Skip to main content

Site navigation

  • University of Technology Sydney home
  • Home

    Home
  • For students

  • For industry

  • Research

Explore

  • Courses
  • Events
  • News
  • Stories
  • People

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Study at UTS

    • arrow_right_alt Find a course
    • arrow_right_alt Course areas
    • arrow_right_alt Undergraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Postgraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Research Masters and PhD
    • arrow_right_alt Online study and short courses
  • Student information

    • arrow_right_alt Current students
    • arrow_right_alt New UTS students
    • arrow_right_alt Graduates (Alumni)
    • arrow_right_alt High school students
    • arrow_right_alt Indigenous students
    • arrow_right_alt International students
  • Admissions

    • arrow_right_alt How to apply
    • arrow_right_alt Entry pathways
    • arrow_right_alt Eligibility
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for students

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Apply for a coursearrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Scholarshipsarrow_right_alt
  • Featured industries

    • arrow_right_alt Agriculture and food
    • arrow_right_alt Defence and space
    • arrow_right_alt Energy and transport
    • arrow_right_alt Government and policy
    • arrow_right_alt Health and medical
    • arrow_right_alt Corporate training
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Tech Central
    • arrow_right_alt Case studies
    • arrow_right_alt Research
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for industry

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Partner with usarrow_right_alt
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Explore our research
    • arrow_right_alt Research centres and institutes
    • arrow_right_alt Graduate research
    • arrow_right_alt Research partnerships
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for research

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Research centres and institutesarrow_right_alt
  • University of Technology Sydney home
Explore the University of Technology Sydney
Category Filters:
University of Technology Sydney home University of Technology Sydney home
  1. home
  2. arrow_forward_ios ... Newsroom
  3. arrow_forward_ios ... 2022
  4. arrow_forward_ios 11
  5. arrow_forward_ios News media goes over the top

News media goes over the top

29 November 2022
Image of boxing gloves one with US, one with Chinese flag

Constructing a dominant media narrative of military and nonmilitary conflicts can provide a country with bargaining leverage over the ‘enemy’ state. A classic example is the ongoing US-China ‘tech war’, where the global media narrative is dominated by the US side of the story, in which China’s access to advanced microchips to build state-of-the-art weapons is depicted as a major ‘threat’ to US national security.

The broader coverage of US President Biden’s new and more aggressive tech sanctions on China is indicative of mainstream media’s ‘war framing’, especially adopted by partisan media. This includes stories such as: 'Time to ditch communist China's technology, or else', in which an already politically polarised American public is warned about their ‘dependence on hostile nations’; 'China’s “fun” with trade sanctions is “biting them where it hurts”', where the audience is reminded that ‘China has brought this upon itself’; and 'Joe Biden crushes Xi Jinping’s precious semiconductor ambitions'.

News framing that accentuates how governments see technology research and development as a key national security issue contributes to the moral panic around the technological advancement of other countries, in this case China, and is used by governments, in this case the US, to legitimise the expansion of their military budget. Such discourses shape the dynamics of the dispute and what the general public thinks and feels about it.

Meanwhile, China’s narrative is broadly missing from global media for two likely reasons. First, the Communist Party is very sensitive about the ‘opinion’ of its people. For China’s Communist Party, keeping its citizens close, by will or by force, is crucial to its political power. This includes limiting their access to global news and vice versa. Second, the overwhelmingly patriotic US news media are often not allowing China’s narrative to percolate into mainstream public debate, thus serving as government propaganda to achieve a ‘victory’ for the home country. Both factors have significantly contributed to Western media’s war-oriented framing of the issue in recent years, which presents Beijing’s 'audacious propaganda campaign', even as it diverts the public from the actual motivation of economic and technological supremacy and the crippling subordination of a rival.

Ayesha Jehangir

Ayesha Jehangir, CMT Postdoctoral Fellow

Share
Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Share this on LinkedIn
Back to CMT news

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and the Boorooberongal People of the Dharug Nation upon whose ancestral lands our campuses now stand. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands. 

University of Technology Sydney

City Campus

15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007

Get in touch with UTS

Follow us

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Facebook

A member of

  • Australian Technology Network
Use arrow keys to navigate within each column of links. Press Tab to move between columns.

Study

  • Find a course
  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • How to apply
  • Scholarships and prizes
  • International students
  • Campus maps
  • Accommodation

Engage

  • Find an expert
  • Industry
  • News
  • Events
  • Experience UTS
  • Research
  • Stories
  • Alumni

About

  • Who we are
  • Faculties
  • Learning and teaching
  • Sustainability
  • Initiatives
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Campus and locations
  • Awards and rankings
  • UTS governance

Staff and students

  • Current students
  • Help and support
  • Library
  • Policies
  • StaffConnect
  • Working at UTS
  • UTS Handbook
  • Contact us
  • Copyright © 2025
  • ABN: 77 257 686 961
  • CRICOS provider number: 00099F
  • TEQSA provider number: PRV12060
  • TEQSA category: Australian University
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Accessibility