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An Initial thematic map of candidate themes Note: Example of developing candidate theme under problem definition frame
Source publication
Since media liberalization in 2011, news media has played a critical role in shaping public opinion, impacting the government’s policy-making process. After the emergence of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) in 2018, Chinese projects have increasingly attracted media attention in Myanmar. Previous studies mainly focus on Chinese projects w...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... finally produced a thematic map that compiles codes and data items related to the corresponding themes. Figure 2 shows how we generated sub-themes to the theme representing the research question with the problem definition frame. In Figure 2, the oval box represents the themes, while rectangle boxes refer to the sub-themes. ...
Context 2
... 2 shows how we generated sub-themes to the theme representing the research question with the problem definition frame. In Figure 2, the oval box represents the themes, while rectangle boxes refer to the sub-themes. The dashed lines indicate the relationship between themes and sub-themes, while the solid arrows show the links between the sub-themes. ...
Citations
... Many scholars have investigated the influence of the media on perceptions of BRI projects in host countries such as the European Union (Andrews 2020), Africa (Pratt and Isine 2023), Russia (Kuteleva and Vasiliev 2021), ASEAN (Zhang 2024), Indonesia (Masduki et al. 2023), Pakistan (Ittefaq et al. 2023), and Bangladesh (Rahman and Shehab 2023). Despite this extensive research, a notable gap remains in the literature on BRI projects in Myanmar, particularly concerning the role of the media and communication (Oo et al. 2024). ...
... Although much attention has been paid to the geopolitical, environmental, and economic aspects of the BRI (Chanda 2021;Htwe 2020;Mark et al. 2020;Mostafanezhad et al. 2023), the influence of the media on public opinion remains underexplored. Following the suspension of the Myitsone Dam project in 2011 and the reassessment of the Kyaukphyu seaport project in 2017, public opinion was presumed to have significantly influenced BRI projects in Myanmar, highlighting the media's crucial role in shaping these views (Oo et al. 2024). Therefore, it is worthwhile to conduct an empirical study to examine the relationship between the news media and public opinion on BRI projects in Myanmar. ...
... While emphasizing the BRI projects, most studies focus on various factors, including geopolitics, international relations, economics, environmental conservation, social impact, trade, and finance, (Chanda 2021;Htwe 2020;Khin Kyi and Xiang 2020;Mark et al. 2020;Mostafanezhad et al. 2023), but often overlook the media's role in shaping public perception (Oo et al. 2024). Brüning (2021) addressed geopolitical and security implications, highlighting issues of national sovereignty and economic dependence (Brüning 2021;Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main 2021). ...
This study investigates the relationship between news media and public opinion on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in Myanmar since media liberalization in 2011, using first-level agenda-setting theory. A mixed-method approach was employed: a quantitative content analysis of 217 articles from ELEVEN and The Irrawaddy, identifying 1436 distinct frames on ten BRI-related issues, and a survey of 385 respondents to assess public opinion. Spearman’s rank-order correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship between media coverage and public opinion. A strong positive correlation (rho = 0.87, p < 0.05) was found between increased media coverage and public opinion alignment regarding BRI-related issues. The findings highlight the significant influence of the media on the public perception of BRI projects in Myanmar, and contribute to media effects and agenda-setting theory, offering insights for stakeholders investigating the interplay between the media, public opinion, and international development. Further research is needed to explore the media’s agenda-setting role in BRI project policy decisions in Myanmar.
This study investigates the impact of the media’s secondary agenda-setting on public perception and policy priorities regarding the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in Myanmar from to 2011–2024. Three hypotheses (Hs) were examined: H1 posits that media coverage aligns with public and policy perspectives; H2 proposes that media emphasis on specific attributes influences their prominence in public opinion and policymaking; and H3 suggests that public opinion mediates the relationship between media coverage and policy priorities, indicating an indirect media influence on policymaking. This study employed a cross-sectional research design, utilizing both quantitative content analysis and survey methodologies. The content comprises the analysis of two news outlets’ coverage (n = 144), surveys with 385 respondents (n = 385), and in-depth interviews with 30 participants (n = 30), and the findings revealed a significant positive correlation between media coverage and public opinion and policy priorities (r = 0.86, r = 0.81, respectively). SEM path analysis reveals that the media agenda indirectly shapes the policy agenda through the public agenda, with an indirect effect path coefficient of 0.718, highlighting the media’s role in policymaking processes. This is evidenced by a significant correlation between media coverage and public opinion (p < 0.05), and a strong direct association between public opinion and policy priorities (p < 0.05). This study extends the agenda-setting theory by empirically demonstrating the media’s indirect effect on policy formation in global infrastructure projects within a developing Southeast Asian country. Future studies should examine the evolution of media patterns across different administrations, including the current one. The results also suggest examining the broader media portrayal of governance issues and conducting extensive research on the media’s impact on public opinion.
