How to Play the Game of Intellectual Property in China: The impact of party affiliation and media location on the use of media frames

Through a content analysis of how Chinese newspapers cover intellectual property (IP) issues since China’s accession to WTO in 2001, this paper explored the dynamic between media and social political forces on the topic of IP. Specifically, we examined how media attributes like party affiliation, media location influenced the use of media frames when covering IP related issues. Three media frames were extracted based on previous studies: 1) national interest, 2) cost & benefit, 3) contract spirit. Results demonstrated both party affiliation and media location exert significant influence on the use of media frames : the closer a news organization is affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, the more likely it would adopt a national interest frame. Moreover, IP related articles published by national press were more likely to adopt the national interest frame, whereas regional and professional press were more likely to report the issue from economics and legal perspectives.