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Copyright by Jia Dai 2011 Copyright by Jia Dai 2011 The Dissertation Committee for Jia Dai Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Deliberating in the Chinese Blogosphere: A Study on Hotspot Internet Incidents Committee: Stephen D. Reese, Supervisor Dominic Lasorsa Robert Jensen Joseph Straubhaar Gidon Sjoberg Deliberating in the Chinese Blogosphere: A Study on Hotspot Internet Incidents by Jia Dai, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2011 Dedication To my parents, my husband, and my daughter. Acknowledgements I could not have finished this research without the many hands that have helped me along the way. Thanks especially to my supervisor, Stephen Reese, who generously provided support when I needed it. Throughout the entire process of this study, he has been a steadfast source of wisdom and knowledge and has challenged me with insightful comments. He pushed me to think harder and more critically, to answer his favorite question at each stage—“So … what?” I am blessed to have him as both a mentor and a friend. Dominic Lasorsa, who was a coauthor on my first journal articles, led me through the procedures of developing academic competence until I tasted the fun of publication. Robert Jensen, who is a firm believer of organized citizen action, and whom I deeply admire, always kept me alert to the unfounded certainty about how civil deliberation and movement will be realized through spontaneous and sporadic grass-roots actions. Joseph Straubhaar, who first piqued my interest in global communication when I read his work in the National Library of China in 2002 as a master’s student, kept inspiring me to explore media and communication with a global perspective. Gidon Sjoberg, whose class on the current debates in sociology theories, broadened my views on understanding and interpreting social phenomenon and who won my respect for his keen desire to learn about global issues even after retirement. A few faculty members also deserve special acknowledgement for their generous support. Maxwell McCombs taught me how to develop a great concept and model and to constantly refine it to enhance and enrich it. Iris Chyi, a creative thinker in media economics and a friend, checked with me now and then to make sure that I was making progress. Paula Poindexter encouraged me to balance life as a mother and as a student v writing a dissertation. Qi Cai, my teacher and friend, started me on this academic journey and has been a source of motivation for me ever since. Thanks to the following friends who made my years in Austin a beautiful memory that I will treasure my entire life: Wei-ching Wang, Nan Zheng, Yi-Hsin Yeh, Jing-rong Huang, M. Jacie Yang, Ching-hui Hsiao, Soo J Moon, Kideuk Hyun, Amy Schmitz Weiss, Sara Struckman and Robert Handley. Most of all, thanks to my family. My Mom, Zhenglan Gao, and Dad, Niusong Dai, have given me unconditional support over the years—for whatever I decided to do. My sister, Jing Dai, and my brother-in-law, Deyong Zhang, helped recruit the coders for my study and then organized the coding team. My husband, Yichao Cui, contributed in countless ways, to both this study and to my doctoral degree as a whole, and whose love, care, and understanding has been my safe harbor at all times. While writing my dissertation, my daughter, Jane, was born. She is now two-and-a-half years old. I am blessed that she was so cooperative—it was as if she understood Mom’s crazy schedule. Her laugh has always rejuvenated me with new hope. vi Deliberating in the Chinese Blogosphere: A Study on Hotspot Internet Incidents Jia Dai, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2011 Supervisor: Stephen D. Reese The concept of deliberation, both theoretically and empirically, was examined in the Chinese blogosphere by content analyzing Internet blog posts and comments, associated with sixty hotspot incidents in China from 2007 through 2009. Measurements of analytic and social processes were made and the factors that affect these processes were examined to identify deliberative patterns in the blog posts and comments. The findings suggest relatively substantial deliberative outcomes in the blog posts about the incidents, especially relating to the analytic process. Two variables were examined with respect to the factors that determine deliberation: an incident’s category (non-threatening, threat to performance, and threat to legitimacy) as classified under the command and control system, and information availability (news availability and total information availability) about the incident. Findings support the theoretical framework proposed in the study and suggest the following logical sequences: Firstly, the Chinese command and control system is a significant factor in explaining deliberative outcomes about incidents that can be categorized according to their level of considered threat to the system. An incident that was considered to be at a higher level of threat linked to a higher level of deliberation. Secondly, the command and control system also determines the information availability of an incident but in a negative way— incidents with higher threat levels have lower levels of information availability. Thirdly, information availability, in turn, predicted deliberation on its own—higher levels of information availability link to lower levels of vii deliberation. Moreover, information availability functioned as a moderating variable between the command and control system and the deliberative outcomes. Posts that were associated with non-threatening and threat to performance incidents, with higher levels of information availability, tended to have a lower quality of deliberation. Posts associated with incidents that were a threat to legitimacy, with lower level of information availability, yielded similar deliberative patterns that were of relatively high quality. viii Table of Contents List of Tables ........................................................................................................ xii List of Figures...................................................................................................... xiii List of Figures...................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION........................................................................ 1 Background: Blogging and Hotspot Internet Incidents in China............................ 1 Purpose of Study............................................................................................ 5 The Basic Framework.................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................ 10 Theory of Public Deliberation .............................................................................. 11 Deliberation as a Normative Ideal ............................................................... 11 Deliberation and Political Conversation ...................................................... 14 The Analytic and Social Processes of Deliberation..................................... 17 The Changing Chinese Media and Communication ............................................. 21 Traditional Media......................................................................................... 21 Internet Media.............................................................................................. 25 Authoritarian Deliberation: A Chinese Approach ................................................ 28 Blogging as Deliberative Communication?.......................................................... 34 CHAPTER THREE: BLOGGING AND INTERNET INCIDENTS .................................. 37 Blogging in Transitional China............................................................................. 37 History of Development............................................................................... 37 Early Stage: 2002-2003....................................................................... 37 Growing Stage: 2004-2006................................................................. 37 Rapid Developing Stage: 2007-present .............................................. 39 Differentiating Blog from BBS Forums ...................................................... 40 Blog Service Providers (BSPs) .................................................................... 43 ix Censorship and Surveillance........................................................................ 43 Rehearsing Democracy? .............................................................................. 45 Blogging vs. Journalism............................................................................... 46 Mass Incidents and Internet Incidents................................................................... 48 Studying the Blogosphere..................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER FOUR: THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................... 58 The Central-Local Relationship Paradigm: A Command and Control System .... 59 Threats to Core Interests vs. Non-threatening ............................................. 60 Information Availability of Internet Incidents...................................................... 64 Research Questions and Hypotheses ...................................................................
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