Factors determining International News:

A Case of Tibetan Protest in Nepal

Ujjwal Prajapati

Research Paper (2010)

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Contents

Page No.

1. Introduction 3-4

1.1 Background 4-6

1.2 Context of Tibetan Protest in Nepal 6-7

2. Theoretical Perspective 8-11

3. Methodology 11-12

4. Findings and Analysis 12

4.1 Timeliness and Proximity 13-14

4.2 Framing of the news 14-18

4.3 Uses of sources 18-22

5. Conclusion 22

References 23-25

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Factors determining International News: A Case of

Tibetan Protest in Nepal

1. Introduction

March 10 marks the commemoration of the Tibetan uprising against the Chinese occupation.

Thousands of Tibetan refugees around the world commemorate this event with anti-China

protest. The international media flock around for the coverage, which has now become a

calander journalism. Being a journalist from Nepal, I have closely witnessed this event,

where foreign as well as Nepali journalists working for the international media seem more

interested in covering the event. However, it does not mean that media in Nepal did not cover

the issue. But it is necessary to consider the prominence given to this issue by foreign

journalist.

On March 10, 2007, while I was reporting on the first phase of resettlement of Bhutanese 1

Refugees in the third country, I observed that international media were interested in Tibetan

protest, whereas, national media followed the issue of Bhutanese refugees. While reporting

for the story of Bhutanese refugees, I was searching for a neutral person to talk about the

issue; hence, I decided to choose a journalist from BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)

Nepali Service2 correspondent and interviewed him on the issue of Bhutanese refugee‟s

resettlement. Later, when I asked him whether BBC was carrying the story, he told me that

they were „running the Tibetan protest‟. Since this very moment, it has always been the

subject of my study to understand why international media consider Tibetan refugees issue

and protests in Nepal as their major issues.

The focal point in most of the literature so far has been to understand determinant factors of

news value on the basis of powerful and elite nation. However, in case of Tibetan refugees, it

1 Bhutanese refugees are Nepali origin ethnic g roup known as Lhotshampa of Bhutan. These Lhostshampa were

seen as a threat to political order in Bhutan and was driven out of Bhutan in the beginning of 1990s. Since then

more than 100, 000 Bhutanese refugees have been living in seven different camps of eastern Nepal. Since, 2007,

third country resettlement process has begun among which more than 20, 000 Bhutanese refugees have been resettled in different parts of the world.

2 BBC Nepali Service is Nepali language radio news programme. It started its service in 1969. It is based in

London and has its news team and are supported by correspondents in Kathmandu and stringers across Nepal.

The programmes are broadcast for half-an-hour at 1500 GMT every day on shortwave and on BBC 103 FM in

Kathmandu and are re -broadcast by around 30 partners FM stations across Nepal.

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is interesting to explain why the issues of small nation like Nepal gets attention in

international media when the issues related to the powerful country, China appear.

This aforementioned case seem consistent with Herbert‟s argument, “The political power of a

country or geographical region makes an event news worthy and provides political incentives

for international media organizations to allocate media resources and attention to them.

Politically insignificant countries gain great attention from western media when events

happening there threaten western interests” (Herbert, 2001, p.48). Yet, needs further

explanation on the context of Nepal.

This term paper tries to explain some determining factors for international news coverage and

the extent of coverage provided by the international news media during the Tibetan protest in

Nepal. The importance of small country like Nepal should also be viewed by its geo-political

position sandwiched between the China and India, where it is home of second largest Tibetan

refugees after India and also of its one China3 diplomatic policy. In this paper, I discuss how

the weak state (Nepal) that borders the powerful neighbour (China) is covered during the

Tibetan protest in Nepal and, how news value of timeliness and proximity is determined in

the coverage of weak state linking with the powerful nation by the West based international

media.

The paper is structured as follow. First, I have looked into the background of the event and its

contextual aspect. Then, I have briefly discussed on the theoretical perspective on how news

value is determined in different contexts by the media. The third part is the analysis on the

basis of findings, where I have discussed the determinant aspects of news by the international

news media on the basis of framing of protest and the use of sources during the protest.

1.1 Background

Since the invasion of Tibet by the Chinese forces towards the end of 1950s, hundreds of

thousands of Tibetan have fled to take refuge in different parts of the world. After the

invasion, Tibetan spiritual leader, the fourteenth Dalai Lama sought asylum in India, where

he was followed by thousands of his followers. Since then, Tibetans have fled to seek refuge

3 One China policy: The One-China Policy is a requirement for any polit ical entity to establish diplomatic

relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC). The PRC has traditionally attempted to get nations to

recognize that "the Government of the People's Republic o f China is the sole legal government of China. Nepal

has been maintaining one China policy since its diplomatic relat ions in 1950s.

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and mostly they reside in India and Nepal. Nepal provides shelter to more than 20,000

Tibetan refugees (UNHCR, 2010). The Refugee Welfare Office situated in Kathmandu began

operation after the Dalai Lama fled into exile to India in 1959, and has helped to ensure the

safety and well-being of tens of thousands of Tibetans crossing into Nepal from Tibet, many

of them on their way to India and the United States. However, it has been a standard policy of

Nepal not to call them “refugees” but rather citizens of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)

of China, “illegally” entering into Nepal. With the informal arrangement or “gentleman‟s

agreement” between the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Nepalese

government, the refugees can transit safely through Nepal and seek refuge and assistance

from the Tibetan government in- exile in India. But the operation of this informal

arrangement appears to be breaking down in practice.

With nudges from Beijing, the Nepali administration sometimes hands over identified

activists in the guise of refugees to the Chinese police and even closes down the Refugee

Welfare Office like it did in January 2005 (Pandey, 2006, p. 6). The Refugee Welfare Office

has occasionally been shut down and re-registration denied, following pressures from China

(Pandey, 2006, p. 2). This is done when the refugees begin engaging in anti-China activities

that irate the Nepal government. Nepal endures one china policy, where it would not allow

any activities in Nepali soil that threaten Chinese sovereignty.

The issue of Tibetan refugees has been a great interest to the Western countries – and the

Western Countries are widely believed to have been supporting the refugees. In 2003, Nepal

handed back escaping refugees to China and received international condemnation including

that from the United States senators, the State Department, the European Union

parliamentarians and the UNHCR itself. Human rights organizations, in criticizing the action

said, “It has set a frightening precedent for the treatment of Tibetans trying to flee to safety”

(Pandey, 2006, p. 6). The closure of Refugee Welfare Office in Nepal was denounced. Nepal

is still considered as easy entry and transit point by the Beijing. “Nepal government itself gets

caught by surprise such as in the case of the fleeing Karmappa Lama in 2000, where he was

supposed to have used a helicopter from within its territory and then travelled to India where

he still lives in exile” (Pandey, 2006, p. 6).

The Tibetan refugees receive international assistance, where different governments in the

world share different viewpoints. Some view the support being on the humanitarian ground,

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while others term it a democratic issue. “Swiss intergovernmental organizations portray them

as a humanitarian concern whereas US intergovernmental organizations emphasize their

efforts to develop democracy” (Frechette, 2002, p. 194).

It points out to the fact that, Nepal being a transit point for the Tibetan refugees where more

than 20,000 Tibetan refugees live is centre of attraction for international community. The

issue has been increasingly gaining significant currency especially in the context where the

world‟s rising economic power China has been asserting its power in the global context as

well.

1.2 Context of Tibetan Protest in Nepal

Context is very important factor to understand any part of an event; the case of Tibetan

Protest in Nepal needs to be explored on the basis of historical significance and the

consequences that led to the protest ahead of Beijing Olympics. Let me describe the

background context that led to Tibetan protest worldwide and the reasons why series of

protest in Nepal before 2008 Beijing Olympics appear.

Six months ahead of the Beijing Olympics, hundreds of Tibetan monks protested demanding

for release of the arrested monks and for religious freedom. The demonstration began to mark

the 49th anniversary of the failed uprising against the Chinese invasion on 10th March, 1959.

Within a week, there were several protests in different parts of Tibet, which later resulted to

attack on non-Tibetan ethnic groups. This led to rioting, burning, looting and killings on

March 14th 2008. In reaction the authorities deployed People‟s Armed Police to contend the

situation. The BBC reported seeing over 400 troop carriers mobilizing into Tibet, which

would represent a deployment of up to 4000 troops (Wikipedia). The authorities also ordered

all the foreign journalists to leave Lhasa.

Only one of the foreign correspondents, James Miles from The Economist gained the

approval for a weeklong trip in rioting areas. In an interview to CNN, he was asked if Dalai

Lama was responsible for the riots. He responded he “didn't see any evidence of any

organized activity” and that “it‟s more likely that what we saw was yes inspired by a general

desire of Tibetans both inside Tibet and among the Dalai Lama‟s followers, to take advantage

of the Olympic year” (CNN, 2008).

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The clamping down on protestors by the police also resulted to international condemnation

and laid concerns about the human rights conditions. Since the lighting of Olympic torch in

Greece in 24th March, 2008, Free Tibetan campaigners protested throughout its journey

across the globe.

Nepal the southern border to Tibet, also witnessed protest by the Tibetan refugees. Tibetans

launched demonstrations in Kathmandu since March 10, 2008 against what they call „Chinese

crackdown against Tibetan protestors in Lhasa‟. On occasions, the police in Nepal have been

brutal on protestors, Tibetan protestors and human rights organizations allege.

During this period, protest was a form of daily routine of the refugees, where Nepalese

authorities arrested the protestors. The protest was postponed during the April for the

Constituent Assembly election in Nepal. “Nepal Tibet Solidarity Committee (NTSC)

announced it was putting off its demonstrations in Kathmandu from April 7 in view of the

approaching Constituent Assembly (CA) election” (The Kathmandu Post, 2008).

Onset of this event, Chinese authorities, on the other hand, was very much concerned with the

regular pro-Tibet demonstration in Nepal. They laid serious concerns. Chinese Ambassador

to Nepal Zheng Xiangling claimed that Tibetans have been carrying out their protests in

Kathmandu with backing from „foreigners‟ and some human rights groups (Nepalnews.com,

2008). Chinese Ambassador Zheng said that the pro-Tibet demonstration was a drama, and

emphasised that the Nepal government should apply strict measures against the “anarchists”,

complaining that the action against the protesters, especially the quick release of those

apprehended, is insufficient (Nepalnews.com, 2008).

After the elections, the Tibetan protest continued ahead of the Olympic Game. “Hundreds of

angry Tibetans held protests in Nepal as the Olympic Games open in the Chinese capital,

Beijing. Police in Kathmandu made nearly 1,300 arrests as protesters rallied near the Chinese

consular building” (BBC World, 2008).

Given the background and context of the Tibetan protest in Nepal, in this part I try to discuss

the issue in relation with the theoretical perspective to understand the determinants of news

by the international media.

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2. Theoretical Perspective

Different scholars in their research have identified different aspects according to the context

of determinants of news by the different media. Determinants in field of international news

have been centre of attraction of study and scholarly discussion. Early researches have

focused on the subjective character of news selection decisions, later emphasize was given to

systematic influences on selection of news that can be considered as „organizational‟ or

„ideological‟ (McQuail, 2000, p. 277). The subjective pattern of news selection dealt

primarily to bureaucratic routines based on individual judgement, which deals with

gatekeeping process long developed in 1922 by Walter Lipmann. He notes, „without

standardization, without stereotypes, without routine judgements, without a fairly ruthless

disregard of subtlety, the editor would soon die of excitement‟ (Lippmann, 1922, p. 123 cited

in McQuail, 2000, p.277).

Alternative explanations to that of subjective individual judgement were emphasized, where

cultural influences that stem from the social and national setting of news activity were

studied. However, subsequent researches based on the content of the news media were

consistently predictable and different media houses behave in similar way when confronted

by same events and conditions (McQuail, 2000, p. 277). Likewise, there appears to be a

stable perception on the part of news decision makers about what is likely to interest an

audience and a good deal of consensus within the same social-cultural settings (Hetherington,

1985 cited in McQuail, 2000, p. 278).

One of such earliest studies carried out by John Galtung and Mari Ruge in their study of

Structure of Foreign News in Norwegian Newspaper provides alternative explanations to that

of subjective individual judgement. Their major concern regarding the events becoming news

led to understanding about the different factors which is commonly accepted as news values.

Their study pointed out 12 determinant factors of the news. According to them frequency,

threshold, unambiguity, meaningfulness, consonance, unexpectedness, continuity,

composition, reference to elite nations, reference to elite people, reference to persons,

reference to something negative are the factors that help to determine news (Galtung and

Ruge, 1965, p. 84-85).

McQuail suggests that the main factors that influence eventual choice can be considered

„people‟, „place‟ and „time‟, usually in one combination or another. Alongside or built into

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these features, however, are questions of cost and of audience appeal (McQuail, 2000, p.

279).

News selection factors:

Power and fame of individuals involved in events.

Personal contacts of reporters

Location of events

Location of power

Predictability and routine

Proximity to the audience of people and events in the news

Recency and timeliness of events

Timing in relation to the news cycle

(Source: McQuail, 2000, p. 284)

Revisiting Galtung and Ruge‟s findings on what is news, Harcup and O‟ne ill point out

practical aspect of day to day reporting cannot be ruled out. Considering Galtung and Ruge‟s

point they determined ten requirements, they are: the power elite stories, celebrity,

entertainment, surprise, bad news, good news, magnitude, relevance, follow up and

newspaper agenda (Harcup and O‟neill, 2001, p.279). However, the study of Galtung and

Ruge is important in understanding the news values has hypothesized that the event become

news, the more they fitted certain organizational and also some cultural or „ideological‟

criteria. The ideological news factors described by Galtung and Ruge refer mainly to values

that are embedded in Western society – especially those which stem from an individualist and

materialist philosophy (McQuail, 2000, p. 278). Though Galtung and Ruge concept of news

values helps us identify the formal elements within the construction of news, they don't

explain the ideological meanings behind such rules (Harcup and O‟neill, 2001, p.265).

Applying Marxist perspective, Stuart Hall argues that news value should take into

consideration of the ideological structure as it helps us to make sense of the world. “News

values are one of the most opaque structures of meaning in modern society... News values

appear as a set of neutral, routine practices: but we need also, to see formal news values as an

ideological structure- to examine these rules as the formalization and operationalisation of an

ideology of news” ( Hall, 1973, p 181, 235 cited in Harcup and O‟neill, 2001, p. 265). News

values can be seen as a deep structure or a cultural map that journalists use to help them make

sense of the world (Hall, 1978, p. 54 cited in Harcup and O‟neill, 2001, p. 265).

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Although Galtung and Ruge framework suggests predictive pattern of one general kind of

news „bias‟, it does not offer a complete explanation of all regularities of news composition

(McQuail, 2000, p. 343). Alternative approach to explanation has been offered, where it is

argued several features of news flows can be accounted for political and economic factors.

(Rosengren, 1974 cited in McQuail, 2000, p. 334).

Einar Östgaard points out that the factors to the news processing can mostly be grouped as

political and economic. Providing theoretical approaches in understanding the influencing

factors in news flow, “the influences of the sources... are largely of political nature, if we see

attempts to control economic and business news also as having in the main political

purposes” (Östgaard, 1965, p.42). Östgaard summed up factors of both a political and an

economic nature has a hampering influence on the flow of news. In addition to factors

inherent in the news process, such as simplification of the news, identification with news

(proximity in geography and culture) and sensationalism, he indicated that government

control of the mass media by censorship and economic considerations also affects the flow of

news among countries. He points out that, those, who control the political and economic life

of a nation, are likely to influence the news flow.

Offering proposition about the determinants of news and information flow among national

system through international relation perspective Hester(1973) pointed out the hierarchy of

nations, cultural affinities and economic association between nations, and news and

information conflicts. The hierarchical factors include physical size, population, economic

development, and the length of existence as a sovereign nation. Factors of cultural affinity

include a common language, the amount of migration between nations, the amount of travel

between nations and historical relationship such as mother country- colony status. The

economic association involves international trade, the amount of foreign aid given or

received and the amount of business investments between nations (Hester 1973 cited in

Chang et al., 1987, p. 399).

Other factors may include societal values, proposed by Gans (1979): ethnocentrism, altruistic

democracy, responsible capitalism, moderatism, social order and national leadership. These

societal values obviously will come into play when journalists decide which international

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events should get covered or be given more space or time (Gins cited in Chang et al., 1987, p.

400).

As discussed earlier, the issue of Tibetan refugee is supported by international community in

the West, let me analyze the issue on the basis of political dimension about how small

country like Nepal is covered regarding the Tibetan refugee issue. I argue here that the

determining factors are also considered while the international news media report on this

issue.

3. Methodology

In order to understand the determining factors of international news in small country relations

with powerful neighbour, I have used the case study strategy. The strategy is useful to

understand the phenomena and the context to explain determinant of the news.

The news reports of the international media has been selected through the online archives

based on Tibetan refugees protests. For the study, two international media has been selected.

The New York Times and BBC online edition and the available videos used during the period

have been the main sources of this essay paper. The study has not incorporated other

international media from China‟s CCTV 9, because the objective of this paper is just to

explain how the Western media portrays a geopolitically important country like Nepal,

regarding the issue of Tibetan refugees. These two media have been chosen because it

focuses on the international coverage with their correspondents around the world. I have

selected 6 months period of content of coverage from 10th of March to 31st August, 2008. I

have used the search engine of the chosen media institutions and also the external search

engines like google.com to find out the news items. The number of results is based according

to search results. I have used the key word, „Tibetan Protests in Nepal‟ to search for the news

items. The search engine provides large data but the news items are further selected on the

basis of given time frame.

Why online news content?

The question may arise, on the choice of medium used for the content analysis. Does it matter

when online news content of the traditional news media has been chosen in the study? Yes,

the medium does matter, because every medium has its own characteristics. However, I have

chosen the online news content because the news organizations post the news that have been

broadcasted and published by the concerned news organization. The news content published

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in the web is the same although the presentation in online edition differs with convergence of

audio visual and text. The theme of the news is the same as they have been reported written

by the same journalist. Thus far, this essay focuses on the issue not the medium itself either it

is print, broadcast or online. It is basically the use of content by the two organizations, which

have the online editions. It is also because access to the old contents through newspaper

edition and broadcast material is not easily available, so, online edition is considered the best

choice to conduct the study. However, a disadvantage in finding out the total number of

accurate content published in the web needs to be considered as some of the web contents are

removed. So, it may not appear during the search of the content. This is one of the weak

points in doing such research.

My analysis will focus on the framing of the news event, the use of source and the factors

that determine international news by these media. The analysis will focus on the basis of

findings from the content to the extent of coverage provided by the international news media.

I will look into the quantitative data and analyze the events coverage whether it has met the

news value such timeliness and proximity. I will also look into the text of the content to

analyze the sources and the framing of the news event to understand the political dimension

of the event.

4. Findings and Analysis

Given the context of Nepal‟s position on the issue of Tibetan refugees and the protest in

Nepal before the Beijing Olympics, 2008, the following chapter deals with the coverage of

the BBC World and The New York Times and its analysis on the basis of findings.

Coverage of Tibetan Protest

BBC World News The New York Times (NYT)

Month News Photographs Multimedia News Photographs Multimedia Total

March 6 13 4 7 6 2 38

April 10 15 x x x x 25

May 3 4 x 1 x x 8

June 1 1 x x x x 2

July 1 x x x x x 1

August 2 3 x 1 1 x 7

Total 23 36 4 9 7 2 81 *Multimedia: Audio visual materials.

* x= No coverage

Note: Above data is based on web with the key search word „Tibetan Protests in Nepal.‟

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4.1 Timeliness and Proximity

Timeliness is one of the important factor how media selects an event to be a news. McQuail

points out timeliness as an essential ingredient of both novelty and relevance, both of which

are highly prized in news (Mc Quail, 2000, p. 282). Some news events rely on „continuity‟

news and on pre scheduled or non –scheduled. McQuail points out that although pre-planned

events make up large part of the routine news coverage, there are occasions when planned

events of a non-routine kind can take on a special significance. There are may be occasions

when either event organizers or the media themselves are in a position to influence the way

news is reported by fulfilling their own wishes or expectation (Mc Quail, 2000, p. 283).

According to the data in the table, timeliness of the event has played an important role in

selection of the Tibetan protest as news. Since, 10th of March marked series of worldwide

protest. It was since that very day the protests in Nepal also occurred. The data points out that

both the media do have significant coverage during the month of March, where they have

used more photographs and audio visual materials. It was during the month of March, when

demonstration in Tibet started. It was also in the same month when the Olympic torch was lit

in the Greece to travel round the globe to reach Beijing on August. Time has been a major

factor for the coverage of the event during the month of March. Likewise, coverage of event

is also marked before the Olympics game in Beijing, where hundreds of protestors were

arrested.

Likewise, the context is the start of protest in Tibet that led to r iots and lootings resulted to

using force by the Chinese authorities became an international concern. As international

media representatives were ordered to leave Tibet during the protest, the real situation inside

Tibet was unknown to the rest of the world. So, the most suitable place where international

media could report from was Nepal. Here, the proximity of the Nepal being a southern border

to China, which is also the transit route to the Tibetans, needs to be considered.

In the similar way, the data also points out that the coverage of news has declined since

March and there is slight increase in August. Though there was less coverage in the month of

June and July, the continuity factor of the news coverage is one of the aspects behind the

coverage. As Galtung and Ruge in their research have mentioned that once an event has

become news it remains in the media spotlight for sometime even if its amplitude has been

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greatly reduced – because it has become familiar and easier to interpret. Continuing coverage

also acts to justify the attention an event attracted in the first place.

Looking into the data we see that there is less coverage of news in the NYT than the BBC.

All the news reports of NYT were reported from the New Delhi dateline, India whereas BBC

correspondent was present in the field. Does the presence of reporter in the field also affect

the extent of coverage of news? Looking into the data, it does point out to one aspect about

the reporter in the field affects the extent of coverage from the place.

Though timing and proximity of the place affects the news values, a question needs to be

whether it is major aspect behind the coverage provided by the international media. It needs

to be explained as China‟s growing influential in the world - and the big state influential

aspect towards the small state needs to be considered. In furthering the analysis below, I

discuss the political aspect of the issue, and it is done on the basis of the framing of the issues

and use of sources by the media.

4.2 Framing of the News

Considering the factor of timeliness and proximity in covering a news event in a country like

Nepal, it is also necessary to understand how the events have been covered. So, framing of

the news by the international media is another important aspect of how the news is valued by

the international media. In a journalistic context, stories are given meaning by reference to

some particular „news values‟ that connects one event with other similar ones (McQuail,

2000, p. 343). Therefore, start of protest in Tibet cannot be limited within its boundary; the

protest in Nepal was also of the same nature.

Willam A. Gamson and Gadi Wolfsfeld argue in their paper that movements and media are

both in the business of interpreting events, along with other non-movement actors who have

stake in them. The events do not speak for themselves but must be woven into some larger

story line or frame. They take their meaning form the frame in which they are embedded. A

frame is a central organizing idea, suggesting what an issue is (Gamson & Wolfsfeld, 1993,

p. 117-118). In the case of Tibetan exile protest in Nepal, both the media have portrayed the

street protests as a human right issue, where the Nepalese authorities are framed as being

serving to the powerful Chinese interests to dominate the protest.

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Tankard (2001, p.101) suggests a list of 11 framing mechanism or focal points for identifying

and measuring news frames: (1) headlines, (2) subheads, (3) photos, (4)photo captions, (5)

leads, (6) source selection, (7) quotes, (8) pull quotes, (9) logos, (10) statistics and charts and

(11) concluding statement and paragraphs (Tankard, 2001, p.101 in Claes H. de Vreese,

2005, p. 54).

Some headlines of two media read as follows:

BBC World News: China urges Nepal to act on Tibet, Nepal warns Olympic protesters,

Nepal action on Tibet 'excessive', Nepal arrests 560 Tibetan women, Tibetan children in

Nepal protest. Nepal bans reporting from Everest

The New York Times: Nepal Puts Everest Off Limits During China‟s Olympic Torch Relay in

May, Mount Everest Still Beckons, but Nepal Warns, „Not So Fast‟

The headlines point out to the aspect of big nation urging its small neighbour to act per its

needs, i.e. in this context to crackdown on anti-Chinese protestors. That means the news is

addressing its audience and the readers on Chinese influence towards its small nation relation

are authoritative in nature, where a small country like Nepal has been working as per the

Chinese interest to crackdown on the protestors. As Tibet is political interest of China, so is

the protest of a political nature. The framing of news in the headlines though denotes to

human rights issue to protest, but has its connotation implying to political motivation.

Similarly, it is the case of using photographs and multimedia in the coverage of the event.

According to the table „Coverage of Tibetan Protest‟ points out that the two media have used

photographs in telling the story. Both the media have used the maximum photographs which

is also evident as the number is 36 whereas there are only 25 news items in total. The

photographs portray that the protesting Tibetan exiles in the street are baton charged by the

Nepalese security forces. The protestors are being arrested. These photographs portrayed in

the media leads to the fact that the security forces have used forces against the exile pro Tibet

protest, which also supports the idea of Nepal‟s pro Chinese government. Take a look at the

pictures:

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Photo1 Photo 2

Photo 1: Caption: Tibetans have been beaten with considerable force.

Source: BBC News, 28 March 2008.

Photo 2: Caption: Nepalese police moved in to disperse the Tibetans who were praying

Source: BBC News, 7 August, 2008.

How does one feel seeing the pictures? Does this picture help to frame the news story? What

does it tell to the viewers? The picture is self evident that the Nepalese security forces have

been using force. When China‟s neighbouring country Nepal is not concerned about the

human rights situation of the protesting Tibetans, then what does it tell about the situation of

Tibet during the period, where the international media have been barred in covering the news

stories. The use of photographs frames the domination of powerful country like China to its

neighbouring country to exert pressure against the anti Chinese elements. Almost all the

stories in the international media marked with these kinds of photographs calling the protest

as peaceful and security forces have used force. Media have focused on the intensity and

aggressiveness in the streets i.e. action and violence was largely framed. Media were

sympathetic to the protestors.

Another important aspect is about the similar type of news reports and coverage in March.

Let‟s see lead of one of the similar type of report that is covered:

- A group of more than 20 Tibetan schoolchildren has staged a protest in the main

United Nations compound in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. A UN spokesman said the

children, aged between 15 and 18 and dressed in school uniform scaled the wall. This

is the boldest Tibetan protest in nearly three weeks in Kathmandu (Haviland, BBC

News, 2008).

- Roughly 20 Tibetan high school students scaled a brick wall surrounding the United

Nations compound in Katmandu, Nepal, on Friday morning, carrying a small

homemade sign that read “Free Tibet” and asking the United Nations to help their

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cause, according to a United Nations spokesman. They were served a lunch of

steamed dumplings, called momos, instead (Sengupta, NYT, 2008).

The BBC terms it as boldest Tibetan protest, whereas NYT shows sympathy as they were

served food after crossing the wall of UN building. How can BBC reporter decide it as a

boldest step? Was it because children were used in the protest? There were no reports except

the fact that children jumped into the UN compound with anti Chinese slogan and no

comments from the children. The framing of the event was loud, where children have been

used in the protest. This event took place long after some weeks of major protest in Nepal,

and it was clear that the security forces were violent in the course of clamping down on the

protestors, how could international media be sympathetic to the use of children by the

organizers of the protest? Why were not the organizers of the protest questioned? Does it

point out that the purpose is to frame the story of Free Tibet movement where the children‟s

protest is only a part of event to appeal to the international audience?

In the video tape of the news report, we can see protesting children were crying before they

meet the security personnel. This also indicates that the international media are concerned

with the issue of protest rather than the use of children. But the framing of the news is bold

enough to attract the audience and the readers.

Likewise, the government of Nepal has been tagged as pro-China in the framing the story.

Nepal says it cannot allow Tibetans to demonstrate because it recognizes Tibet as an integral

part of China (Haviland, BBC News, 2008). The framing of international media seems to

have focused on the central idea of Free Tibet notion represented by the event of the protest

in the eve of Beijing Olympics. The framing of Free Tibet protest is also the way to

internationalize the political and human rights condition of Tibetans around the world.

However, in the case of China, Western-based media are considered bias in portraying the

event.

The Chinese newspaper, China Daily reported that there had been bias in the western media's

coverage of the rioting in Tibet, including deliberate mispresentation of the situation. The

newspaper pointed out Western media sources such as the Washington Post used pictures of

baton-wielding Nepalese police in clashes with Tibetan protesters in Kathmandu, claiming

that the officers were Chinese. Likewise, China daily accuses the media like BBC and CNN

18

about the pictures with untrue reports about the riots posted on chatrooms, drawing criticism.

(June, China Daily, 2008)

Though this kind of inaccurate portrayal was not found in this study, it shows that the

Western-based media maintain biases in framing the new story. Researches based on the

content of the news media were consistently predictable and different media houses behave

similar way when confronted by same events and conditions (McQuail, 2000, p. 277). In the

case of Tibetan protest, both the media tend to portray the news and frame the story in a

similar way.

It is, from this context, safe to conclude that the major aspect is that international news flow

does not operate in vacuum. Rather, there are certain determinants which cannot be limited to

timeliness, proximity and other news values as provided by different scholars. Thus, it has to

do with the issue, where political ideology of the place like China and its controversial

occupation of Tibet are central factor that drives the news values in framing the content of the

news story. To further understand framing of the news story, it is also important to look into

the sources used by the news media while reporting and where are they reporting from. Let

me present the sources used.

4.3 Use of Sources

News studies have demonstrated that the kind of source or authority cited to back up news

stories does tend to influence the implicit direction of content even when it is supposed to be

neutral. The practice of validating news reports generally gives most weight to established

authority and conventional wisdom. This is an almost inevitable form of bias, concealed

behind the mask of objectivity (McQuail, 2000, p. 287-288). Some theorists maintain that

professional practice determines how a news source depends upon hierarchy and credibility.

Becker‟s model suggests that higher up in society are more likely to be asked to present their

knowledge than are subordinate groups because of their access to the inner workings of

society‟s bureaucratic organizations: „any tale told by those at the top intrinsically deserves to

be regarded as the most credible account…Thus, credibility and the right to be heard are

differentially distributed through the ranks of the system‟ (Atton & Wickenden, 2005, p. 348

in Becker, 1967, p. 241). Becker‟s study holds that the pressure of deadlines and the

professional demands of objectivity combine to produce an over accessment of elite sources

and thus a reiteration and perpetuation of dominant ideologies. This determinism ensures that

19

primary definers are consequently drawn from elite groups and institutions who are both

easily found and considered credible through their structural positioning and representative

status: „journalists [are] very likely to take the frameworks for understanding events offered

by such institutions as a starting point for their reports‟ (Atton & Wickenden, 2005, p. 348 in

Manning, 2001, p. 15).

In the study of Tibetan refugees protest in Nepal, the BBC and NYT have dealt with the

established sources while reporting the protest in Nepal. The sources used were government

of Nepal, international organizations like the UN, Human rights organizations and Western

governments concerns during the time of protest. In some reporting, same sources have been

used by both the media in the context of Nepal‟s banning the expedition to Everest to prevent

disruptions to Olympic torch ceremony. NYT said that it is telephone interview whereas BBC

cites the Reuters News Agency while using the source in the news.

- BBC reported on 14th March, Nepal has agreed to a Chinese request to temporarily

block access to Mount Everest, amid fears Tibetan activists may stage a protest at the

peak. Nepalese Tourism Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung told Reuter‟s news agency

that climbers would not be allowed beyond Mount Everest's base camp until 10 May.

(BBC News, 2008)

Similarly, NYT on March 15 reported,

- Nepal‟s tourism minister, Prithvi Subba Gurung, said in a telephone interview on

Thursday that the Chinese government had appealed to his administration to help

prevent disruptions to the Olympic torch ceremony. “Expedition teams will not be

allowed to ascend Mount Everest from the base camp” on the Nepal side, he said

(NYT, 2008).

But, the question is what does the use of this statement imply? In the context of Tibetan

protest, does it mean that Nepal works as per the direction of the Chinese government in

regards to the Tibetan issues? Or the use of such source like Tourism Minister is to establish

the notion of Chinese influence in Nepal. Eventhough, it was appropriate choice to quote the

source in relation to the news, which is related with the concerned ministry, the context can

lead the audience to draw different meanings beyond the refugee context.

On March 29 NYT reported,

- Nepal, itself no stranger to pro-democracy demonstrations, has been criticized for its

crackdown on Tibetan protests. Human Rights Watch this week accused government

20

forces of “pre-emptively arresting Tibetans” in the capital and threatening several

with deportation to China... (Sengupta, NYT, 2008).

On March 30 BBC reported,

- ...UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal said the constant

mass arrests violated internationally recognized rights to peaceful assembly and to

freedom of expression...(BBC News, 2008).

The NYT uses the Human Rights Watch whereas BBC uses the Nepal based UN Office of

the High Commissioner for Human Rights, but not other human rights organization. The

choice of Human rights organization is also important issue. NYT uses the US based whereas

BBC uses UN human rights institution. Is it because both the sources are credible around the

world? Likewise, which is right source to quote depends upon the reporter who files the

news. It can also be questioned why any of these media not used National Human Rights

Commission in Nepal (NHRC) even if NHRC is not more than 100 meters in distance from

the protest area. As the event took place in Nepal, the question can be asked why Nepal‟s

human right organization was not considered favourable. The point can be that it is the

tendency of the reporter to validating news reports generally giving most weight to

established authority and conventional wisdom.

So, condemnation from the Chinese officials seems natural in regards of operation of the

human rights organization. In one of the reports, Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Zheng

Xiangling accused the UN system in Nepal and said, “we have found out that the UN

officials in Nepal are unnecessarily involved in the anti-china activities which run contrary to

the UN charter”. “The UN system in Nepal is overtly engaged in assessing the human rights

situation in Tibet…their job is to look into Nepali matters as a matter of fact”, ( Telegraph

Nepal, 2008).

However, the human rights organizations were quiet about the use of children during the

protest; rather they were busy with the aspect clamping down by the security officials - and

so were these media. As these events were organized protest, the question is why the

organizers were not questioned about the use of school children. As the protest were

considered to be dominated by the security personnel by the international rights groups, the

use of children cannot be justifiable by the organizers. But it is interesting to note that such

organizations have been quoted only few times.

21

On April 4, BBC reported that

- "We have called off our anti-China protest in Kathmandu in view of the upcoming

elections in Nepal," said Thupden Tenzing Jamphel, chairman of the Nepal Tibetan

Volunteer Youth for Free Tibet group. (BBC News, 2008).

It is important to note that Nepal Tibetan Volunteer Youth for Free Tibet group is a regional

chapter of Tibetan Youth Congress (NYC). NYC headquarter is based in Dharmasala India,

where the spiritual leader Dalai Lama is living in exile for the last 50 years.

Likewise, there are two reports of use of Chinese and US Ambassador in Nepal as the news

sources. The news source for these medium also indicates that fact that there was the great

interest of the international media during the protest of such kind, where US calls the Tibetan

refugee issue as a political issue. On May 2 BBC reported,

- The US has joined rights groups in expressing concern over the treatment of pro-

Tibetan protestors in Nepal. US ambassador to Nepal Nancy Powell said the right to

peaceful protest should be maintained (BBC News, 2008).

Whereas, Chinese envoys statement has been used to urge the Nepalese government to act

upon the anti-Chinese elements. On April 3 BBC reported,

- China has urged the Nepalese authorities to take stronger measures to prevent

protests against Beijing's policies in Tibet. The statement, from Ambassador Zheng

Xianglin, said that China wants Nepal to "safeguard the dignity of the law, and take

severer measures to prevent those political organizations from organizing and

implementing illegal political activities". (BBC News, 2008)

The use of high level sources in the reports is to provide the evidence to the news reports. But

these news reports have originated from Nepal, where the small state government can be

considered as victim international power struggle. It is also necessary to look into the place

where the news story has been filed. As mentioned NYT have filed news story from New

Delhi, India whereas BBC has filed the news from Nepal. So, the access to the source of

information is more where the event breaks and the coverage is also high. As reporting from

the field, BBC has witnessed about the authorities arresting the protestors and the foreign

journalist not allowed covering the issue in base camp of Mount Everest.

On April 28, BBC reported,

- The government of Nepal has expelled the BBC from the base camp on the Nepalese

side of Mount Everest... The move comes as the Chinese prepare to take the Olympic

torch up their side of the mountain (Haviland, BBC News, 2008).

22

BBC has used its own reporter to tell the story from the Everest Base camp where they were

forbidden to report. But BBC correspondent going to report from the Everest Base Camp in a

situation, when Olympic torch was taken to the Everest from the Tibet. Does it mean that the

correspondent has been tipped about anti Chinese protest in base camp of Nepal? This point

needs to be considered that there is information about the anti Chinese protest in the base

camp of Mount Everest, where the reporter is hunting for the source of news. Does this also

point out that there is relation between the protestors and the journalists? As Gamson and

Wolfsfeld state in their study about the conversations between the social movements activists

and journalists take a drearily predictable form: “Send my message,” say the activists; “Make

me news,” say the journalists (Gamson and Wolfsfeld, 1993, 115).

5. Conclusion

This paper has argued that news value should not be limited to the technicalities of general

reporting process of an event. There are different factors that affect an event in determining

the news value. When it comes to reporting of Tibetan protest in a small country like Nepal,

it suggests us that the international context, the geo political position, timeliness and

proximity and also the interest of the international media should be considered.

It also indicates that the extent of coverage given to an event is determined by the presence

of reporter in the place. During the protest, BBC reporter was present in the different parts of

Nepal to cover the issue, whereas the case was not the same with the NYT. In this context, it

can be argued that the presence of reporter in the field is one of the determining factors of

news.

I have attempted, on the context of international media coverage of Tibetan protest in Nepal,

to argue that international media determinism of news value is linked with the international

political dimension. And it has been attempted to establish that, the intensity of small country

support to the stronger country in an issue politically acknowledged internationally, it is more

likely that small country receives more coverage; however, small country is just only a place,

where international and geopolitical interests are exercised. The most important aspect for the

international news coverage is the issue in itself and the context needs to be considered in this

regard to determine a news value by the international news media.

23

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