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

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 onscreen 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.