Perception of America in "Kuensel" - Bhutan’s most popular newspaper
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51480/compress.2025.8-2.922Keywords:
media, usa, the united states of america, kuensel, bhutanAbstract
This paper explores the image of the United States of America in Bhutan’s most popular newspaper. The Kingdom of Bhutan is a Buddhist country in the Himalayas, that for centuries remained in the self-imposed isolation that influenced its culture, customs, and media that were introduced at the end of the 20th century. This constitutional monarchy is run under the auspice of the Gross National Happiness (GNH) index that measures the development not in monetary value, but in terms of personal achievements. Such peculiar circumstances influenced Bhutanese media, which tend to avoid harsh judgments, sensationalism, and tabloidism, therefore it’s fascinating how the USA is presented through a Bhutanese lens. This study is based on a qualitative paradigm and used the media content analysis method. The research sample (122 texts) was drawn from articles published in "Kuensel". Authors used leading software for qualitative and mixed methods researches as their investigation tool. The results fill a research gap in the context of the study of America's image in Bhutanese media.
References
Anderson, B. (2006). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism (rev. ed.). Verso.
Avieson, B. (2015a). From mani stones to Twitter: Bhutan creates a unique media matrix for a 21st-century democracy. International Journal of Communication, 9, 2487-2506. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3186
Avieson, B. (2015b). The dragon’s voice: How modern media found Bhutan. University of Queensland Press.
Christians, C. G., Glasser, T. L., McQuail, D., Nordenstreng, K., & White, R. A. (2009). Normative theories of the media: Journalism in democratic societies. University of Illinois Press.
Conlon, C. (2002). Bhutan. In S. A. Gunaratne (Ed.), Handbook of the media in Asia (2nd ed., pp. 67-83). SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. SAGE.
Chakravartty, P., & Roy, S. (2023). Questioning “de-Westernization”. Political Communication Report, 28. https://doi.org/10.17169/refubium-41239
Datta‑Ray, S. K. (1996). Press freedom and professional standards in Asia. Media Asia, 23(3), 131-133. https://doi.org/10.1080/01296612.1996.11726501
Doliwa, U., & Żyliński, S. (2021). Community radio in Bhutan. Journal of Radio & Audio Media. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376529.2021.1920024
Dorji, K. G. (2015, May 4). Bhutan to expand medical assistance to Nepal. Kuensel. Accessed February 15, 2021. https://kuenselonline.com/bhutan-to-expand-medical-assistance-to-nepal/
Dorji, N. (2018, November 19). California looking to replicate GNH model of development. Kuensel. Accessed February 15, 2021. https://kuenselonline.com/california-looking-to-replicate-gnh-model-of-development/
Dunn, J. (1994). Democracy: The unfinished journey, 508 BC‑AD 1993. Oxford University Press.
Emmel, N. (2013). Sampling and choosing cases in qualitative research: A realist approach. SAGE.
Freedom House. (2024). Freedom in the World 2024: Bhutan country report. Accessed December 7, 2025. https://freedomhouse.org/country/bhutan/freedom-world/2024
Frampton, B. (2015, September 14). Clickbait: The changing face of online journalism. BBC News. Accessed March 14, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-34213693
Gunaratne, S. A., Pearson, M., & Senarath, S. (2017). Mindful journalism and news ethics in the digital era: A Buddhist approach. Routledge.
Hampton, M. (2010). The Fourth Estate ideal in journalism history. In S. Allan (Ed.), The Routledge companion to news and journalism. Routledge.
Hallin, D. C., & Mancini, P. (2004). Comparing media systems: Three models of media and politics. Cambridge University Press.
He, Z., Chen, X., & Xing, W. (2012). The image of the United States in the Chinese media: An examination of the evaluative component of framing. Public Relations Review, 38(5), 676-683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2012.09.001
Josephi, B. (2017). Journalists for a young democracy. Journalism Studies, 18(4), 495-510. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2015.1065199
Kinley, D. (1991). The media in Bhutan. In Consultation on Press Systems in SAARC: Kathmandu, Nepal, 2-5 April 1991. Asian Mass Communication Research & Information Centre. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/93133
Kuensel Online. (2019, February 27). Fostering competition important. Kuensel. Accessed February 15, 2021. https://kuenselonline.com/fostering-competition-important/
Kuensel Online. (2020, November 9). The road to winning Chhoekhor‑Tang. Kuensel. Accessed February 15, 2021. https://kuenselonline.com/the-road-to-winning-chhoekhor-tang/
Kuensel Online. (2025). About us. Accessed December 7, 2025. https://kuenselonline.com/about-us
McLuhan, M., & Lapham, L. H. (1994). Understanding media: The extensions of man (reprint ed.). MIT Press.
Mitchell, J. C. (1984). Typicality and the case study. In R. Ellen (Ed.), Ethnographic research: A guide to general conduct (pp. 237-241). Academic Press.
Muppidi, S. (2012). Bhutan (.bt). In S. R. Muppidi (Ed.), Asian communication handbook (6th ed., pp. 172-184). Asian Media Information and Communication Centre and Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University.
Norbu, T. (2001). White sail: Crossing the waves of ocean mind to the serene continent of the triple gems. Shambhala Publications.
Palden, T. (2017, January 14). Bangkok drug case nearing end. Kuensel. Accessed February 15, 2021. https://kuenselonline.com/bangkok-drug-case-nearing-end/
Park, M. J., & Curran, J. (Eds.). (2000). De‑Westernizing media studies. Routledge.
Phuntsho, K. (2013). The history of Bhutan. Random House India.
Rapten, P. (2001). Mass media: Its consumption and impact on residents of Thimphu and rural areas. Journal of Bhutan Studies, 3, 3-12.
Reporters Without Borders. (2025). Bhutan. Accessed December 7, 2025. https://rsf.org/en/country/bhutan
Sharma, C. S. (2007). Bhutanese folktales: Common man’s media with missions for society. Journal of Bhutan Studies, 17, 83-112.
Shaw, B. (2012). Bhutan. In J. Love (Ed.), South Asia 2013 (10th ed., pp. 201-237). Routledge.
Sheng, A. (2020, March 2). Trust in the 21st century. Kuensel. Accessed February 15, 2021. https://kuenselonline.com/trust-in-the-21st-century/
Siebert, F. S., Peterson, T., & Schramm, W. (1956). Four theories of the press: The authoritarian, libertarian, social responsibility, and Soviet communist concepts of what the press should be and do. University of Illinois Press.
Tshedup, Y. (2016, April 9). Coach Mike hands Bhutan first international win. Kuensel. Accessed February 15, 2021. https://kuenselonline.com/coach-mike-hands-bhutan-first-international-win/
Tshedup, Y. (2020, January 11). Escaping the nightmare. Kuensel. Accessed February 15, 2021. https://kuenselonline.com/escaping-the-nightmare/
Tshering, S. (2018, September 1). Balancing the right to vote and being apolitical. Kuensel. Accessed February 15, 2021. https://kuenselonline.com/balancing-the-right-to-vote-and-being-apolitical/
Tshering, S. (2020, December 26). Ensuring the right to information to fight rumours and fake news. Kuensel. Accessed February 15, 2021. https://kuenselonline.com/ensuring-the-right-to-information-to-fight-rumours-and-fake-news/
Ura, K., Alkire, S., & Zangmo, T. (2012). GNH and GNH index. Centre for Bhutan Studies.
Wangchuk, D. (2018). Middle path journalism: A conceptual framework for Bhutanese media. In K. Seneviratne (Ed.), Mindful communication for sustainable development: Perspectives from Asia (pp. 133-150). SAGE. https://doi.org/10.4135/9789353280697.n12
Wiley, T. (2002). Original sin: Origins, developments, contemporary meanings. Paulist Press.
Wood, P. (2007). Priming the printing press: The growing print media in Bhutan. S.I.T. Tibetan and Himalayan Studies.
Zangmo, T. (2017, January 23). Kushuthara – A Pattern of Love will premiere in the US. Kuensel. Accessed February 15, 2021. https://kuenselonline.com/kushuthara-a-pattern-of-love-will-premiere-in-the-us/
Żyliński, S. (2016). Bhutan media system – an attempt of preliminary analysis. Zeszyty Prasoznawcze, 59(4), 674-689. https://doi.org/10.4467/22996362PZ.16.042.5917
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Polish Communication Association

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Content of the articles is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license