A Comparative Study Of Constructive Journalism Practice In The Field Of People’s Livelihood Between China And Britain During The COVID-19 Epidemic

In recent years,Western journalism has introduced the concept of constructive journalism in an attempt to correct the long-established journalistic habit of emphasizing conflict.As a form of journalism that emphasizes positive emotions and resolution,scholars in China have introduced this concept and dovetailed it with local journalistic practices such as "positively reporting".However,the history of them are inherently different,and there is a need to examine the real practice situation while continuing the theoretical discussion.Content analysis was used in this study as a main way to compare the reports on people’s livelihoods in the "People’s Livelihoods" section of Caixin and "the Upside" section of the online version of The Guardian,the characteristics of their constructive news production in the context of the epidemic was examined,with the sampling period starting from January 12,2020,when the World Health Organization officially named COVID-19,and ending on December 31,2020.The main questions to be answered are: What is the use of different branches of constructive journalism by the two? What reporting strategies are used to achieve and optimize their constructive effects? What are the differences in the production characteristics of the two and what are the reasons for the differences? What are the implications for expanding the constructive concept and optimizing constructive production? This paper uses the constructive news concept and frame theory as the theoretical basis for research design: First,a first-level analysis framework was established according to Ghanem’s media frame theory,samples were thus sorted into four dimensions: news issues,news forms,news types,and news emotions;meanwhile,indicators of constructive news types were established according to the four branches of constructive news theoretical tools proposed by Mc Intyre and Gyldensted,samples were thus sorted to four news types: Solution Journalism,Prospective Journalism,Restorative Narrative,restorative narrative,and Peace Journalism;Last,a second-level analysis framework was established in light of Entman’s news frame type theory,etc.,among which,indicators are designed for Solution Journalism in five aspects: defining the problem,raising the problem,judging the problem,proposing the solution,and judging the solution;for Prospective Journalism are: defining the problem,raising and judging the problem,and proposing and judging the prospect;for Restorative Narrative are: news story,news discourse,and news narrative;for Peace Journalism,which sample size is too small to be conducted with statistical analysis,was supplemented by typical case analysis instead.A comprehensive comparative study of the constructive news samples of the two media was conducted by the above categories,the differences in their production characteristics were summarized in five aspects: providing context,proposing solutions,looking to the future,empowering participation,and production strategies,to conclude,Caixin emphasizes issue analysis and policy discussion,looks into the future with cautious prospects,but lacks strength in connecting with the public,with a point-linear continuous long-tail tracking model in coverage.The Guardian,on the other hand,focuses on achievement and solution narratives,looks positively into the future and focuses on interactive innovation,with a cyclical and concentrated production strategy in solution mirroring coverage model.Finally,on the basis of comparative analysis,the optimization path of constructive news production is extracted,and suggestions are proposed to improve the quality and effectiveness of constructive news production,including adhering to the function of media,changing the way of organizing,linking with public,innovating interactive forms,constructing benign emotions,and optimizing presentation strategies.