On June 24th, the US Supreme Court made a decision that was heard around the world. In a historic reversal of Roe v. Wade, the supreme court declared that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly half a century, no longer exists.
Source: Divided We Fall
So how was such a controversial and divisive decision received in the US? Dependent on the news source, one may come to two starkly different conclusions.
If one tunes in to, say, Fox News, they may find that the coverage has an overall positive tone on the outcome, with a heavy focus on the victors, an assertion that most Americans are in favor of abortion restrictions, and various opinion pieces undermining politicians, media outlets and protesters opposed to the ruling.
On the other hand, if one tunes into a network like MSNBC, the tone is that of doom and gloom, with statistics suggesting that most Americans are actually opposed to the ruling, and a call to arms for people to counter the decision by voting in the midterm elections. In a mirror reflection of Fox, one would also find various opinion pieces condemning the decision-making and words of the Supreme Court and other Republican politicians.
The dichotomy between pro-life and pro-choice supporters in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade./Source: Boston University
Putting objective fact-based reporting aside, which news outlet’s reality is a more accurate reflection of the American people’s views right now? The truth is, both offer a reflection on the values of their respective viewer bases, the two sides of America that exist in parallel, deeply divided.
The United States media has long been known for its biased, divisive nature. Closely mirroring the population’s deep division along political lines, most media sources cater to either their right or left-wing base, with very few outlets giving a true unbiased take on the news.
According to ‘American Views 2020: Trust, Media and Democracy,’ a survey conducted by the Knight Foundation and Gallup, about 49% of the public view news coverage to have “a great deal” of political bias, while 37% see a “fair amount.” 56% of Americans see bias in the news source that they turn to most often, suggesting that many openly ascribe to sources that align with their worldview. 88% say the media bears moderate or a “great deal” of responsibility for political division in the US.
How the partisan US media landscape came to be
To understand the nature of the bias that permeates American media, first we need to understand its structure.
The majority of news outlets in the US are private sector, operating as entities separate from government influence. As private entities, many private outlets operate as corporations, aligning their main goal the same way as any company would: profit.
American media outlets’ success is built on ratings and advertising. News outlets are primarily judged by the ratings they obtain, the number of page views they receive, or the number of copies sold, rather than the quality of the content.
This creates a precedent in which media outlets become less concerned with reporting with journalistic integrity and more concerned with reporting in a way that garners views and clicks while fostering brand loyalty with their audience.
While there do exist media outlets closer to the middle of the spectrum, most US media outlets have elected to go “on brand” with either the conservative or the liberal demographic of Americans.
The Fourth Estate
Source: Knight Foundation
As much power as the people have in shaping the media, the media also has in shaping public opinion. Often coined the “Fourth Estate (referring to its power as essentially the 4th branch of government),” the media has long been an extension of the government and political advocacy groups, with both explicit capacity of advocacy and implicit ability to frame political issues.
Generating higher ratings and more clicks, US news outlets have always had more incentive to release sensationalized news and stronger opinions. This has especially become true in social media, as controversial news and opinions generate far more engagement, be it positive or negative.
A self-perpetuating echo-chamber
In recent years this has led to some negative unintended consequences. People are seeing less and less moderate opinions and fact-based opinions on social media, instead only seeing more extreme positions made more visible through higher engagement rates. Add to that the content algorithms on social media create filter bubbles that effectively hide consumers from other viewpoints, further polarizing their views.
This phenomena has become especially apparent in the last 6 years during the 2016 election, the post-election coverage, and the Covid-19 pandemic and protests about racial justice. Coverage has become more divided along political lines. On social media platforms like Facebook, the echo chamber effect has grown to a critical mass, resulting in more and more sensationalized and fake news targeted at users. As a result, public opinions have become more polarized than ever, with rhetoric on both sides reaching a fevered pitch.
The disparity in former US President Donald Trump’s approval between different news outlets during his presidency highlights the growing polarization of US news media. Source: NBC News
Who are the players, and where do they stand?
The image below highlights all the major players in the US news media market and what level of political bias they have.
2022 media bias chart. Source: AllSides ™
For broadcast media, NBC and CNN are the biggest players left of center, while Fox News dominates the airwaves on the right. For digital and print media, The New York Times and Yahoo! News, and TIME are the biggest players on the left, while on the right, The Wall Street Journal, the National Review and the Washington Times hold the fort.
US media perception of China
America’s media coverage of large Chinese corporations tend to be within the lens of “China rising.” With large corporations as Huawei and Alibaba for example, stories tend to be told within the context of a rising Chinese economy and its growing global influence.
While there is some difference in public sentiment towards China between liberals and conservative, both have been trending negatively in recent years. According to a survey conducted by Pew Research center in 2019, 60% of Americans held unfavorable views toward China, with 70% of Republicans holding unfavorable views, versus 59% of Democrats.
One conclusion is that media bias for or against China and Chinese businesses is not one that follows party lines. In fact, it is one topic where both sides are relatively united in their negative bias. There is a strong narrative of China and its business landscape being full of copycats, hackers and intellectual theft, a position only made stronger in the context of the trade war between the two countries initiated in 2018.
How does US media perception of China affect Chinese brand perception and purchase intention?
Source: Fair Observer
In a study titled ‘How China’s image affects Chinese products in a partisan-motivated US market,’ researchers tried to highlight the ‘Made in China’ issue and how it affects people’s perceptions and purchasing intentions. The study collected data on participants’ demographics, political ideology and media use, as well as how they perceived China’s image, and their feelings and purchase intention of Chinese products.
Interestingly enough, the study concluded that partisan media does not make a significant difference in people’s evaluation and purchase intention with Chinese products. Overall, conservatism and liberalism is not a significant predictor for product beliefs or purchase intention, and party affiliation only makes a difference in predicting Republicans’ purchase intention. One conclusion however, was that higher social media use was generally associated with greater purchase intention. Unfortunately, it’s hard to draw any conclusions from this finding, as not many studies have been conducted exploring the relationship between a foreign country’s image and the audience’s social media use.
Another key takeaway from the study is that age and ethnicity are more accurate at predicting consumer attitudes and purchase intention towards foreign products. With that said it is notable that the Republican party is dominated by white Americans, at 89% of its base, while by contrast, 36% of the Democrat’s base identify as Hispanic, Black or other races, while also having more young people identifying within its ranks. Most likely, this difference in demographics between both parties accounts for the difference in perceptions of China.
How should political bias in US media affect your brand strategy?
Source: CNBC
While Republicans and Democrats do not significantly differ in their valuation of Chinese product quality, reliability and design, 65% of Republican believe the United States should take a tougher stance against China, compared to 35% for Democrats. This suggests that country animosity and consumer nationalism might be the major reason behind Republican reluctance to buy Chinese goods.
While political ideology can make a difference in the judgment of Chinese products, this impact is actually more aligned with party membership, as liberalism-conservatism fails to predict product belief or purchase intention. While it’s easy to equate political party with ideology, there exist other dichotomies within each political ideology, such as age, race, religion and socioeconomic background, making it hard to predict different media outlets’ effect on the purchase intention of Chinese products. The study’s findings suggest that overall, despite its highly partisan nature, the influence of mass media is to some extent, overvalued.
Choosing outlets based on political bias is not an effective strategy or reliable predictor of how well your brand will be received. One should focus instead on the other demographics, such as age, ethnicity and educational background of your audience as a basis for your product’s exposure. Interestingly, increasing your brand’s visibility on social media could also help your brand’s success, as people who use social media more heavily tend to have more amicable attitudes towards Chinese products.
What should your brand focus on instead?
It’s particularly critical for Chinese brands to develop a communication strategy that focuses on building their consumer trust, while considering the impacts of people’s attitude and perception towards China on their purchasing behavior. In the study titled ‘Brands as a nation: An analysis of overseas media engagement of top Chinese brands,’ the findings indicated a lack of sustained effort, careful coordination, and proper control in large companies’ public relations and crisis communication.
The fate of Chinese global brands is closely linked to how consumers view China as a nation. This was especially evident in the case of Huawei in 2018, whose media engagement during the period of the study were largely driven by the political climate and tension. Finding from the study’s research further pointed to the lack of a global communication strategy by major global Chinese corporations.
How can iSpider Media help
The biased nature of USA’s media landscape can present several unique challenges in reading your target audience, and in informing the decisions of your brand. Furthermore, research shows that the impact of partisan media on Chinese brand perception is actually far more nuanced and complicated than divisions based on party lines. At iSpider Media we can help your brand navigate this complicated landscape so it can grow in the American market.