The representation of artificial intelligence in China’s regional media: a comparative analysis of Dazhong Daily and Yangcheng Evening News

Section: Foreign Journalism

This article analyzes the representation of artificial intelligence (AI) in regional media in China. The study aims to identify key themes, interpretations, and models of AI representation in two leading regional newspapers in China (Dazhong Daily, Shandong Province, and Yangcheng Evening News, Guangdong Province) and to analyze how regional media adapt the national discourse on AI to local socioeconomic conditions. The empirical base of the study consisted of 343 materials published in 2024 and selected from the electronic archives of these publications. A modified TF-IDF algorithm was used to identify thematic priorities, and the point-wise mutual information (PMI) indicator was used to analyze stable semantic relationships. A discourse analysis of a subsample of 49 materials was additionally conducted. The results reveal differences in regional models of AI representation: the Yangcheng Evening News promotes a more globally oriented technological discourse, emphasizing international technological trends and the market logic of AI development, while the Dazhong Daily interprets AI primarily as a tool for industrial modernization and the implementation of government policy. These differences reflect the specific socioeconomic and institutional development of Guangdong and Shandong provinces and highlight the importance of regional context in media discourse studies.

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To cite this article: Smirnova O. V., Il’chenko D. S., Ju Yu. (2026) Reprezentatsiya iskusstvennogo intellekta v regional’nykh SMI Kitaya «Dazhun Deyli» i «Vecherniye novosti Yanchena» [The representation of artificial intelligence in China’s regional media: a comparative analysis of Dazhong Daily and Yangcheng Evening News]. Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika 2: 116–135. DOI: 10.55959/msu.vestnik.journ.2.2026.116135