The Emergency Strategy Used by the New York Times in the Coverage of Snowden—Related Events

劉芷伶

【Abstract】Reporting Snowden-related events is a tough test to the American media， for the coverage involves national image of American and privacy of America citizens. American media plays a role of governments supervisor， protects privacy of the citizens； As defender of national interests of U.S.， American media inevitably makes every effort to defend Americas national image. By analyzing the New York Times coverage of Snowden-related events， we can find emergency strategies used by American media， this may give inspiration to Chinese media in coverage of emergencies.

【Key words】the New York Times； American media； national security； privacy； human rights

Edward Joseph Snowden was born in June 21， 1983， he was an American computer specialist， a former Central Intelligence Agency employee， and a former National Security Agency contractor， he disclosed a large number of top secrets of NSA documents to several media outlets. The confidentiality degree and limit of the leaked documents are unprecedented， it is the most significant leak in American history. The exposition began in June 5， 2013， it revealed Internet surveillance programs such as PRISM， XKeyscore and Tempora， as well as interception of US and European telephone metadata.

People used to call him hero， whistleblower， dissident， traitor， and patriot. Snowdens motive for leaking the documents was， in his words， “to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them.” The disclosures have fueled debates over mass surveillance， government secrecy， and balance between national security and information privacy.

Analysis on the Emergency Strategy of The New York Times Reports

1. Reason why American media changes its method acting against emergencies

At the beginning of the revelations， support and praise of Snowden is quite a lot. With development of Snowden-related events， in these reports， word “Patriot” gradually disappears， argument of “traitors” keep heating. At that time， American medias attitude towards Snowden gradually changes from fuzzy to severely blurred. U.S. public opinion changed its direction. The New York Times noted that secret information related to illegal or abuse of power was exposed by whistle-blower， when it comes to national security， whistle-blower must take an “responsible” approach， while Snowden chose an “irresponsible” approach， so it is right for the United States pursue his legal responsibility.

Behind the criticism of American media is the faith that national interest is always more important than personal privacy and human right. This time， Snowden embarrassed the U.S. government in front of the world. However， when the world demands an explanation， the U.S. government was surprisingly calm. In fact， the United States is not only calm， but also some kind of indifferent and arrogant. Behind calm of Obama is the American status of “ big brother” that no one would challenge in the network area.

2. Essential characteristics of The New York Times as an American media

As an American media， The New York Times has two main characters. As governments supervisor， protector of human right. It protects civil liberty， privacy of America citizens. As a defender of national interests， American media inevitably make every effort to defend Americas international image. The New York Times takes a clear-cut to protect American interest， Snowden-related reports focus more on condemning other countries， words such as privacy， human rights and civil liberty gradually disappeared.

As delegate of American media， the New York Times rather sacrifice the reliability of reports for so-called political correctness. The consequence is obvious： they may lead the general public to a wrong direction， make the readers misunderstand the facts and shapes the readers understanding towards crisis. These reports have the ability to influence U.S. Government， and U.S. government will take public opinion into consideration when making decisions.

3. Inspiration to Chinese media when reporting domestic emergencies

Snowden-related reports in The New York Times give us many inspirations. First of all， we should attach more importance to news frame theory， it seriously affect public， far beyond than our imagination. China needs to clearly recognize the differences between Chinese and American political culture， we wont compromise， we will fight and confidently articulate demands to protect our interests.We should establish and improve our emergency response system based on national circumstances as soon as possible， protect national interests and personal privacy， defend human rights.

For China， we should derive lessons and experiences from Snowden-related events. When facing emergencies， we must not disregard human right and civil privacy. It is as important as national security. Also， we mus not ignore power of media， take good use of news frame can give us a hand in fierce international rivalry.

References：

[1]“Job Title Key To Inner Access Held by Leaker.”The New York Times 1 July.2013：A1.

[2]“Leaker Charged With Violating Espionage Act.”The New York Times22 June.2013：A1.