A Critical Discourse Analysis Of American Newspaper Reports

In recent years, there appeared large numbers of news reports on China in the western countries' newspapers. On the one hand, it demonstrates that China has been gradually becoming a focus of attention in the world. On the other hand, the fact that China's negative image being reported in the western countries' newspapers also can not be ignored. How is China's identity constructed in the western countries' newspapers? What are the causes of such kind of condition?This thesis carries out an examination of the representations of China reported in the New York Times (the NYT) through critically analyzing one Chinese sports event—China successfully won the bid for hosting the 2008 Olympic Game. By drawing upon the theory of critical discourse analysis (CDA), this thesis conducts a textual analysis of the relevant news reports in the NYT by applying the analytical methods in terms of lexical classification, derogatory vocabulary, metaphor, euphemism, overcompleteness and generalization. Through a discussion of the research findings, the thesis concludes that (1) There exist negative attitudes in the NYT in its representations of China. The news in the NYT demonizes the Chinese government as a dictatorial party that treats its people rudely and severely. There is no democracy in China. And China is portrayed as an economically backward country without any progress. These negative descriptions of China not only impose derogatory impressions on the American readers but damage China's reputation in the world. (2) These biased attitudes towards China are expressed by its news discursive strategies. (3) The reasons for these negative attitudes are the foreign policies made by the American administration, American cultural traditions and Orientalism ideologies prevailed in the western countries, etc. The research findings and discussions imply that CDA should be taught in schools' language lessons to help promote students' critical awareness of their environments and their understandings of how language contributes to generate the unequal social power relations. This consciousness serves as one part of the struggles of the oppressed social groups against the dominant bloc, a facilitator for people to challenge, break through and ultimately transform the dominant orders of discourse. And in Chinese journalists' practices, critical language awareness can help them challenge the existing unequal international mass communication dominated by the western countries, gradually improve the image of China and ultimately change China's identity discursively constructed in the western countries' newspapers.