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Mediating Conflict on TV: A Discourse Analysis of

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China Media Research, 9(4), 2013, Deng, et al, Mediating Conflict on TV: Discourse Analysis of Gold Medal Mediation

Mediating Conflict on TV: A Discourse Analysis

of the Gold Medal Mediation Episodes
Yiheng Deng, Southwestern University of Finance and economics, China
Kaibin Xu, Temple University, USA
Xiaoqiu Fu, Shanghai International Studies University, China
Sang Ma, Shanghai International Studies University, China
Abstract: Gold Medal Mediation, a Chinese TV reality show, demonstrates conflict management through thirdparty mediation on TV, has achieved mounting viewing rate in China over the past five years. This study analyzed
seven conflict mediation episodes of the program recorded from the Jiangxi Satellite TV. The conflicts ranged from
problems between married couples, to the disagreement between parents and their only child, the controversial
teenage romance, as well as the disputes with the in-laws and among neighbors. This study found that, on the one
hand, the program serves as a means to propagate the mainstream traditions and values for conflict management in
todays Chinese society; on the other hand, the mediation model shown on TV manifests the social and cultural
expectations of how conflict should be resolved, especially by addressing the emotions of the disputants and tackling
the relational aspect of the conflict. [China Media Research. 2013; 9(4): 5-14]
Keywords: Conflict management, TV reality show, mediation, discourse analysis, value, emotion
judge. They are exposing themselves in front of the
camera and occupying the prime time on major TV
programs. These shows allow us to look into the
legendary Chinese mediation, with the conversations,
the mediation strategies and all other salient
communication features. Furthermore, they open a
window for us to peer into the mainstream values and
upheld beliefs in the current Chinese society. This study
is to analyze the program Gold Medal Mediation on the
satellite TV channel of Jiangxi Province, one of the
most popular mediation reality shows.

Introduction
What is wrong with todays Chinese? Dont they
try to avoid conflict as much as possible? Isnt it their
tradition to cover up their family scandals? Arent
they afraid of losing face in front of a TV audience?
After a series of so-called Emotion (problem)
Programs have been aired prime time on a number of
Chinese TV channels, and achieved mounting audience
viewing rate, people cannot help asking these questions.
The series of Emotion (problem) Programs on
JiangSu Satellite TV received the second highest
viewing rate among all the programs aired by 35
provincial satellite TV stations in China (Wang, 2007).
Super Mediation, one of the first of its kind, occupied a
prime time slot starting from 21:25 every night Monday
through Saturday on Jiangsu Satellite TV since its first
launching in 2007. Starting from March, 21, 2011, Gold
Medal Mediation, the same kind of "Emotion Program"
aired on Jiangxi Satellite TV, has achieved equivalent or
even greater popularity. The third episode on March 23,
2011 has an audience of 821,000 people and ranked the
6th on all provincial satellite TV station programs. On
September 5 the same year, Gold Medal Mediation
became the most popular program in Jiangxi Satellite
TV, with more than 30% increase in audience size,
viewing rate and market share (Zhu, 2011). According
to Feng (2011), up till June 2011, mediation TV shows
were on air on 38 TV channels in 71 cities in China.
The Chinese traditional culture is regarded as one
that values harmony, avoids conflict, and protects and
maintains ones face as well as the familys honor.
However, people are revealing their family secret,
private problems and resolving their disputes on TV
with the real people telling their real stories, throwing
themselves at the public to watch, to scrutinize, and to

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Literature Review and Research Questions

Gold Medal Mediation belongs to the category of
reality show in a broad sense. According to Nabi (2003),
reality show is characterized by several elements: (a)
people portraying themselves (i.e., not actors or public
figures performing roles), (b) filmed at least in part in
their living or working environment rather than on a set,
(c) without a script, (d) with events placed in a narrative
context, and (e) for the primary purpose of viewer
entertainment (p. 304). Some researchers have defined
reality show broadly to encompass news, talk shows,
and documentaries (e.g., Meng & Lugalambi, 2003;
Potter et al., 1997). The most important feature of
reality show should be real people playing themselves
without using script. Although Gold Medal Mediation
moves the mediation sessions onto the stage surrounded
by cameras and lights, the heroes and heroines are real
people telling their own stories. Most important of all,
the mediators and experts examine and try to tackle
their problems on the spot. The hostess plays the role of
a facilitator, asking questions, clarifying stories and
summarizing each persons points. The background
narrator helps the audience fill in the gaps by telling

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China Media Research, 9(4), 2013, Deng, et al, Mediating Conflict on TV: Discourse Analysis of Gold Medal Mediation

untold stories, providing background information,

introducing each disputant, and summarizing what
happened behind or in front of the camera.
Li (2012b) categorized the TV mediation shows in
China into three types: the two-party structure
composed of only the mediator and the disputants; the
tripartite structure with a host or hostess, the disputants,
and the mediator; the quad-party structure, more with an
observing panel. A 12+X model is applied in Gold
Medal Mediation: one host, one key mediator, eight
observers, two disputants, and X others involved in the
conflict. The key mediators must possess authority,
credibility, popularity, affinity and specialty (Gold
Medal Mediation, 2011, March 16) to provide multiple
solutions to the conflicting sides, and Jianyun Hu, the
most renowned and welcomed mediator is a professor at
Jiangxi Normal University. Hu has a background of
education management and rich experience in debate
coaching. He believes that the first step of mediation is
presenting the clear-cut logic behind the complicated
conflict cases, but the influence from the public is also
needed to protect certain important principles in the
social ethics of our national culture (Zhang, 2011). The
observers are from varied occupational backgrounds
including the law, education, non-profit organizations,
as well as counseling and psychology. The program
started with a pool of about 40 observers, many of
whom are recommended by Jiangxi Provincial
Department of Justice. For each episode, eight observers
will be present at the show to help providing
suggestions and analysis from different perspectives,
and the program now is recruiting observers from the
audience on its official website. Another key figure of
the show is the program host, Ting Zhang, who will
introduce the conflict background at the beginning,
participate in the mediation process, and give
concluding remarks at the end of the show. Ting Zhang,
together with Jianyun Hu and observer Xiyu Liao were
awarded Best Mediator of the Country in 2011, and
the program was selected as a candidate for Top 10
Figures in Law Enforcement of Jiangxi, and received
the award of Chinas Top 10 Programs on Law
Enforcement in 2012.
The popularity of the mediation TV shows in China
is mainly attributed to two factors: the socio-cultural
background and the mass communication effect. Among
the socio-cultural reasons, the public needs are the
mostly mentioned (Huang & Liu, 2011; Li, 2010; Sun,
2011; Xu, 2012; Yao & Zhu, 2012). Research has
shown that the Chinese have traditionally preferred
mediation, an informal way of conflict resolution that
seeks third party intervention combined with expert
counseling, over litigation that is favored by the
Americans (Cohen, 1966; Wall & Blum, 1991). For the
Chinese, A dispute resolution through legal procedure
will usually result in broken relationship or even hatred

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between the disputants, which violates Chinese

traditional culture of harmony and conformity. In the
contemporary Chinese society in a transitional era, the
problems that people encounter now are no longer the
basic needs for food and sheltering, but the tremendous
stress coming from striving for success in the heated
competitions (Huang & Liu, 2011). An urgent need of
finding new problem-solving channels also triggers the
success of such TV mediation programs. TV mediation,
following a systematic procedure and attended by
mediation specialists or experts, has acquired a positive
appraisal among the audience for its high efficiency and
success in mediation.
From the perspective of mass communication effect,
the unveiling of peoples private issues to the public and
the dramatization of enlarged conflicts via mass media
can inevitably attract audiences interest and attention
(Li, 2012b). The visual effects of mass media on the
audience can augment the communication effects (Liu
& Zeng, 2012). More importantly, mass media have an
influential power in affirming certain values and
attitudes of public opinion (Huang & Liu, 2011; Li,
2010; Li, 2012a; Song, 2002; Tan, 2010; Ye, 2012).
Mainstream Values and Moralities Advocated
The special function of TV as a medium engages
the audience in the relation between the mediator and
disputants so as to form an implicitly triangular
structure (Li, 2012a). The involvement of audience into
the dispute mediation process enables TV mediation to
have a broader function beyond the broadcast scene on
social mediation. Its social mediation function has been
analyzed and explicated in most of the articles covering
this topic. First, the program has the function of social
integration (Li, 2012a ; Tan, 2010; Ye, 2012). By
displaying or even exaggerating the disharmonious
picture of our present society in the first place, TV
mediation can effectively solve the problems and reach
a harmonious result at the end. Throughout the process,
audiences attention is diverted from the instability and
disputes to the common values affirmed by the whole
society. Second, the program has the function of
shaping the perception of the public (Tan, 2010). Its a
basic function of mass media. TV mediation can
transmit the proper ideas and perception to the public,
and also reflect the publics problems and needs. Third,
the program can promote mainstream traditional values
(Sun, 2011; Tan, 2010; Yao & Zhu, 2012). The
propagation and highlighting of some important Chinese
ethics and values is internalized throughout the whole
TV mediation process. Through directing and shaping
public opinions, TV mediation can achieve a greater
influence than normal mediations on value appeal and
identification. The critique of the show is mainly based
on the legal perspectives (e.g., Li, 2012a, 2012b). Li
pointed out the common flaws in such programs in

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China Media Research, 9(4), 2013, Deng, et al, Mediating Conflict on TV: Discourse Analysis of Gold Medal Mediation
the constructive management of internal disputes (2005,
p. 66). Jameson, Bodtker, Porch and Jordan (2009)
found that mediation has brought to the disputants
increased positive affect and decreased negative affect,
as well as improved perception of their adversary in an
organizational conflict. This is in contrast to negotiation,
which brought decreased positive affect and increased
negative affect, as well as no change of perception of
their adversary. The more important of their findings is
that attention to emotions leads to transformation of the
conflict, and thus leads to the more positive affect and
perceptions towards the other party. Mediation helps
with this process of addressing emotional issues, hence,
could achieve the above-mentioned effect, while
negotiation may not. Both studies have been carried out
for the purpose of exploring conflict at workplace or in
an organization. We are interested in the question that
whether these implications are also applicable to the
conflict occurred in peoples daily lives. Hence, our
second research question is proposed as follows:
RQ2: How are emotions or relational issues
addressed in the mediation program, and how does
doing so help with the mediation?

China as follows: the lack of neutrality of some

mediators, the violation of the voluntariness of the
parties concerned, and the inculcation of decisions on
the parties at the expense of their real will. The lack of
neutrality is also prevalent in real-life Chinese
mediation by Deng (Deng, 2010).
According to the program introduction on Jiangxi
TVs official website (http://jptj.cjxtv.com/), Gold
Medal Mediation aims at showing the audience the art
and wisdom of conflict resolution. Both humane caring
and psychological consultancy could be found in the
program to advocate a positive and civilized social
climate. The program is also a government-favorite.
Leaders in Jiangxi have spoken highly of the show in
different occasions, and the Justice Departments around
China have used the program as learning material. As a
matter of fact, Jiangxi Provincial Department of Justice
is the co-organizer and co-founder of Gold Medal
Mediation. The department follows up with the cases
further development and provides cases for the program
producer. Thus, our first research question is as follows:
RQ1: What are the cultural values and moralities
advocated in the program that are upheld by the
mainstream society or the government in the program?

Method
The current study analyzed seven episodes of Gold
Medal Mediation, the reality TV program. The
techniques adopted to analyze the episodes are mainly
from discourse analysis (Altheide 1996), bringing into
consideration the intentions of the speakers, sociopsychological functions of the utterances, as well as the
themes of the language being used.

Emotion and Conflict Management

If Judge Judy, the American law enforcement
reality TV program, conveys the idea of justice and the
judgment between right and wrong, then Chinas
Mediation Shows, such as Gold Medal Mediation, are
about love, tolerance and forgiving, which, an American
audience would argue, are major themes of a preaching
program, only that the role of a preacher is served by a
team of mediators and expert observers. The major
source is not the Bible but their expertise in their
specialized field, moral judgment and life experiences.
Many news reports and editorials have labeled the
various mediation shows in different names since 2002,
such as Sincere Love Match(),the earliest of
its kind, Night Talk( ), Emotion Chat(
),and Life Panorama( ). These reality
programs have a common theme, that is, human
emotions and relationships.
Delsivilya and Yagil (2005) studied workgroup
conflict management and found that emotional states
played the central role in determining the choice of
conflict styles within the work team. According to them,
emotions play a very important role in the intragroup
conflict. They also found that perceptions of the nature
of the conflict were associated with the emotional
reactions, and thus, associated indirectly with conflict
management
preferences.
They
argued
that
understanding how team members perceive their
conflict experiences and appraise their affective states
can enhance team-building efforts, including training in

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Sampling
We watched a number of episodes of the show and
briefly recorded the topic of each episode, the name of
the mediator, and then picked the current seven episodes
to include a variety of conflicts and mediators. These
seven episodes involve different family disputes. The
scope of the content ranges from mother-daughter
relationship to couples disputes, from teenage issues to
the conflict between cousins families. Four different
mediators mitigated seven cases. All the episodes were
hosted by one woman. All the shows have eight
observers, including TV hosts, psychiatrists, social
workers, lawyers, and researchers.
Three of us were involved in analyzing the selected
episodes. Each analyzed two or three episodes in detail,
and wrote a report with excerpts of transcript to
demonstrate the themes and language patterns. In
analyzing the mediation cases, we watched over and
over again and took notes when we found anything
particular about the show. Then, in some interesting and
important moments, we would transcribe the whole
conversations or a persons monologue with its
linguistic context, that is, what precedes and follows this

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China Media Research, 9(4), 2013, Deng, et al, Mediating Conflict on TV: Discourse Analysis of Gold Medal Mediation

monologue. Then, after the analysis of the whole

episode is finished in this fashion, each of us would try
to do a deep analysis of the data using the techniques of
discourse analysis, associating the utterances with the
underlying socio-psychological functions, and bringing
in cultural interpretations as well. Then the three of us
switched cases and read each others reports to see if the
themes and patterns identified were the salient ones and
if any important points were missing. In the end, one of
us summarized across all reports the salient themes and
discourse phenomena of the data.

poor children from her own experience. Then, she

compared the couple as the children in a very rich
family who would never be satisfied or happy with a
new school bag:
The two of you remind me of the children in the
city, who cant stop arguing for more despite of
plenty of things youve already had. You are now
afflicted in advance by the trouble brought by the
apartment that may come into being several years
later. How pathetic you are! Why have we become
so pathetic, lingering on the property distribution of
yours or mine, and of your children or my children?
Thats because its easy to divide the property but
not easy at all to work out the emotional(gan qing)
issues. As long as there are still feelings (gan qing)
as a couple between you, and the attachment from
the past, what we need is to be bigger-hearted. If
both of you could try to look at each other from a
different perspective or with a different attitude,
and re-calculate the account of your emotions (gan
qing) , the property distribution wouldnt be a
problem any more.

Findings
Social and Cultural Values Upheld
One of the public service advertisements on CCTV,
Chinas official central TV channel, has the English
word Family illustrated as the antonym of Father
And Mother, I Love You. The love and unity among
family members have been upheld by the central
government, for family has always been regarded as the
smallest unit of a society. Hence, maintaining harmony
and stability of the family is the way to the countrys
stability and harmony. Gold Medal Mediation, is not
only popular among the ordinary audience, but also one
of the governments favorite. It plays an important role
in propagating family values, such as, mutual tolerance,
respect for the elders, as well as affection (gan qing)
and love among family members.
In one of the cases we analyzed, the two sides in
conflict are the families of two cousins who are business
partners. All the members of each family are involved
more or less in this business, which has become a root
of the conflict between the two families. A rumor saying
that the elder cousin had earned more than the younger
cousin triggered the resentment and uncooperativeness
of the family of the younger cousin, which in turn, later,
evoked hostility and revenging measures of the elder
cousins family. The affection(gan qing) among family
members has been emphasized to persuade the two
parties to reconcile by the mediator:

Here, being grateful for what one has and the concept of
gan qing (affection/attachment/emotions) have been
exploited to persuade the couple to compromise. Gan
qing was lifted above all other matters in a family.
In a divorce case, the husband (Zou) has been
gambling for years and has a debt of more than 500,000
RMB. To get the money back, his creditors went after
his wife (Liao) and both of their parents. Liao felt
completely disappointed and hopeless and came to the
program with a determination of getting a divorce, but
Zou refused to do so and begged her for another chance.
The observers and mediator all complimented on Liaos
integrity, saying she possesses some traditional
virtues of a good wife. Then, they repeatedly asked her
to take her feelings (gan qing) for her husband into
consideration, You do have feelings (gan qing) for him,
so you need to face your own feelings first.Another
common factor that the mediator used to keep the two
together is their son. Several times the observers
mentioned their son, and asked the wife, "Do you think
your life will be better off as a single mother after
leaving him? Hence, keeping the unity of a family is
what the observers and the mediator were pushing for.
They would use values such as the virtues of a good
wife, and feelings (gan qing) for each other, as well as
the common cause of raising a child to persuade the
woman to stay in the marriage.
Respect for the elders and the obligation of taking
care of ones older folks are themes repeated in a number
of cases. In the mediation case of the business partner
cousins, the disrespectfulness of the elder cousins wife
for the uncle was criticized by one of the observers:

(This should be especially said to) the younger

generation, both sides have kept a common ground,
that is, the feelings (gan qing) are more important.
You may all have noticed that the two sides did
make efforts to find the feelings (gan qing) before
and after their dispute. Looking back a little
more at the bounties given by others and the suffers
others endured for you, the two families of you, I
think, have every reason to shake hands and make
peace. You actually also hope so, right?
In another case of the dispute over real estate
distribution between a remarried couple for their
children, after hearing the whole story, one of the
observers told an anecdote of the new school bags for

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China Media Research, 9(4), 2013, Deng, et al, Mediating Conflict on TV: Discourse Analysis of Gold Medal Mediation
offspring in todays Chinese society. Passing
legislatures to protect such rights of the aged is the
major way to implement the values, and an alternative
way is to publicize such an idea through the media.
In the case of wife vs husband's conflict, the wife
(Luo) and the husband (Nie) were married for 15 years
with 3 children. However, Luo never got along with her
mother-in-law, and the couple often fought against each
other about whether she or her mother-in-law is wrong
or mistreated. Sometimes, Nie even used violence to
defend his mother. Luo left home for two months and
came directly to the show to meet her husband, the
children and her mother-in-law, asking for a divorce.
This is a typical Chinese family conflict-- its not
only conflict between the couple, but a conflict
involving several family members of the extended
family. Thus, the eventual goal of the mediation is to
build a happy and harmonious big family. The program
quoted the traditional saying at the beginning of the
show, Its never a happy family without a good
relationship between mother-in-law and the wife (
), and this goal has been implemented
throughout the show. For example, one of the observers
said to the husband: You married her and brought her
home, then you must learn to introduce her to your
family and help her build good relationship with
everyone in your family. If they dont get along, you
wont live in peace; only when your mother and your
wife get along, can you have a peaceful home .
Tolerance is a key word in this show. For example,
the observers asked both the wife and the husband:
Can you be more tolerantAnd when the couple kept
on arguing with each other, the observers harshly
criticized them: If today, you two come to the show,
still only calculating your own suffering and pain, then
youd better not come at all. Another observer who
gave suggestions about raising children, also mentioned
about tolerance: You two should teach the kids how
to be grateful, be tolerant, be understanding, and learn
about courteousness. "
In summary, social and cultural values concerning
the unity and stability of the family, and gan qing
(affection/attachment/emotions), tolerance, respect for
and support of the older members in a family were
stressed during the mediation. The mediators often
educate, coach or criticize the disputant(s) with these
typical Chinese virtues in the mediation reality shows
on TV we studied.

The niece-in-law, what I was not comfortable with

is that, you need to (did not) be polite towards the
older people, your uncle, . Have you noticed that
this younger cousin, no matter how much he felt he
was wronged, still showed respect for this older
cousin, didnt he? When facing the older generation,
especially your uncle and aunt, I suggest you treat
them more humbly. Because it is neither a personal
requirement nor a requirement from your family,
but required by the Chinese ethics.
By resorting to the Chinese traditional virtue of
showing respect for elders, the observer tries to evoke
not only the shamefulness of the wife, but also arouse
the negative emotion on her of all the people on the spot
as well as the audience of the show. The focus of the
conflict between the two families is thus diverted by
negative emotions on the elder cousins family, which
puts them in a disadvantageous position.
Another important value emphasized in the
mediation shows is the offspring support of their aged
parents. In the case of the dispute over real estate
distribution between a remarried couple for their
children, according to the wifes distribution plan, her
children would get much more than the husbands only
son. But the ground the wife took is that the extra part
given specifically to her children was a reciprocal return
for her devotion to her husband and the son of the
husband. The mediator snapped at her after hearing that
the distribution plan did not take the husbands parents
into consideration:
How greedy (you are)! How greedy! Though,
according to you, the parents said that their real
estate would be all yours, and it is up to you to
handle it, we, as the children, should take into
consideration the parents needs in housing.
According to the Law on the Protection of Rights
and Interests of the Aged passed in our country, the
children have the obligation to support their parents.
To be frank, Im telling you, one cannot be
insatiably greedy. How could you say that, the
female party? How long will you live in the world?
Whats the meaning to fight for more property for
your children?
The mediators criticism is direct and sharp
concerning the older peoples rights. Neutrality is not a
concern for the mediators in most of the cases and it is
normal in the Chinese mediation (e.g. Wall & Blum,
1991; Deng, 2012). By making a sharp criticism and
being judgmental, the mediator held up the obligation of
offspring for ones elderly parents. Filial piety is not
only a traditional virtue but also what the government
has always been advocating. It is commonly known that
the government wants the aged to be supported by their

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Addressing the Emotional Aspect of the Conflict

The program is rich in expressing emotions and
affect about the conflict. The mediator and the host paid
special attention to the emotions of the disputants. There
are two aspects in intragroup conflicts -- relationship
and task (Amason & Schweiger, 1997; DeDreu &

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China Media Research, 9(4), 2013, Deng, et al, Mediating Conflict on TV: Discourse Analysis of Gold Medal Mediation

Weingart, 2003; Jehn,1997). These two aspects are

usually interrelated, and one cannot be resolved without
addressing the other. According to Jehn (1992; 1994),
relationship conflicts involve personal and affective
elements, including tension, dislike, disagreements
about values, personal taste and interpersonal styles.
OHair, Friedrich and Dixon (2008) proposed that the
relational aspect of the conflict is harder to resolve than
the task aspect of the conflict due to its difficulty of
realization and verbalization, and it is often ignored in
workplace conflict management. The mediation TV
reality shows such as Gold Medal Mediation, however,
focus on the emotional issues of the conflict, in terms of
the selection of mediation cases, the expertise of the
mediator and the observers, and the handling of the
conflict and the agreement reached by both parties.
One case deals with mother-son relationship. Wu is
an 18-year-old boy. He dropped out of school at 17, and
had changed three jobs and several girlfriends since then.
His family was worried much about his unstable
condition, especially after he took the habit of motorriding and nearly killed himself once. His mother
(Luan), after several huge fights with him, threatened to
cut off the mother-son relationship.
The observers and the host (Zhang) encouraged the
mother and the son to express their feelings towards
each other, using comments such as Have you ever
communicated with your mother about this feeling?
You have not told your mom these things, have you?
How do you feel when you hear (your son say) this?
On the other hand, the son would say such words as I
didnt want to say, I cant say it, and Im not good
at expressing myself. By helping the two parties
communicate their feelings or emotions towards each
other, the relational aspect of the conflict is addressed
and thus, the content aspect would be handled in an
easier fashion.
In one of the cases brought to the show, the dispute
is between a single mother and her married daughter.
The mother accused the daughter for being not caring
for her enough and the daughter did not know what to
do to make her mother happy. It seems that such a
conflict does not involve much task content, however, it
bears much emotional plea. The following
conversations were elicited by the host from the mother
(Wang) and the daughter (Li):
Wang: I cannot even bear to recall that period (of
time). Once recall, I (would) get very angry with
her. It truly freezes my heart. Those days...Ahyoh, I
got more and more angry at that time, and (when
she) came, I was about to scold her and then she
told me she had a headache. In the afternoon, her
boyfriend picked her up after dinner. Ahyoh, I did
not get to let out on her, did not even speak out. So
I have been stewing all this time and did not have a

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chance to let out (my anger). That period of time

made my heart suffer too much ...I thought, It is
not that (you) dont have time to accompany me,
but that you do not want to accompany me. (She)
regards me as extra and treats me as if I grow
spikes, as if when coming close, I would poke her.
Li: Besides, she is always dissatisfied with me. I
fear that she would scold me whenever anything I
say or do is wrong.
Letting the disputants talk about their feelings is a
strategy the mediator often adopts in the show. Such
emotional outburst helps the disputants let out their
negative emotions, while those who are present or are
viewing could get a main idea what the conflict is about.
Chinese are known to be likely to adopt avoiding and
obliging conflict styles (Ting-Toomey, 1988), as is
shown in Li (the daughter)s style to deal with her
conflict with Wang (the mother). Wang felt neglected,
repressed and unhappy towards her daughters cold and
avoiding attitude. Lis conflict style was a result from
her previous experiences dealing with her mother, and
the negative emotions derived from those experiences,
as is manifested in the following conversations when the
host (Zhang) asked about Lis memory about being a
college student:
Zhang: Then when you were about to leave home to
go to school (at the end of the winter break), do you
have any feelings of being hard to leave (your
home/mother)?
Wang: I didnt find her not wanting (to leave). (She)
has never been concerned, and say mom, stay well
at home or such and such, or take good care of
yourself. (She) has never said a single caring word.
Never!
Li: Just as what my mom said, the winter break was
short already but I still went out with friends often,
and felt happier when with my friends. When
leaving, when leaving, I, indeed, did not feel
attached, because I looked forward to leaving. I
looked forward to leaving. I feel all kinds of
stuffiness when staying at home. All interactions
with her have been unhappy.
Zhang: What do you refer to?
Li: Such as the memories of the past life, the
discontentment in the current life, all kinds of bad
with other members of the family. I felt she did not
give me any positive energy when staying with
mom. I could not feel the warmth of this world. I
am indeed selfish. I just hope that I could stay more
comfortable.
According to Kelley and Barsade (2001), the
interpersonal atmosphere within a group could lead to
emotional responses toward conflicts to a large extent,

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China Media Research, 9(4), 2013, Deng, et al, Mediating Conflict on TV: Discourse Analysis of Gold Medal Mediation

and this is, in turn, associated with their perceptions of

the nature of the conflict (Delsivilya & Yagil, 2005). It
seems that such findings could also be applied to family
disputes here. The mother and daughter were in a
negative communication pattern, in which, many
complaints and dissatisfactions were passed from the
mother to the daughter. Such bad interpersonal
atmosphere almost suffocated the daughter and made
her want to escape from the mother, and further created
negative emotions and perception of the nature of the
conflict between the two, and this reinforces the bad
interpersonal atmosphere, that is, Wang blames Li for
negligence, and Li feels unhappy around Wang, and
also blames herself for being selfish. Such a malicious
cycle could be broken by mediation in that mediation
could enhance the positive affect between the two
(Jameson, et al., 2009).
In addressing the emotional aspect of the conflict,
the relationship trauma and cognitive states of each
disputant were further exposed in the following
conversations, in which, Wang told people at the
mediation about her childhood abuse and negligence.

positive affect and perception have been re-established

between the two.
In another conflict between a couple brought to the
show, Husband and Wife were both remarried. The wife
(Yang) suspected that her husband (Wang) had an affair
with one of his clients. She inducted from the evidence
obtained and was convinced that he did have an affair.
The husband could not bear her nagging and suspicion
anymore, and finally, proposed for a divorce. Both
parties said they were tired of such a marriage. Wang
said he could collapse at any time, and Yang said she
was fearful and upset. Both were in tears at the very
beginning of the mediation. After the wife told her story,
the host (Zhang) summarized her points:
Zhang: You looked over (the evidences) through
and through. You felt you have every reason to
believe (that he had an affair), didnt you?
Yang: Yup, (there is) not a bit of honesty, (he has)
always (been) lying.
However, after giving her rationale of the argument,
everyone at present found the argument ungrounded.
One of the observers and the mediator pointed out the
fallacies exist in her line of the argument. Yang pointed
out another piece of evidence that Wang himself
provided a list of the telephone record. Wang
encouraged Yang or the mediator to dial any number on
the list that they found suspicious. The mediator did dial
the one that Yang had the most doubt about, and a man
picked up the phone. It was Wangs colleague. The
following conversations happened between Zhang and
Yang:

Zhang: The previous experience of mom indeed

saddens people, doesnt it?
Wang: Frankly speaking, I do not want to talk
about it, but I feel bad in my heart, indeed bad. I do
not have anybody to talk to about the problem with
my parents when I was a child. Because I did not
live with them as a child(sobbing)
After the root of the conflict was found, the host
(zhang) and the mediator (Bai) helped tackle the key
question of the conflict what the daughter should do to
make her mom feel better.

Zhang: Ms Yang, I wonder if the call just now with

his colleague has any effect on you?
Yang: (shook her head in silence with a painful
look on her face)
Zhang: Why?
Yang: (Silence)
Zhang: What did this call tell us? You do not dare
to believe, do you?
Yang: Many evidences exist (started to cry)
Zhang: However hard he tries to explain, there is no
use?

Zhang: She touched upon one thing just now. She

really did not know how to comfort you, or how to
help you. How do you understand this question?
Wang: I feel it is not difficult. If I were her, I would
say, Mom, we will live happily together, or I
will be good to you and be doubly good to you
from now on. I feel I would feel much better with
these two sentences.
Zhang: In fact, what you need is a daughter who
gives you a warm feeling even if it is just by words,
dont you?
Wang: Yes.

We can tell that Yang was buried in her own

wrongful reasoning and perception, as if a person is
stuck in the darkness and refuses to step out of it. Even
when contradictory evidence was provided, she would
refuse to change her mind.
After even more evidence was provided, everybody
at present was convinced that it was the wife who has a
strange way of reasoning, which often leads to negative
interpretation of the occurrences between her and her
husband. In further efforts to elicit explanations from

Zhang rephrased and repeated Lis question. In

answering the question, Wang stated what she wants a
better and warmer relationship with her daughter. At the
end of the show, no agreement was shown to be signed,
only Li hugging her mom in tears, singing Only Mom
is the Best, a famous traditional childrens song in
China. The conflict was successfully transformed in that

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China Media Research, 9(4), 2013, Deng, et al, Mediating Conflict on TV: Discourse Analysis of Gold Medal Mediation

both parties, Wang told the people at present one

important thing that might be the root of Yangs
negative view towards relationship issues, that is,
Yangs previous marriage ended because of her exhusbands extramarital affairs. Such a traumatic
experience of the first marriage has implanted in her
mind very negative emotion towards marriage. She
might remarry because of realistic concerns, such as,
financial support, without truly trusting the other person.
Hence, when there were some possible stimulus, the
strong emotion might be triggered, and in turn, leads to
negative perception of the conflict situation and
irrational reasoning. By addressing the deeper root of
the emotional aspect of the conflict, the cause of the
conflict was exposed, and the problem in the marriage
was tackled.
In the case of a real estate dispute between a couple,
one of the observers, after hearing the whole story,
pointed out to the wife (Mao): Therefore, the conflict
between you two does not concern the property. It is
beyond the property Mao admitted, Yup, I just
want to find an outlet for my anger. The answer from
the observer was, Therefore, big sister, could you let
go of your anger? The underlying reason for this
mediation is not about the real estate although it appears
to be a plea for re-distribution of the property, but about
angers and overlooked feelings, as Mao protested right
after the mediator criticized her for being too greedy:
Now, I have to tell everything out of the past! What
was affection to him in the past? In the past, he
would talk about affection if I gave him money, if
not, no affection from him! In the past, he had lived
like a vagrant before we got married. (He) would
not go home. For so many years, it has been all on
me to deal with building the houses, raising money,
finding workers and designing. It was always only
me! He has never spared any effort
After one of the observers posed a rhetorical question,
Are you happy when you get all of the houses and
apartments? Mao answered in a protesting tone with
higher volume and pitch:
He had lived with my family when we first got
married, and all his expenditure was on my family,
including food, cigarettes and alcohol. The little
store we opened belongs to my family as well. Now,
all Im discontented with is this (that I have devoted
so much while he has done nothing for me)!
It seems that the focus of the conflict here is not
really about the distribution of the property among the
children of the couple, but more of a relational nature.
Mao was being discontent about her husbands
ungratefulness and idleness, and wanted the repayment

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12

for her years of devotion to the family. The mediator

tried to tackle this underlying emotional problem of the
conflict by saying, So the male party, (you) should
truly realize what the female party has contributed to
this family.
Discussion
China has been going through tremendous change
in the recent decades and the traditional family values
and their roles have been greatly challenged at the same
time. It seems that there are more relational issues
among family members (including extended family
members, such as mother-in-law, cousins and uncles)
than ever. The government believes, and so do the
traditional views, that the family as the smallest unit of
a society needs to be stable in order for the nation to be
stable. Hence, tackling these family disputes through
mediation is of high priority for most Chinese who
prefer mediation over litigation. Passing the law (e.g.
supporting ones aged parents) is one way to maintain
the stability of the family, while mediating family
conflict on TV is a better way to influence the
mainstream opinions and to coach and educate people
how to resolve their conflicts within the family.
In studying seven episodes of Gold Medal
Mediation, the mediation reality show on TV, and
analyzing some aspects of the discourse of the shows,
we have found that a number of social and cultural
values were highlighted and upheld by the show. These
values include are: a) family unity, by emphasizing
feelings (gan qing), tolerance, love and common cause
among family members; b) contentment with life and
personal well-being ( ); and c) respect for and
support of the older. Some strategies to promote these
values include: Adopting the traditional sayings or ideas,
introducing ideas in modern psychology, and advising,
coaching and educating the disputants.
We have also found that the mediator, the host and
most of the observers in almost all of the episodes were
trying to address the relational aspect of the conflict as
the priority of their mediation. The show was edited in a
way that the part dealing with the relational aspect of
the conflict occupied most of the time of the show.
Among the cases we analyzed, a large portion of the
conflicts arose from inaccurate or twisted perception of
the occurrences, and such wrongful interpretations were
a result of the negative emotions that one side has
towards the other side, due to previous traumatic
experiences or poor communication between the two. In
most of the cases, addressing the emotional or relational
aspect of the conflict leads to easier settlement of the
content aspect of the conflict. Most disputants
compromised after their emotions have been heard or
understood by the people at present. All conflicts were
transformed. Hence, it confirms that relational/
emotional goals of the conflict management were often

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China Media Research, 9(4), 2013, Deng, et al, Mediating Conflict on TV: Discourse Analysis of Gold Medal Mediation

overlooked and not communicated and thus sometimes

more difficult to deal with. However, they are no less
important than content goals, and conflict may not be
managed until relational goals are managed (OHair,
Friedrich, & Dixon, 2008, p. 353).
This study has several limitations. First, the reality
show, no matter how real, does not totally represent the
natural state of the people studied. Friedman (2002) also
poited that reality TV is anything but realistic. Hence,
the methods and their effects in the show may not be
totally applicable to the real conflict mediation. Second,
most of the shows did not have follow-up investigations
with the disputants; therefore, it is hard to whether the
mediation was successful or not in the long run. The
disputants might have put on a show to settle the dispute,
however, behaved otherwise after the show. Finally, our
second research question is about the relational/
emotional aspect of conflict management on TV, thus
we need to take into account the potential effect of
media production upon the process and result of the
mediation.

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Correspondence to:
Yiheng Deng, Ph.D.
School of Foreign Languages for Economics and Trade
Southwestern University of Finance and economics,
China
Chengdu, China 610074
Email: yihengdeng@gmail.com
Kaibin Xu, Ph.D.
Department of Strategic Communication
School of Media and Communication
Temple University
1701 N. 13th St., 221 Weiss Hall (265-65)
Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
Email: kxu01@temple.edu
Xiaoqiu Fu
PhD Student
Shanghai International Studies University, China
Sang Ma
PhD Student
Shanghai International Studies University, China
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