Online news reports of air quality issues in Beijing

The paper studies Chinese media discourse on the “Blue Sky Project” in preparation for the 2008 Olympics through a textual analysis of online stories in major daily newspapers in Beijing, to examine the interaction of science and culture in environmental communication. The research finds that the news stories underscore an environmentalism practice predominantly driven by quota measurements and administrative interventions, even though grassroots activities were present. The author also finds extensive use of scientific data that details monitored steps toward periodical results. The author concludes that the concentrated coverage on air quality in Beijing demonstrates growing significance of environmental issues in Chinese media, signaling an increasingly important role of science communication in advancing state development agendas among diverse social groups.