《纽约时报》中的“共产主义”刻板印象——基于命名实体识别的媒介记忆之场研究

Stereotyping of Communism in New York Times:Study on the Media Sites of Memory Based on Named Entity Recognition

本文引入历史学的记忆之场理论,借助计算传播学方法中的命名实体识别技术追溯了媒介记忆之场的沉浮轨迹,系统勾画了《纽约时报》(1981-2018)中“共产主义”刻板印象的变迁图景。研究发现,随记忆之场起伏流转的“共产主义”刻板印象,始终追随并服膺于美国主流意识形态及国家利益,大致经历了三个阶段:从“对抗西方民主的冷战敌人”,转化为“世界性的政治运动和威胁美国安全的激进同谋”,再转向当前“挑战美国全球影响力的中国”。研究“共产主义”在西方媒体中的传播,既有助于我们深入理解新闻与政治逻辑关系背后的媒介意识形态实质,也有助于我们把握新一轮“中国威胁论”的动机和本质。

Taking the theoretical perspective of Sites of Memory,this paper applies the computational communication method of named entity recognition in tracing the media sites of memory and outlining the shifting“Communism”stereotype landscape in New York Times from 1981 to 2018.The study shows that the“Communism”stereotypes changed in accordance with the sites of memory and the American mainstream ideology and national interests,and transformed through three stages:from“an enemy combating the Western democracy in the Cold War”,to“a world political movement and a conspiracy endangering American national security”,and now to“China challenging the American leadership on the world stage.”The study of the coverage of Communism in Western media can not only deepen our understanding of media ideology behind the logical relationship between news and politics,but also help us grasp the essence and motivation of the new wave of“China’s threat”in Western media.