scholarly journals “This Virus is a Common Threat to All Humans”: Discourse Representation of COVID-19 in Selected Newspaper Editorials

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-78
Author(s):  
Ayo Osisanwo
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Media Representation ◽  
Ideological Discourse ◽  
Discourse Strategies ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Guardian ◽  
Newspaper Editorials

Existing studies on viruses with bias for COVID-19 have mainly been carried out from non-linguistic fields. Linguistics-related studies have not examined the media representation of COVID-19 since it is a recent development. This study, therefore, identifies the representational strategies, discourse structures and discourse strategies deployed by selected newspapers in representing COVID-19 and associated participants. Data were retrieved from selected COVID-19-related editorials from four purposively selected countries and continents across the world: New York Times (USA, North America), The Guardian (UK, Europe), China Daily (China, Asia) and The Punch (Nigeria, Africa), published in the early periods of the pandemic, and precisely from January 1 – March 31, 2020. Guided by aspects of van Dijk’s socio-cognitive model of critical discourse analysis on ideological discourse structures, data were quantitatively and qualitatively analysed. The newspaper editorials unusually converged to negatively represent an issue – COVID-19 – because it is largely negatively viewed by all. Ten representational strategies (like economic cankerworm, threat to humans, common enemy), six discourse strategies (like demonising, criminalising, condemnation) and twelve ideological discourse structures (like Actor Description, Authority, Burden) and different participant representations and roles (like solver, potential super spreader) were identified in the study. The newspapers largely set the agenda on the negative representation of the virus and its potential havoc on all facets of human endeavours, thereby giving emotional and informational appeal to all to join hands in earnestly silencing the epidemic. Keywords: COVID-19, media representation, newspaper editorials, discourse strategies, discourse structures

scholarly journals Media influence on humanitarian interventions: analysis of the Rohingya refugee crisis and international media coverage

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle J. Lee
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
International Media ◽  
International Pressure ◽  
Humanitarian Interventions ◽  
The Media ◽  
Effects Of Media ◽  
The Guardian

AbstractIn 2017, the long-festering discriminatory treatment to the Rohingyas in Myanmar, both in law and practice, resulted in the largest cross-border humanitarian crisis in Asia. During the 2016‑2017 Rohingya refugee crisis, the aerial shots of burnt villages and images of people trudging toward the horizon in search of refuge in neighboring nations dominated the Western media. However, for humanitarians, the question of whether the media helps with humanitarian crises remains complicated and unclear. This study examines the effects of media coverage on the Rohingya refugee crisis based on articles from two liberal, elite newspaper sources, The New York Times and The Guardian between 2010 and 2020. The study reveals that the attempts of international pressure to stop the crisis have increased through media coverage and political pressures; however, the number of Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar intensified due to worsening violence and human rights violations committed by the Myanmar army. Findings are discussed using the lens of cultural and ideological context. The study suggests that in Myanmar, where authoritarian military culture is pervasive, there is a limited influence of the international press on the state-sponsored ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population and questions whether consistent international pressure could have changed the outcome.

scholarly journals A Critical Discourse Analysis of Gaza Marches of Return Coverage in Selected Newspapers

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Yakoub Abu Taha ◽  
Rajai Al-Khanji
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
The New York Times ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
The Guardian

The current study aimed at discovering biases through comparing the used journalistic and lexicalizations practices in quotations patterns and representations of social actors in news coverage of the Gaza Marches of Return. The selected newspapers were The Guardian, the New York Times, The Jordan Times and Haaretz. The study sample comprised 32 news articles and 8 editorials. The findings of the study revealed that more space was given to Israeli political and military actors over their Palestinian counterparts in the New York Times and Haaretz. The Guardian and the Jordan Times quotations of Palestinian civilian actors focused on human suffering and casualties themes while Haaretz and the NYT quoted them instigating deadly attacks among other themes. The use of negative themes along with negative speakers’ descriptions of Palestinian political actors revealed biased stances against Palestinian Civilian Actors. In addition, the used reporting verbs, unbalanced quotations distributions and word counts of social actors’ quotations pointed at biased practices and adoption of one party narrative in the case of the NYT, Haaretz and the Jordan Times. 

scholarly journals Cultural otherness and disaster news: The influence of western discourses on Japan in US and UK news coverage of the 2011 Great East Japan Disaster

2018 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 372-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Matthews
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Cultural Framework ◽  
Nuclear Crisis ◽  
The Guardian

The Great East Japan Disaster of 2011 provides an important case study to evaluate how western media cover Japan. Employing a critical discourse analysis of coverage in The New York Times, The Guardian and The Observer this article seeks to examine how Japan and the disaster-affected communities of Tohoku were represented through the context of this disaster. The analysis revealed the presence of a cultural framework, enacted during the response phase of the disaster news cycle to explain how people in Japan were coping in the aftermath of the disaster, which was premised on a discourse of cultural otherness. The textual elements that underwrote this discourse included a tendency to draw on stereotypes and in the way culture was employed to provide context to individual stories. The analysis also acknowledges how forms of bias circulated through other discourses, in particular when covering the nuclear crisis at Fukushima. The article argues that this discourse of cultural otherness is, in part, attributable to the features of disaster journalism, rather than a lack of familiarity on the part of journalists with the cultural context.

scholarly journals Representations of Ebola and its victims in liberal American newspapers

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dita Trčková
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Daily News ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Military

Abstract Combining critical discourse analysis and the cognitive theory of metaphor, the study analyses hard news on Ebola from two American newspapers of a liberal political orientation, The New York Times and The New York Daily News, to investigate metaphoric representations of the disease and portrayals of its victims. It is revealed that both newspapers heavily rely on a single conceptual metaphor of EBOLA AS WAR, with only two alternative metaphors of EBOLA AS AN ANIMATE/HUMAN BEING and EBOLA AS A NATURAL CATASTROPHE employed. All three metaphoric themes assign the role of a culprit solely to the virus, which stands in contrast to non-metaphoric discursive allocations of blame for the situation in Africa, assigning responsibility mainly to man-made factors. African victims tend to be impersonalized and portrayed as voiceless and agentless, rarely occupying the role of a “fighter” in the military metaphoric representation of the disease, which runs counter to the findings of recent studies detecting a change towards a more positive image of Africa in the media. Both newspapers fail to represent infected ordinary Africans as sovereign agents, hindering readers from reflexively identifying with them.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Haiti Earthquake Recovery in New York Times articles

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Loretta Pyles ◽  
Juliana Svistova
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
International Development ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Haiti Earthquake ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
The Media

The social constructions of the media after the 2010 Haiti earthquake arguably influenced disaster recovery, especially how and what projects were conceived, implemented, and evaluated. In this study of New York Times articles, we sought to learn how Haitians and foreign actors who are engaged in recovery are portrayed in print media. Our findings suggest the presence of hegemonic, disempowering discourse through themes that emphasize the expertise of outsiders and the proliferation of disaster capitalism. A counter-hegemonic, empowering discourse is evident through the acknowledgement of post-colonialist realities and the participation of Haitians in recovery. We discuss the meaning of these findings for social welfare policies, such as those set forth by the United States Agency on International Development (USAID), as well as social work practice and education.

scholarly journals «Elementary units» in Multimedia: Cinemagraphy in Mass Media and Blogs in the 2010s

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-263
Author(s):  
Maria Romakina
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
Distribution Channel ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Human Vision ◽  
The Media ◽  
Visual Characteristics ◽  
The Guardian ◽  
Illustrative Material

The article studies peculiarities of cinemagraphies - special types of images that appeared due to the development of digital technologies in the early 2010s and combine features of photography and video/cinema. Cinemagraphies are positioned as elementary multimedia units, and perception of these is technologically dependent: the viewer actively perceives not only the depicted image, but also the image-generating technology. Cinemagraphic way of seeing is not peculiar to human vision, its a «machines view». The author suggests defining the properties of these units, namely, multimediality, multimodality, affectivity of technological items, segmentary actuality and segmentary iconicity, hybrid temporality, visual variability; soundlessness; and poetic character, orientation to sensory perception. The duration of one cycle of cinemagraphies, according to the analysis, falls within the interval of 4-10 seconds. The effect exerted on the viewer is largely determined by the percentage of the animated area: if < 25 % of the frame area is animated, the focus is on the movement, while if > 50 %, it is on static objects perceived as «anomalous» in the flow of life. The use of cinemagraphies in the media as illustrative material has a precedent character nowadays. The author managed to detect 151 such cases. The article analyzes in detail some examples of cinemagraphies, published in The Guardian, The New York Times and other media, as well as in blogs in the period 2011-2019. The author defines the following criteria for the analysis: substantive, genre, structural, visual characteristics, functions and distribution channel.

scholarly journals Modern Architecture as Inextensible

2018 ◽  
pp. 82-89
Author(s):  
Albena Yaneva
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Modern Architecture ◽  
The Public ◽  
Daily Telegraph ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Guardian ◽  
120Th Anniversary

I will begin with this provocative, and quite unusual image, of an iconic building that we all know – the Eiffel Tower.  Some of you might have heard about the media debates surrounding the “new design for the restructuring of the public spaces of the Eiffel Tower” announced by the French architect David Serero in March 2008. He suggested doubling the size of the tower’s highest observational platform. The architect claimed that “his firm’s proposal was accepted after an open call, and that the structure is expected to be assembled for the 120th anniversary of the tower construction.” But shortly after that, the government-contracted firm that manages the tower – la Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel – stated that the claims of the architect are a “hoax.” The communication chief denied that there was ever any call for architects regarding plans to redevelop the top of the monument and that Serero Architects never presented themselves as candidates for such a competition. The media outlets that ran with the story included: The Guardian, The New York Times, Architect, Bustler, The Daily Telegraph and Belfast Telegraph.

Media Representation of the Pandemic: a Metaphorical Image of War (based on American Newspapers)

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (8) ◽  
pp. 69-83
Author(s):  
N. S. Dankova ◽  
E. V. Krekhtunova
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Media Representation ◽  
Martial Law ◽  
War Zone ◽  
Mass Consciousness ◽  
The Media ◽  
Coronavirus Infection ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

The article is devoted to the study of the media representation features of the situation of coronavirus infection spread. The material was articles published in American newspapers. It is shown that the metaphorical model "War" is widely used in media coverage of the pandemic. The relevance of the work is due to the ability of the media to influence the mass consciousness. The methodological basis of the research is formed by critical discourse analysis, which establishes the connection between language and social reality. The article provides an overview of works devoted to the study of metaphor. The theoretical foundations for the study of metaphorical modeling are given. In the course of the analysis, the linguistic means of updating the metaphorical model "War" were revealed. The authors note that this metaphorical model is represented by such frames as “War and its characteristics”, “Participants in military action”, “War zone”, “Enemy actions”, “Confronting the enemy”. It is shown that modern reality is presented in the media as martial law, the coronavirus is positioned in the media as a cruel and merciless enemy seeking to take over the world, the treatment of the disease is represented as a fight against the enemy. It is concluded that the use of the metaphorical model "War" is one of the ways to conceptualize the spread of coronavirus.

The Portrayal of Islam and Muslims in Western Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Cultura ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-73
Author(s):  
Saman REZAEI ◽  
Kamyar KOBARI ◽  
Ali SALAMI
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Global Village ◽  
Online Newspapers ◽  
Terrorist Groups ◽  
Western Media

With the realization of the promised global village, media, particularly online newspapers, play a significant role in delivering news to the world. However, such means of news circulation can propagate different ideologies in line with the dominant power. This, coupled with the emergence of so-called Islamic terrorist groups, has turned the focus largely on Islam and Muslims. This study attempts to shed light on the image of Islam being portrayed in Western societies through a Critical Discourse Analysis approach. To this end, a number of headlines about Islam or Muslims have been randomly culled from three leading newspapers in Western print media namely The Guardian, The Independent and The New York Times (2015). This study utilizes “ideological square” notion of Van Dijk characterized by “positive presentation” of selves and “negative presentation” of others alongside his socio-cognitive approach. Moreover, this study will take the linguistic discourses introduced by Van Leeuwen regarding “representing social actors and social practices” into consideration. The findings can be employed to unravel the mystery behind the concept of “Islamophobia” in Western societies. Besides, it can reveal how specific lexical items, as well as grammatical structures are being employed by Western media to distort the notion of impartiality.

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