FRAMING STUDY OF TIME & VNEXPRESS ONLINE NEWS MAGAZINE’S CONSTRUCTIONS – CASE STUDY: OBAMA’S VISIT TO VIETNAM

Abstract

Former President Barack Obama’s last trip to Vietnam has been the most historical presidential visit since the Vietnam War which has brought the relationship of the U.S and Vietnam to another level. Media and presses have made an essential role in building image and understanding about this significant occasion in audiences’ perception. However, there were different interpretations resulting from the media between the two countries. This is a framing analysis study based on an examination of representative articles of Obama’s visit to Vietnam, focusing on the two most viewed online newspaper in Vietnam and The United States – TIME (The 93 year-old U.S news online magazine, now under Nancy Gibbs managing) and in Vietnam – VnExpress ( Vietnamese online newspaper, run by FPT Corporation ). There is a research question of the present study: How Obama’s visit to Vietnam event was framed in two online magazines – TIME International from the US and VnExpress from Vietnam? This study considers the detailed content and framing analysis of all articles relevant to the event starting from 18th May 2016 to 1st June 2016 in the two online newspapers. As a result, the research found out that journalists in the U.S and in Vietnam have their own perceptions and ideologies in framing an international political event, which lead to different interpretations of audiences between the the countries.