Framework Analysis of Scientists and Technicians Reporting from China's Mainstream Media's WeChat Official Accounts based on Six Central News Agencies

Abstract

Nowadays, the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and public communication of science & technology has been becoming more and more vital. It is one of China's media's responsibilities to create "Star Scientists" and to tell unique stories of scientists and technicians well with Chinese characteristics. The rapid development and deep integration of new media have put forward higher requirements on mainstream media for the typical reports and public opinion guidance of scientists and technicians. In this quantitative research, 272 reports on Chinese scientists and technicians from six central news agencies' WeChat official account within six months, including Xinhua News Agency and Guangming Daily, were taken as study objects by using content analysis. Based on Zang Guoren's Three Levels of Frame Theory, original texts were coded for statistical analysis of each report's theme, genre, schematic structure, characters, rhetorical context, form, page views, likes and wows. In the end, the study explored characteristics of different media, reflected on existing problems of science & technology communication, and made five suggestions for advancing integrated media reports on typical scientific figures in the new era, in order to accelerate to build China into an innovative country, as well as a science & technology giant.