A Critical Discourse Analysis of News Reports on Covid-19 from The New York Times and China Daily

Abstract

Abstract A multimodal critical discourse analysis of The New York Times and China Daily ’s news reports of Covid-19 was conducted to identify the ideologies in Covid-19 news reports. The Covid-19 pandemic was divided into three phases: China’s anti-pandemic phase, first global outbreak, and second global outbreak. The nyt and cd ’s Covid-19 news reports not only conveyed facts but also served different ideologies which shifted over each phase. Both the nyt and cd news media employed lexical devices, images, and metaphors to convey different ideologies, shaping people’s perceptions of the pandemic and government measures to control it. The nyt ’s Covid-19 reporting implied that China’s pandemic measures were irrational and extreme, and that the Trump administration’s policies during the outbreak were ineffective, while feminism and racism also appeared. cd ’s news reports of the pandemic portrayed efficiency by the Chinese government’s in controlling Covid-19 and a positive attitude toward government officials.