A Media Discourse Research Based On Migrant Worker-related Reports From 1980 To 2010

Taking a discourse analysis approach, the study combs news reports on migrant workers from 1980 to 2010, with an aim to reveal the correlation between media discourses and social transition during the period of thirty years. It also tries to unveil the social strength in this relevant context which has a profound impact on media discourses.The study shows that, during the past 30 years (1980-2010), media discourses on migrant workers have experienced concrete changes. This thesis is based on three turning points on the history of news reports concerning migrant workers, and then selects three typical groups of news samples from People's Daily, Southern Weekend, and Southern Metropolis Daily. Further, this study probes into three micro aspects (migrant workers'media expression, the relationship between migrant workers and the city, and migrant workers'public expression), therefore summarizes three macro trends concerning the news discourse of migrant workers. The three trends are as following: First, the wading of strong official discourses and the penetration of social discourses; Second, the revolution from unilateral strong discourses to the merging of multilateral discourses; Third, the emerging and development of the discourses of news professionalism.Based on the above, the author further explores the mechanism of news production behind the transition of news discourses. The environment that produces news products is named as"field", while contending forces within the environment are also analyzed in this thesis. The research finds that: First, ideology is the dominant force in the inner field of the discourses of migrant workers; Second, the evolving marketization of news media constitutes the outer force of the field. Third, news professionalism is a balancing mechanism within the field. Meanwhile, the discourses of migrant workers are changing from the state of silence to active expressions. All these factors are contributing to media's discourse productions, which are jointly influencing the historical process of media discourses on migrant-workers.Finally, this thesis believes that, the essence of media discourses on migrant workers is still dominated by"the other side."The author appeals that the spirit of news professionalism should be brought out into full play, in order to build modern media discourses among field forces in accordance with the time of modern migrant workers.