A Study Of News Source In The People's Daily

Bringing together the qualitative and quantitative approaches, this study focuses on news sources in the domestic news coverage in the People's Daily. The aim of study is to understand the presentational features of news sources in the main media in China. This study also wants to establish an analytical framework fit for dealing with the above question.The findings of the study show the diversification of source forms as a result of the development of society. Government sources dominate the news coverage and hold an advantageous position by using special symbolic presentation and rhetoric structure. Intellectual and business sources are also especially prominent in newspaper for their media representation and media strategies. News source has multiple functions in news discourse including the function of source, the function of topic, the function of symbol, and the function of narrative.The results of the study attest the validity of the analytical framework established in revealing the whole condition of news source in the People's Daily. The results also reveal the meaning, status and function of source in the news discourse. The present study can provide theoretical and methodological support for other related studies.