on the activities of the Chinese government in relation to
the crisis. For example, China Daily depicts Chinese officials as advocates for
Chinese citizens, which supports previous comparative media framing research
suggesting that during crises Chinese media frame the Chinese government
positively whereas U.S. media frame the Chinese government negatively (Feng
et al., 2012).
Diplomatic relations between and among countries also affect media coverage of
an international aviation crisis (Yan and Kim, 2015). Malaysia–U.S. relations,
although strained at times because of U.S. involvement in Islamic countries, are
improving. China–U.S. relations are complicated as the two countries vie for global
economic and militaristic power. The most salient diplomatic relationship in
media coverage of the MH370 crisis, however, is Malaysia–China relations with
Malaysians as the risk generators and Chinese as the risk bearers. Prior to the
MH370 disappearance, Malaysia and China were organizing various activities
throughout 2014 to celebrate diplomatic friendship between the two countries.
China is well known for its panda diplomacy, or the gifting of Chinese pandas
to a country as a sign of friendship and cooperation, but the scheduled delivery of
pandas to Malaysia in honor of the 40th anniversary of China–Malaysia relations
was initially postponed after the MH370 crisis. New Straits Times covered the
panda delay and other aspects of China–Malaysia relations such as the Chinese
boycott of Malaysia tourism more prominently than did China Daily and The New
York Times. Though not state owned, New Straits Times is pro-government and
nationalistic (Sani, 2005).
However, in an attempt to maintain good standing with the regional super-
power, New Straits Times accepted China as a hegemon and emphasized
Malaysia did not want the MH370 crisis to damage its cordial exchanges with
China. With this background in mind, the three research questions are discussed
in relation to the findings and literature review.

Crisis media frames

The first primary objective of this study was to assess how English-language news-
papers in Malaysia, China, and the United States framed the MH370 crisis in terms
of attribution of responsibility, conflict, economic consequences, human interest,
and morality. Overall, the most common frame was attribution of responsibility,
which involved responsibility for causing the disappearance of flight MH370 as
well as responsibility for alleviating the harms resulting from the crisis. Among the
three publishers, The New York Times most frequently employed information
about causality within articles with the attribution frame and most frequently
suggested multiple causes as credible, including accidental pressure loss or engine
Bier et al. 173

failure, terrorism plots, and a pilot suicide mission. The New York Times also
reported a CNN poll that indicated 9% of Americans believed space aliens hijacked
the plane. In contrast, China Daily assigned causality the least frequently. Two
reasons likely explain this result. First, from a cultural perspective, Chinese are
more comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity than are Malaysians and even
more so than are Americans (The Hofstede Center, n.d.). Second, similar to the
response of Chinese media during a 2013 aviation crisis, China Daily might be
reluctant to ascribe causality in order to bolster a reputation as a good inter-
national citizen, as opposed to one as a menace, in the global community
(Yan and Kim, 2015).
Entman (2005) contends a central function of media frames is to propose solu-
tions to problems. In organizational crises, however, U.S. media and foreign media
offer different solutions to problems associated with an international crisis (Schultz
et al., 2012). Among the three publishers, New Straits Times most often attributed
responsibility to the domestic government, provided solutions to the crisis, and
specified the crisis required immediate action. For example, a 26 March 2014 article
in New Straits Times reported ‘the Malaysian investigation team has set up an
international working group, comprising agencies with expertise in satellite com-
munications and aircraft performance, to take this work forward’ (Abas et al.,
2014: 7), and a 27 March 2014 article reported Malaysia Airlines personnel were
‘taking care of the next of kin and crafting ways and means to nurse the struggling
airline back in shape’ (Hamid, 2014: 6). Such responses are expected considering
that in March 2014 the Malaysian government owned almost 70% of the Malaysia
Airlines stock and a prompt, appropriate resolution to the crisis would increase the
likelihood of organizational survival.
New Straits Times, China Daily, and The New York Times each suggested
foreign governments are necessary to help alleviate the crisis and recognized the
need for multiple actors in the global community to collaborate in the search
for the missing aircraft. For example, in a 10 March 2014 article, China Daily
praised China’s ‘all-out efforts to locate the missing passengers’ and asserted
‘experts have weighed in on the importance of China’s role in the salvage mis-
sion’ (China Daily, 2014a: A1). Li Jinming of Xiamen University said China’s
‘marine forces are better equipped compared with many neighboring countries’
(China Daily, 2014a: A1). By highlighting China’s advanced military technology
and patrol vessels, the article reminded the world that China is indeed a regio-
nal, if not global, power. However, China Daily also emphasized international
collaboration. For example, a 7 April 2014 article urged Chinese to voice frus-
trations ‘in a proper and reasonable manner’ because ‘all the nations involved in
the search need the cooperation and support of the [Chinese] people’ (Zhao,
2014: A12). In an article published on 18 June 2014, The New York Times
accentuated the coordinated military efforts among Australia, China, Japan,
Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United States—even ‘countries
that have had considerable frictions lately’—in the MH370 search (Bradsher,
2014: A4).
174 the International Communication Gazette 80(2)

The conflict frame was second most common in New Straits Times articles, while
the human-interest frame was second most common in both China Daily and The
New York Times articles. For example, amid international criticism of the Malaysia
Airlines’ handling of the MH370 crisis, a 27 March 2014 article in New Straits
Times used the conflict frame by reporting many Malaysians support Malaysia
Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya because he ‘handled the MH370 crisis in a
composed and calm manner, and that there was no ground to call for his resigna-
tion’ (Lingan, 2014: 12). Furthermore, New Straits Times articles addressed the
domestic political conflict concurrent with the MH370 crisis in which government
critics and civil society disparaged the hegemony of Malaysia’s ruling elite. For
example, a 9 April 2014 article accused the opposition party of posting MH370-
related information online ‘to provoke and incite hatred towards Malaysia’ (News
Straits Times, 2014: 8).
The human-interest frame most often employed personal vignettes to emphasize
how the MH370 disappearance affected the next of kin. For example, The New
York Times (2014) articles emphasized the anger, pain, and tears of Chinese whose
children were on board MH370. China Daily articles accentuated the pain of
Chinese, for example, by naming those who lost their lives and by quoting a
woman who lost her mother on MH370: ‘An airliner not only carries passengers
but also the destinies of hundreds of families’ (Hou and Zhu, 2014). An and Gower
(2009) show the human-interest frame is commonly applied in coverage about crisis
victims. Although it is logical for China Daily to provide a ‘human face’ on the
crisis because most of the victims were Chinese, the congruence between China
Daily and The New York Times partially deviates from previous framing studies.
Molleda (2011) claims media frame differently according to their geographic loca-
tion in relation to the crisis location. According to this argument, New Straits
Times and China Daily would frame the crisis more similarly since they are geo-
graphically much closer to the organization responsible for the crisis and to the
victims of the crisis than is The New York Times. In the context of an Asian health
crisis, frames in China Daily were unlike frames in U.S. media (Luther and Zhou,
2005). However, like this present study, previous aviation crisis research indicates
Chinese and U.S. media frames tend to mirror each other (Yan and Kim, 2015).
In coverage of the Asiana Airlines flight 214 crash in 2013, attribution of respon-
sibility was the dominant frame and morality was second most common frame
employed in Chinese media (Yan and Kim, 2015). The frequent use of the morality
frame is presumably because all passengers except for three Chinese teenagers
survived the crash and some of the survivors credited a higher being for their
survival (Yan and Kim, 2015). This present study, however, is consistent with
other crisis research in which morality was one of the least used frames
(Semetko and Valkenburg, 2000). While the morality frame was not a dominant
frame for any of the three publishers, the morality frame was lowest for China
Daily. Fearing that religion will influence politics and detract from devotion to the
government, the Communist Party of China discourages religious practice.
According to the Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism, China is the most
Bier et al. 175

atheistic among all countries, while Malaysia ranks very high for religiosity
(Gallup, 2012). The dominant Islamic religious ideology in Malaysian culture
impacted media frames as New Straits Times used the morality frame the most
among the three publishers to relay moral messages and to offer social prescrip-
tions for behavior. For example, Nazrin Shah, the Sultan of Perak in Malaysia,
addressed the opening of the state legislative assembly by stating, ‘Humans can
only plan for the best, but Allah decides everything’ (Hussain et al., 2014b: 7).
Additional articles in New Straits Times made references to prayer and trusting in
Allah, although the Malaysian government distanced itself from reports that a
shaman with magic bamboo binoculars assisted with the search efforts.

National interest frames

The second primary objective of this study was to assess how English-language
newspapers in Malaysia, China, and the United States used national interest
frames. While Yan and Kim (2015) show that political context and national
interests affect media coverage of an aviation crisis as far as the types of sources
that journalists utilize, this present study analyzed the nuance of national interest
frames in international media. New Straits Times used the sociocultural frame
most frequently, which is consistent with previous research indicating that jour-
nalistic norms in Southeast Asia promote national loyalty and a sense of com-
munity (Massey, 2000; Menon, 1998). The sociocultural frame included
information about the beliefs, myths, values, norms, special artifacts, and/or
social practices of the country. For example, New Straits Times referred to
Malaysian songs and poetry recitations to pacify mourners and to the educational
and scientific endeavors of Malaysians, e.g., Dr Mohd Rizal Arshad of the
University of Science in Malaysia, an expert on acoustic imaging devices, and
Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the director-general of Malaysia’s
Department of Civil Aviation, an expert in search-and-recovery missions
(Arumugam, 2014; Hussain et al., 2014c). Chinese and U.S. media were again
congruent and employed the military frame most frequently. For example, China
Daily articles emphasized the use of Chinese satellites and naval vessels, including
amphibious landing vessels, missile destroyers, and supply ships, to solve the
MH370 mystery (China Daily, 2014b).
Another interesting point related to national interest frames is New Straits Times
employed all five of the national interest frames (economy, military, sociocultural
values, political system, and security) among the articles in the dataset, while China
Daily and The New York Times articles applied only three national interest frames
each. This is concurrent with research proposing journalists express more national
loyalty when the news is perceived as ‘ours’ rather than ‘theirs’ (Nossek, 2004). New
Straits Times was arguably closest to the crisis among the three publishers; thus, it
was ‘our’ crisis and necessitated national interest frames within the dominant ideo-
logical culture. For example, in a 14 March 2014 statement, Defense and acting
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysia has a
176 the International Communication Gazette 80(2)

‘duty to follow every lead. We owe it to the families. And we will not give up’
(Hussain et al., 2014a: 3). China Daily and The New York Times reported on ‘their’
crisis, which did not require as many national interest frames. For example, The
New York Times reported on a meeting between Chinese officials and the families
of MH370 passengers at which Liu Zhi, deputy secretary general of the Beijing
government, indicated China was doing everything it could but the crisis was
clearly Malaysia’s responsibility; however, Liu contended ‘the quality of the
Malaysians’ response would certainly be lower if the Chinese government were
not involved’ (Feng and Wong, 2014: A6). These findings support Dai and
Hyun’s (2010) summary of their research that ‘lends support to the transform-
ational view of globalization, which suggests that the nation state still matters
in a globalized world, but is being recontextualized in a more complex world of
politics and culture’ (p. 299).

International citizenship frames

The third objective of this study was to assess how English-language newspapers in
Malaysia, China, and the United States employed frames about international citi-
zenship. While Yan and Kim (2015) focus on national interests within an aviation
crisis, this present study expands a theoretical understanding of international citi-
zenship frames within the context of a crisis with an unknown cause. The dominant
frame for New Straits Times, China Daily, and The New York Times was the will-
ingness to work together to complete international tasks, probably because of the
enormity of the effort required to search for MH370 in the expansive Indian Ocean.
New Straits Times used four of the frames (cooperation in formal agreements,
willingness to work together, ethical behavior, and global leadership), while
China Daily and The New York Times only used two distinct international citizen-
ship frames each. For example, a 16 March 2014 article in New Straits Times used
the ethical behavior frame by defending Malaysia’s withholding of information,
which was ‘the responsible thing to do to avoid causing more anguish to family
members’ (Andres, 2014: 23). Further, a 15 May 2014 New Straits Times article
used the cooperation frame as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak ‘urged the
International Civil Aviation Organisation to increase regulations for real-time
tracking of airliners’ and the leadership frame as Najib commended Malaysia for
overcoming diplomatic and military sensitivities and uniting 26 countries for the
search (Latif, 2014: 2).
Another observation associated with international citizenship is the timing of
articles among the three publishers. The New York Times published the highest
number of articles about MH370 in the first week after the aircraft’s disappearance.
This is consisted with research that shows U.S. media typically report on aviation
crises the most during the first week (Vincent et al., 1989; Yan and Kim, 2015). This
study offers evidence that New Straits Times disseminated information about the
MH370 crisis quickly to support the Malaysian global image and reputation as
competent. New Straits Times published the highest number of articles in the
Bier et al. 177

second week after the MH370 disappearance. China Daily, however, published the
highest number of articles 12 weeks after the aircraft disappeared. Perhaps as time
continued without much evidence to indicate what actually happened to MH370, it
became more important for the Chinese government to establish an identity as a
caregiver who helps citizens. For example, a 25 August 2014 article in China Daily
quoted a Chinese graduate student: ‘Malaysia Airlines and others are not doing
their jobs, so we have to organize’ (China Daily, 2014c: A2). China Daily focused
on the Chinese perspective and rarely expressed an international perspective. In this
manner, China Daily seemingly functioned as an official voice for the Chinese
government in the MH370 crisis, while New Straits Times was more internationally
focused during the crisis. Because Malaysia Airlines is an extension of the
Malaysian government, Malaysia had to present itself as a good international
citizen to preserve its global reputation.

Conclusion
An and Gower (2009) argued that attribution of responsibility is especially dom-
inant in crises with controllability and intentionality. The results of this present
study confirm previous research that indicates attribution of responsibility is the
most commonly applied frame in crisis communication (Semetko and Valkenburg,
2000). In addition, this present study adds another dimension to theoretical know-
ledge in that attribution of responsibility is yet the most important frame even
when the controllability of the crisis is unknown and the intentionality is
ambiguous.
This present study further expands previous knowledge about the second
common frame in an aviation crisis with an unknown cause. In business crises
the economic consequences frame is the second most used (An and Gower,
2009), and in political crises the conflict frame is the second most used
(Semetko and Valkenburg, 2000). The conflict frame in New Straits Times and
the human-interest frame in China Daily and The New York Times were the
second most used.
This present study’s unique combination of media frames with national interests
and international citizenship in the crisis context is a response to previous quanti-
tative content analysis research. The results extend beyond descriptive analysis to
provide insight about media orientations during an international crisis. Although
each newspaper employed a different focus of responsibility, attribution of
responsibility was the dominant frame, which demonstrates it is the most import-
ant frame even with unknown controllability and ambiguous intentionality. Results
also demonstrate significant differences in national interest frames perhaps partially
influenced by different national media systems and by diplomatic relations between
and among countries, which reinforces the findings of Yan and Kim (2015). This
present study differentiates international citizenship frames and considers the
timing of information dissemination to give a more nuanced understanding of
crisis media frames.
178 the International Communication Gazette 80(2)

Since this present study is one of the first to frame a crisis with ambiguous
causality, additional research to consider national interests and culture, inter-
national citizenship, and media related to a crisis without direct causality is war-
ranted. Specifically, additional research is necessary to understand the interactions
among national interest, international citizenship, and media frames. Furthermore,
replication of this study is important to substantiate its findings. The results of
additional studies combined with the present results have the potential to influence
crisis typology research, attribution theory research, and even paracrisis-focused
research.
Research with a greater sample size beyond English-language newspapers would
be helpful to understand more acutely the frames employed in such crises to reach
domestic and international audiences. Coauthoring with international scholars
who study the culture and understand the nuances of other languages involved
in international crises would strengthen this line of research.
Overall, this study advances theoretical knowledge about media frames within
the context of an aviation crisis with an unknown cause. This study was a unique
exploration of the role of national interest frames and international citizenship
frames in media coverage of the flight MH370 disappearance, a mysterious inter-
national crisis without precedent.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication
of this article.

References
Abas A, Jamaludin MH, Abdullah NI, et al. (2014) Doppler effect used to track jet. New
Straits Times, 26 March, 7.
Akhavan-Majid R and Ramaprasad J (1989) Framing and ideology: A comparative ana-
lysis of U.S. and Chinese newspaper coverage of the Fourth United Nations
Conference on Women and the NGO Forum. Mass Communication and Society 1(3/
4): 131–152.
An SK and Gower KK (2009) How do the news media frame crises? A content analysis of
crisis news coverage. Public Relations Review 35(2): 107–112.
Andres L (2014) Eyes of the world are on us. New Straits Times, 16 March, 23.
Arumugam T (2014) Tripartite meeting positive and productive. New Straits Times, 8 May, 8.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (2016) Joint agency coordination center: MH370 oper-
ational search update. Available at: https://www.atsb.gov.au/mh370-pages/updates/
operational-update/.
Bereciartu GJ (1994) Decline of the Nation-State (Trans. Douglass WA). Las Vegas:
University of Nevada Press.
Bier et al. 179

Bradsher K (2014). Australia to revisit area of Indian Ocean in search for missing jet. The
New York Times, 18 June, A4.
Brewer P (2006) National interest frames and public opinion about world affairs. The
Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 11(4): 89–99.
Brown G (2005) The rough and rosy road: Sites of contestation in Malaysia’s shackled
media industry. Pacific Affairs 78: 39–56.
Bryant J and Miron D (2004) Theory and research in mass communication. Journal of
Communication 54(4): 662–704.
Carragee M and Roefs W (2004) The neglect of power in recent framing research. Journal of
Communication 54(2): 214–233.
Centre for Aviation (2014) Malaysia airlines 1H2015 outlook: More losses as capacity levels
are maintained prior to transition. Available at: http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/
malaysia-airlines-1h2015-outlook-more-losses-as-capacity-levels-are-maintained-prior-
to-transition-201123.
China Daily (2014a) Experts emphasize China’s role in rescue mission, 10 March.
China Daily (2014b) Chinese naval vessels move southward in MH370 search, 16 April.
China Daily (2014c) MH370 families unite so seek answers, 25 August.
Cho SH and Gower KK (2006) Framing effect on the public’s response to crisis: Human
interest frame and crisis type influences responsibility and blame. Public Relations Review
32(4): 420–422.
Coombs WT (2007) Protecting organization reputations during a crisis: The development
and application of situational crisis communication theory. Corporate Reputation Review
10(3): 163–176.
Coombs WT and Holladay SJ (1996) Communication and attribution in a crisis: An experi-
ment study in crisis communication. Journal of Public Relations 8(4): 279–295.
Dai J and Hyun K (2010) Global risk, domestic framing: Coverage of the North Korean
nuclear test by US, Chinese, and South Korean news agencies. Asian Communication
Journal 20(3): 299–317.
Defense News (2013) Defense news top 100 for 2013. Available at: http://special.defense
news.com/top-100/charts/rank_2013.php?c¼FEAands¼T1C.
Dorogi TL (2001) Tainted Perceptions. Lanham, MD: University Press of American.
Downing JDH (1988) Trouble in the backyard: Soviet media reporting on the Afghanistan
conflict. Journal of Communication 38(2): 5–32.
Entman RM (1991) Framing U.S. coverage of international news: Contrasts in narratives of
the KAL and Iran air incidents. Journal of Communication 41(4): 6–27.
Entman RM (1993) Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of
Communication 43(4): 51–58.
Entman RM (2005) Projections of Power: Framing News, Public Opinion, and U.S. Foreign
Policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Feng B and Wong E (2014) Anger over plane turns to frustration. The New York Times, 11
March, A6.
Feng M, Brewer PR and Ley BL (2012) Framing the Chinese baby formula scandal: A
comparative analysis of US and Chinese news coverage. Asian Journal of Communication
22(3): 253–269.
Freitag AR and Stokes AQ (2009) Global Public Relations: Spanning Borders, Spanning
Cultures. New York: Routledge.
180 the International Communication Gazette 80(2)

Gallup (2012) Global index of religiosity and atheism. Available at: http://www.wingia.com/
web/files/news/14/file/14.pdf.
Gamson WA, Croteau D, Hoynes W, et al. (1992) Media images and the social construction
of reality. Annual Review of Sociology 18: 373–393.
Ghanem S (1997) Filling in the tapestry: The second level of agenda setting. In: McCombs
ME, Shaw DL and Weaver DH (eds) Communication and Democracy: Exploring the
Intellectual Frontiers in Agenda-Setting Theory. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum,
pp. 3–14.
Glum J (2016) Flight MH370 update: Search for missing plane prompts victims’ families to
seek legal help from American lawyers. Available at: http://www.ibtimes.com/flight-
mh370-update-search-missing-plane-prompts-victims-families-seek-legal-help-2431672 .
Goffman E (1974) Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. Boston,
MA: Northeastern University Press.
Gotsi M, Lopez C and Andriopoulos C (2011) Building country image through corporate
image: Exploring the factors that influence the image transfer. Journal of Strategic
Marketing 19(3): 255–272.
Grant KB (2014) 2014: Deadly year for flying – But safer than ever. CNBC, 30 December.
Available at: http://www.cnbc.com.
Hachten WA (1987) The World News Prism: Changing Media of International
Communication. Ames: Iowa State University Press.
Hall S (1980) Encoding/decoding. In: Hall S, Hobson D, Lowe A, et al. (eds) Culture, Media,
Language: Working Papers in Cultural Studies, 1972–79. London: Routledge, pp. 128–138.
Hall S (1997) The work of representation. In: Hall S (ed.) Representation: Cultural
Representations and Signifying Practices. London: SAGE, pp. 13–64.
Hamid AJ (2014) Hard decisions lie ahead for MAS. New Straits Times, 27 March, 6.
Hassid J and Repnikova M (2016) Why Chinese print journalists embrace the Internet.
Journalism 17(7): 882–898.
The Hofstede Center (n.d.) Available at: http://geert-hofstede.com.
Hook SW and Pu X (2006) Framing Sino-American relations under stress: A reexamination
of news coverage of the 2001 spy plane crisis. Asian Affairs: An American Review 33(3):
167–183.
Hou L and Zhu X (2014) ‘I know what they are feeling.’ China Daily, 19 July.
Hume J (2010) Memory matters: The evolution of scholarship in collective memory and
mass communication. The Review of Communication 10: 181–196.
Hussain H, Abas A, David A, et al. (2014a) ‘We will spare nothing in our search efforts’.
New Straits Times, 14 March, 3.
Hussain H, Abas A, Dermawan A, et al. (2014b) Regent: It’s heart-wrenching. New Straits
Times, 1 April, 7.
Hussain H, Karim, FN, Abas A, et al. (2014c) Netizens show they care. New Straits Times,
17 March, 5.
International Air Transport Association (2014) Annual review. Available at: http://www.
iata.org/publications/Documents/iata-annual-review-2014-en.pdf.
Jalarajan Raj A and Sreekumar R (2012) Covenant cog or functional fourth estate: A survey
of Malaysian journalists’ attitude towards their profession. Jurnalism si Comunicare 7(1):
16–32.
Bier et al. 181

Jamieson A and Ciganinero J (2015) MH370 flaperon is confirmed as first debris from
missing Malaysian flight. Available at: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-jet/
mh370-flaperon-confirmed-first-debris-missing-malaysia-flight-n421061.
Knight MG (1999) Getting past the impasse: Framing as a tool for public relations. Public
Relations Review 25(3): 381–398.
Kucherenko VV and Christen CT (2014) Ability to spot and resist manipulated news media
about international affairs: Does political knowledge provide it? Central European
Journal of Communication 12: 51–66.
Latif R (2014) Najib: Real-time tracking of aircraft long overdue. New Straits Times, 15
May, 2.
Lee BK (2004) Audience-oriented approach to crisis communication: A study of Hong Kong
consumers’ evaluation of an organizational crisis. Communication Research 31(5):
600–618.
Lee CC, Li H and Lee FLF (2011) Symbolic use of decisive events: Tiananmen as a news
icon in the editorials of the elite U.S. press. The International Journal of Press/Politics
16(3): 335–356.
Lee ST and Basnyat I (2013) From press release to news: Mapping the framing of the 2009
H1N1 A influenza pandemic. Health Communication 28(2): 119–132.
Li X (2003) National interest and coverage of U.S.-China relations: A content analysis of
The New York Times and People’s Daily (1987–1996). International Communication
Bulletin 38: 29–41.
Lingan L (2014) Union’s quit demand to CEO draws flak. New Straits Times, 27 March, 12.
Liu B and Pennington-Gray L (2015) Bed bugs bite the hospitality industry? A framing
analysis of bed bug news coverage. Tourism Management 48: 33–42.
Luther CA and Zhou X (2005) Within the boundaries of politics: News framing of SARS in
China and the United States. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 82(4): 857–872.
McCombs ME (2005) A look at agenda-setting: Past, present and future. Journalism Studies
6(4): 543–557.
McCombs ME, Llamas JP, Lopez-Escobar E, et al. (1997) Candidate images in Spanish
elections: Second-Level agenda-setting effects. Journalism and Mass Communication
Quarterly 74(4): 703–717.
McLuskey M and Kim YM (2012) Moderatism or polarization: Representations of advo-
cacy groups’ ideology in newspapers. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly
89(4): 565–584.
Malaysia Airlines (2014) Malaysia Airlines flight incident (news release). Available at: http://
www.malaysiaairlines.com/my/en/site/mh370.html.
Malaysia Airlines’ future still uncertain (2016) Available at: http://www.skynews.com.au/
news/world/asiapacific/2016/03/08/malaysia-airlines–future-still-uncertain.html.
Mao Z (2014) Cosmopolitanism and global risk: News framing of the Asian finan-
cial crisis and the European debt crisis. International Journal of Communication 8:
1029–1048.
Massey BL (2000) How three Southeast-Asian newspapers framed ‘‘The Haze’’ of 1997–98.
Asian Journal of Communication 10(1): 72–94.
Mehra A (1993) Introduction. In: Mehra A (ed.) Press Systems in ASEAN States. Singapore:
Asian Media Information and Communication, pp. 1–11.
182 the International Communication Gazette 80(2)

Menon V (1998) Forward. In: Latif A (ed.) Walking the Tightrope: Press Freedom and
Professional Standards in Asia. Singapore: Asian Media Information and
Communication, pp. iv–iiiv.
Missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 (2014) Available at: http://www.news.com.au/world/
missing-malaysia-airlines-mh370-a-media-challenge/story-fndir2ev-1226859718262.
Molleda JC (2011) Advancing the theory of cross-national conflict shifting: A case discus-
sion and quantitative content analysis of a transnational crisis’ newswire coverage.
International Journal of Strategic Communication 5(1): 49–70.
Neuendorf KA (2002) The Content Analysis Guidebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Neuman WR, Just MR and Crigler AN (1992) Common Knowledge. Chicago, IL: University
of Chicago Press.
New Straits Times (2014) Cyber troopers ‘out to tarnish image’, 8 April.
New York Times (2014) Frustration turns to anger over missing flight, 10 March.
Nossek H (2004) Our new and their news: The role of national identity in the coverage of
foreign news. Journalism 5(3): 343–368.
Novais RA (2007) National influence in foreign news. The International Communication
Gazette 69(6): 553–573.
Orgeret KS (2010) Mediated culture and the well-informed global citizen: Images of Africa
in the global north. Nordicom Review 31(2): 47–61.
Ostini J and Fung AYF (2002) Beyond the four theories of the press: A new model of
national media systems. Mass Communication and Society 5(1): 41–56.
Paletz DL and Vinson CD (1994) Constructing content and delimiting choice: International
coverage of KAL Flight 007. Argumentation 8: 357–370.
Palmlund I (1992) Social drama and risk evaluation. In: Krimsky S and Golding D (eds)
Social Theories of Risk. Westport, CT: Praeger, pp. 197–212.
Palmlund I (2009) Risk and social dramaturgy. In: Heath RL and O’Hair HD (eds)
Handbook of Risk and Crisis Communication. New York: Routledge, pp. 192–204.
Pan ZP and Kosicki GM (1993) Framing analysis: An approach to news discourse. Political
Communication 10(1): 55–75.
Park H and Reber BH (2010) Using public relations to promote health: A framing analysis
of public relations strategies among health associations. Journal of Health
Communication 15(1): 39–54.
Park J (2013) Contrasts in the coverage of Korea and Japan by US television networks: A
frame analysis. International Communication Gazette 65(2): 145–164.
Park S, Bier LM and Palenchar MJ (2016) Framing a mystery: Information subsidies
and media coverage of Malaysia Airlines flight 370. Public Relations Review 42(4):
654–664.
Paterson CA (1999) Agency source influence on television foreign reporting: Case of
Mururoa and Tahiti. Asia Pacific Media Educator 7(2): 16–36.
Pert A (2014) Australia as a Good International Citizen. Annandale: The Federation Press.
Pinsdorf MK (1991) Flying different skies: How cultures respond to airline disasters. Public
Relations Review 17(1): 37–56.
Quest R (2016) The Vanishing of Flight MH370: The True Story of the Hunt for the Missing
Malaysian Plane. New York: Berkley.
Ramanathan S (2016) Cross-cultural perspectives and influences in reporting airline disas-
ters: The MH370 episode. Media Asia 43(1): 23–34.
Bier et al. 183

Riffe D, Lacy S and Fico FG (2005) Analyzing Media Messages: Using Quantitative Content
Analysis in Research. New York: Routledge.
Ruigrok PC and van Atteveldt W (2007) Global angling with a local angle: How U.S.,
British, and Dutch newspapers frame global and local terrorist attacks. The Harvard
International Journal of Press and Politics 12(1): 68–90.
Said EW (1993) Culture and Imperialism. New York: Knopf.
Sani MAM (2005) Media freedom in Malaysia. Journal of Contemporary Asia 35(3):
341–367.
Santos CA, Tainsky S, Schmidt KA, et al. (2013) Framing the octagon: An analysis of news-
media coverage of mixed martial arts. International Journal of Sport Communication 6(1):
66–86 .
Schattle H (2015) Global citizenship as a national project: The evolution of segye shimin in
South Korean public discourse. Citizenship Studies 19(1): 53–68.
Scherer DA (2016) The FCC’s rules and policies regarding media ownership, attribution,
and ownership diversity. Journal of Current Issues in Media and Telecommunications 8(1):
45–66.
Scheufele DA and Tewksbury D (2007) Framing, agenda setting, and priming: The evolu-
tion of three media effects models. Journal of Communication 57(1): 9–20.
Schultz F, Kleinnijenhuis J, Oegema D, et al. (2012) Strategic framing in the BP crisis: A
semantic network analysis of associative frames. Public Relations Review 38(1): 97–107.
Semetko HA and Valkenburg PM (2000) Framing European politics: A content analysis of
press and television news. Journal of Communication 50(2): 93–109.
Shoemaker PJ and Reese SD (1996) Mediating the Message: Theories of Influences on Mass
Media Content. London: Longman.
Steele J (2011) Justice and journalism: Islam and journalistic values in Indonesia and
Malaysia. Journalism 12(5): 533–549.
Steele J (2013) ‘Trial by the press’: An examination of journalism, ethics, and Islam in
Indonesia and Malaysia. The International Journal of Press/Politics 18(3): 342–359.
Tai Z and Sun T (2007) Media dependencies in a changing media environment: The case of
the 2003 SARS epidemic in China. New Media and Society 9(6): 987–1009.
Taylor M and Kent ML (1999) Challenging assumptions of international public relations:
When government is the most important public. Public Relations Review 25(2): 131–144.
Tunstall J (1977) The Media are American. Anglo-American Media in the World. London:
Constable.
Van Gorp B (2007) The constructionist approach to framing: Bringing culture back in.
Journal of Communication 57(1): 60–78.
Vankin J (2016) Watch ‘60 Minutes’ Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 story stream online:
Cover-up of ‘‘rogue pilot’’ taking plane, program charges. Available at: http://www.
inquisitr.com/3367944/malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-60-minutes/.
Vincent RC, Crow BK and Davis DK (1989) When technology fails: The drama of airline
crashes in network television news. Journalism Monographs 117: 46–54.
Wardell J (2014) Search for MH370 to be most expensive in aviation history. Reuters.
Available at: http://www.reuters.com.
Westcott B (2016) Third piece of plane wreckage confirmed as MH370 debris. CNN, 7
October. Available at: http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/07/asia/mh370-mauritius-debris-
confirmed/.
184 the International Communication Gazette 80(2)

Willnat L and Wong WJ (2013) Online media and political participation: The case of
Malaysia. Mass Communication and Society 16: 557–585.
World Press Freedom Index (2014) Available at: https://rsf.org/index2014.
Yan Y and Kim Y (2015) Framing the crisis by one’s seat: A comparative study of news-
paper frames of the Asiana crash in the U.S.A., Korea, and China. Asian Journal of
Communication 25(5): 486–506.
Zaremba AJ (1988) Mass Communication and International Politics: A Case Study of Press
Reactions to the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Salem, WI: Sheffield.
Zhang Y, Jin Y and Tang Y (2015) Framing depression: Cultural and organizational influ-
ences on coverage of a public health threat and attribution of responsibilities in Chinese
news media, 2000–2012. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 92(1): 99–120.
Zhao L (2014) Calls for patience despite progress. China Daily, 7 April.
Zhao Y (2000) From commercialization to conglomeration: The transformation of the
Chinese press within the orbit of the party state. Journal of Communication 50(2): 3–26.