To name or not to name: a cross-cultural comparison of on-air attribution in US and Chinese TV news

Abstract

This study investigates the Sino-US difference in the journalistic practice of providing on-air attribution for those interviewed in television news. Through a content analysis, this study compares how CBS News, a premier US TV network, and CCTV, China’s most watched network, attributed their interviewees with on-screen name credits (names, titles and affiliations). The findings show that US journalists were more likely to provide on-screen name credits than their Chinese colleagues who, in turn, were more likely to give credits to interviewees who were older, male and government officials. This study should contribute to a better understanding of how cultural values and political ideologies may affect the way interviewees are treated in television news.