An ecological discourse analysis of news coverage of COVID-19 in China in The Times and The New York Times

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic, as a public health emergency of international concern, is the most extensive one to afflict humanity in this century and poses a grave threat to human life and health. Facing this unknown, unexpected and devastating disease, China makes an all-out effort to fight against it shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the world. Based on the ecosophy of “diversity and harmony, interaction and co-existence” and with ecolinguistic appraisal system as the theoretical framework, this study provides an ecological discourse analysis of news coverage of COVID-19 in China in The Times and The New York Times, two major Western mainstream media outlets, aiming to reveal the appraisal characteristics and ecological orientations of the news coverage on this public health emergency as well as the attitudes of the two major Western mainstream media outlets concerned towards China’s fight against COVID-19, thus helping people to understand the news discourse on this major public health emergency and in turn to distinguish different media positions. It is found that both news outlets employ more negative appraisal resources to express their attitudes towards China’s fight against COVID-19 and their news coverage is to a greater extent eco-destructive.