Can the World Expo change a city's image through foreign media reports?

Abstract

Hosting global events like the World Expo is a new form of public relations for cities, but few studies have been conducted to explore the extent to which they can change the content of media reports and media attitudes toward city image. We conducted a content analysis of all Shanghai-related news reports from November 2009 to April 2011 on 30 English newspapers in 10 countries. We found a few interesting discoveries. First, the Shanghai Expo 2010 did affect newspapers’ agenda-building, with the Expo being the topic of most reports and the most important news before and during the Expo. Second, the Expo brought changes to the news frames of newspapers, but the changes were still constrained by media practices. Third, the Expo improved newspapers’ attitudes toward Shanghai's city image, particularly toward the city's potential. Finally and most importantly, global events such as the Expo do have a significant impact on the content and attitudes of newspaper reports, but a single event cannot produce long-lasting effects. Therefore improving city image requires “better actions than just better words.”

Introduction

The World Exhibition or Exposition, abbreviated as the World Expo, is an international event organized by the host country's government or certain organizations with governmental delegations. With its immense impact and long history, it is always billed as the “Economic Olympics.” Participants of the Expo display their cultural, scientific, technological, and industrial achievements that positively influence human life.

The World Expo has gone through three eras (Walvis, 2004). First, in the era of Industrialization (1851–1938), the Expo focused on trade and was well-known for exhibiting the most up-to-date scientific and technical inventions. Second, in the era of Cultural Exchange (1939–1987), the Expo paid attention to Cultural Exchange issues and became very future-oriented and utopian. Finally, in the era of National Branding (1988–present), countries have been improving national image through their national pavilions as was in the case of the Expo 1988 in Brisbane. Today, national image has become a strong asset, so both national pavilions and the Expo itself have become tools for marketing national image. National and city administrators believe that apart from displaying national image, hosting the Expo can raise reputation and build good image for host countries and host cities, thus facilitating the branding process. For instance, as host of the World Expo 2010, Shanghai strived to present itself as a livable city by pursuing the theme “Better City, Better Life.” However, except for people who actually attended the Expo, the international public experienced Shanghai only indirectly through media reports. Therefore, the content and attitudes of media reports became a major determinant of people's cognition of the city.

This paper conducts a content analysis of Shanghai-related news reports from foreign newspapers before, during, and after the Shanghai Expo 2010. It explores whether the Expo had significantly influenced the agenda and frame of media reports, and assesses their tone and attitudes toward Shanghai's city image. It further investigates how much the Expo, as a public relations activity, helped Shanghai improve its city image.