奥运中中国公众对国家形象的想象.pdfVIP

G Model PUBREL-1074; No. of Pages 10 ARTICLE IN PRESS Public Relations Review xxx (2012) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Public Relations Review Medals, media and myth of national images: How Chinese audiences thought of foreign countries during the Beijing Olympics Huailin Chen ∗ Dept. of Communication, The University of Macau, Taipa, Macao a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Keywords: This study examines whether the performance of a country in the Olympics would affect National image its national image in the eyes of a Chinese audience. Guided by the theoretical perspectives International public relations of agenda setting and cultivation analysis, the project intends to test whether the highly Olympic Games publicized Olympic Games have a globally accepted effect of bolstering national image, as Agenda setting Cultivation politicians and governments claim they do. Based on data from panel surveys and the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Medal Index, this study found that the overall performance of a country in the Olympic Games was positively correlated with both its current and comparative scores of national image in the minds of Chinese audiences. However, an increase in the number of medals collected during the two Olympics by developing countries did not benefit national image. Agenda setting theo