Mass media in Taiwan and the formation of Chien-Ming Wang's baseball superstar image

This study aims to analyze the methods used by mass media in Taiwan to manipulate the idolization of Chien-Ming Wang on his road to become a well-known Taiwanese baseball star using documentary analysis method and to further explore how Chien-Ming Wang had become the most famous star in Taiwan under the manipulation of mass media through marketing by interviewing some sports journalists and Wang's sponsors. And it is found that Chien-Ming Wang's outstanding performance as a Yankee player in the Major League had got Taiwanese mass media's attention. Therefore Taiwanese mass media had adopted the agenda-setting method to sell Chien-Ming Wang to audience/readers through news framing. At the same time, Wang had been labeled. Wang's eastern characteristics which are valued by eastern society, such as being silent and hard-working with fighting spirit while putting the team ahead of his personal glory, had been combined with mass media. Sports sponsors had also used these elements to sell products related to Wang. Thus, under the combination of mass media and symbols of eastern values, Wang had become a celebrated sports superstar in Taiwan.