A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Washington Post’s Reports On COVID-19 Epidemic In China

COVID-19 has been a prominent topic since the beginning of 2020,occupying important pages in the media of numerous countries around the world.As the country where COVID-19 first emerged,China had naturally become the focus of media attention.Studies on China-related reports by mainstream media of the United States have also been the focus of academic research in recent years.This article combines the two topics mentioned above to study the China-related reports of COVID-19 in mainstream media of the United States.News articles,which play a vital role in the dissemination of information,are influenced by specific social factors,often imply specific positions and ideologies of media.This article analyzes the mainstream media’s coverage on the COVID-19 in China from the perspective of critical discourse analysis,and illustrates the characteristics and social causes behind their reports on COVID-19.In this article,news pieces from April 8,2020 to December 31,2021 in The Washington post are selected as the research samples.Based on Fairclough’s three-dimensional model,a three-dimensional analysis is conducted.At the text level,the article is explained from the perspective of keywords and co-occurrence context on the linguistic qualities of news reporting;at the discursive practice level,the article explains the intertextuality of news reports from the sources and techniques of reporting.At the level of social practice,this article examines the social elements that contribute to the creation of news discourses from the viewpoints of the media system and position,national interests and ideology,and public opinionThe article demonstrates how The Washington Post seems objective and neutral in related news reports,but actually conceals the media’s bias.First of all,from the perspective of description,The Washington Post has paid a great attention to the COVID-19 in China,covering all aspects of China’s society.In addition to documenting the epidemic’s development,the pandemic is used as a broad background to explain the epidemic’s impact on China,such as the economic and political impact at the macro level,and the impact on the general people at the micro level.Secondly,from the perspective of interpretation,the selection of news sources and reporting modes embody the media’s specific purpose and value orientation.This article found that The Washington Post used a more oblique strategy in quotation,creating the impression of objectivity and neutrality on the surface,but in reality,it secretly expressed its position through subtle differences in vocabulary choice and the use of quotations,compared to long and sharp accusations in the early days of the outbreak.China’s overall impression,however,remains dismal.Finally,from the perspective of interpretation,the epidemic reports in China can be explained by a broader set of socioeconomic causes.The Washington Post acknowledged China’s efforts during the epidemic and its economic recovery in its reports,but due to the influence of different ideologies,there are still condemnations and slanders towards China on highly politically sensitive topics such as China’s internal affairs,diplomacy,and human rights.