China Train Wreck

Zhibin Zhang

English 403

Section2

Washington State University

Spring 2013

Train Wreck

Causes of Train Wreck

Actions by the Chinese Government

Burying the wreckageRescuing people

Public Anger

Responses of Chinese Government

Media Blackout

• Secure the event scene

• Keep reporters away from the scene

• Limit the news coverage

• Do no investigate the event

• Focus on touching stories

This Presentation

Focus:

• South China Morning Post

• New York Times

Purpose:

• How two newspapers reported differently

Research Process

• Research Database: ProQuest Newspaper

• Key words: “China”, “train” and “wreck”

• Date: From July 23, 2011 to August 04, 2012

Summary of Analysis

Similarities:

• Causes of event

• Responses by government

Differences:

• The aspects of news reports

• The number of newspaper

articles

Common Focuses

South China Morning Post

• Identified the lightening as

the major cause

• Attributed design flaw to

rail ministry’s lack of

awareness

New York Times

• Examined the causes of

event

• Described the policing flaw

in the rail system

Coverage Differences

• Political Reviews

Coverage Differences• Public Criticism

Coverage Differences

Media Censorship