A Study On The Communication Of Empathy In COVID-19 Reports

The COVID-19 epidemic broke out in Wuhan,Hubei province,on the eve of the2020 Chinese New Year.The epidemic report of Caixin We Chat official account shows the characteristics of empathetic communication,which forms a distinct style orientation in the public opinion field of diversified social media,and continues to spread positive energy during the anti-epidemic publicity and report,which plays an important role in stabilizing the public mood and guiding the positive mood of social networks.Based on the perspective of empathizing theory,this paper mainly uses the content analysis method to discuss how the epidemic report of Caixin We Chat public account spreads through "empathizing" in response to the special period of Novel Coronavirus epidemic,so as to effectively guide the public opinion on the premise of getting close to the audience in all aspects and satisfying the public's right to know.The main contents of the study include the content of the report and the characteristics of emotional presentation,the ways through which empathy factors are generated,the narrative characteristics and language expression forms in the report text,and whether the report mainly achieves positive empathy by conveying positive emotions or negative emotions to achieve negative empathy.The study found that the reason why COVID-19 epidemic report on Caixin's We Chat public account can arouse audience empathy is mainly because it is close to the audience and life.The closer the report is to the front line of anti-epidemic,the more emotional resonance it can arouse.Through the analysis of the similarity between the empathy object and the audience,and the image construction of the empathy object and the reporting subject,it is found that the selection of the relevant subjects in the epidemic report and the different types of the relevant subjects will affect the degree of empathy of the audience.Taking the subject concerned in the report as the archetypal figure in real life can enhance the emotional identity of the audience.Through the interpretation of the narrative style of the report,it is found that the Caixin epidemic report uses a large number of emotion-rich language expressions and rhetorical devices in the text presentation,and makes good use of concrete symbols to fully extend the effect of empathy.Through the analysis of the characteristics of empathy in the report of Caixin epidemic,it is found that the effect of empathy transmission is mainly generated by the interaction of cognitive and affective channels.In major public health disasters such as COVID-19,the combination of tragic narrative and grief empathy with the expression of strong emotions is more likely to trigger emotional resonance and immersive empathy among the audience.