Media Transparency in Action: A Case Study of Media Coverage of a Controversy Between ENGOs and a Paper Company in China.

This paper examined a historically significant case of how, for the first time in China, environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) collectively changed government decision and exerted considerable influence over a multimillion dollar paper company with the help of the media. An examination of media coverage on this issue was executed using media transparency framework (Tsetsura, 2005), and revealed the following findings. First, at the national level, most media hold supportive attitudes toward ENGOs, except for one media outlet that is affiliated with the party media − People's Daily. Second, at the local level, analysis showed that the media provided overly supportive coverage for the company, which can be attributed to potential influence of the company on the local media. The results of this case study once again demonstrated that the lack of media transparency is manifested more often at the local level than at the national. The study offered theoretical and practical implications of the findings and recommendations for future research. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]