Journalism and Media

This study conducts a comparative content analysis of media coverage of the Russia–Ukraine war by China Global Television Network (CGTN) and Voice of America (VOA), focusing on emotional content and framing strategies. Analyzing 4997 articles from CGTN and 4975 articles from VOA, the study examines how each outlet emphasizes emotions such as neutrality, anger, fear, and hope. The findings reveal that CGTN predominantly adopts a neutral and analytical tone, prioritizing geopolitical implications; in contrast, VOA employs a more emotionally charged approach, highlighting the humanitarian crisis and expressing solidarity with Ukraine. While CGTN emphasizes hope and diplomatic solutions, VOA underscores anger and fear to justify international intervention and support for Ukraine. The contrasting framing strategies reflect the geopolitical interests of China and the U.S., with CGTN positioning China as a mediator advocating for peace and stability, and VOA framing Russia as the aggressor to bolster Western democratic values. By leveraging divergent emotional narratives, both media outlets serve the strategic objectives of their countries, shape global perceptions, and garner public support for their respective policies. This study contributes to understanding how emotional framing functions as a strategic tool in international media coverage during geopolitical conflicts.

Stickers, as an important nonverbal communication affordance on social media, have been understudied in Western contexts. This study employed an online survey (N = 300) to test two competing hypotheses—the social compensation and withdrawal hypotheses—to examine how personality traits influenced sticker use for emotional expression and self-presentation among U.S. college students. Results demonstrated that when communicating with a new friend on their mobile messenger, participants used stickers more frequently for self-presentation than emotional expression. Moreover, loneliness was positively related to neuroticism and negatively related to agreeableness and extraversion. Neuroticism was negatively related to sticker use for both emotional expression and self-presentation. However, neuroticism had a positive, indirect effect on both patterns of sticker use via loneliness. Furthermore, both a direct, positive relationship and an indirect, negative relationship emerged between extraversion and sticker use for emotional expression, with loneliness serving as the mediator. Theoretical and practical implications were also discussed.

Citizen journalism is gaining increasing popularity as a means of distributing information using digital technology. As technology continues to improve, particularly in the realms of social media and mobile technology, direct involvement and creation of content are becoming more accessible to individual users. Digital media platforms promote and facilitate public engagement in processes of decision-making. They enhance the dissemination of information, promote transparency, and ensure accountability. The aim of this research is to elucidate the impact of digital technologies on user engagement in citizen journalism. This research also identifies pull factors that inspire individuals to engage in user-generated content creation and promotion. A qualitative approach was used to understand the motivation for citizens to practice journalism. Purposive sampling was used to select the samples. Young citizen journalists, media professionals, and citizen journalism platform coordinators were interviewed. KII (Key Informant Interviews) and IDI (In-Depth Interviews) were conducted using unstructured questionnaires to collect qualitative data, which were analyzed thematically. The results of this study show that the involvement of citizens in journalism has increased due to the emergence of the internet, digital platforms, and mobile technologies.