A Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis of News Construction of the Flint Water Crisis

IF 1.6 2区文学 Q2 COMMUNICATION

IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Pub Date : 2022-10-03 DOI:10.1109/TPC.2022.3200286

Yeqing Kong

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: News media play a critical role in communicating risks and shaping public perceptions of social issues. Covering a multilayered disaster that grew from a local story to a national one, the ways that news media at different levels construct the Flint water crisis have not been previously explored. Literature review: Despite the well-established role of journalism as a government watchdog, news media do not neutrally mirror every social event. Instead, news reporting, highly mediated by language, is filled with political interests, values, and attitudes. Research questions: 1. How did local/regional and national newspapers construct the Flint water crisis? 2. Are there any similarities and/or differences in local/regional and national news construction of the Flint water crisis? 3. What are the practical implications for media coverage of risks, emergencies, or crises? 4. What are the methodological implications of this study for professional communication research? Methodology: This study integrates corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis to analyze 1858 news reports about the Flint water crisis published between 2014 and 2018. I use keywords as a core analytical technique to compare the local/regional and national news coverage. Results: The results show that both local and national news reports overemphasized government activities while downplaying the unofficial voices of Flint residents and community activists. In addition, national newspapers were more likely than local newspapers to use racial cues in describing the Flint community and to associate the crisis with other social problems. Conclusions: This study suggests that news media should provide wide coverage of the affected community's efforts in risk/crisis communication rather than reproducing official messages. News representations should be cautious of strengthening stereotypes or forming negative conceptual associations of traditionally disenfranchised communities.

查看原文本刊更多论文

语料库辅助的弗林特水危机新闻建构批评语篇分析

背景:新闻媒体在传播风险和塑造公众对社会问题的看法方面发挥着关键作用。报道了一场从地方性事件发展到全国性事件的多层次灾难，不同层次的新闻媒体对弗林特水危机的报道方式此前从未被探索过。文献综述:尽管新闻业作为政府监督的角色已经确立，但新闻媒体并不中立地反映每一个社会事件。相反，新闻报道，高度中介语言，充满了政治利益，价值观和态度。研究问题:1;地方/区域和全国性报纸是如何报道弗林特水危机的?2. 在弗林特水危机的地方/区域和国家新闻建设中有什么相似和/或不同之处吗?3.媒体报道风险、突发事件或危机的实际含义是什么?4. 本研究对专业传播研究的方法论意义是什么?方法:本研究将语料库语言学和批评话语分析相结合，对2014年至2018年发表的1858篇关于弗林特水危机的新闻报道进行分析。我使用关键词作为核心分析技术来比较地方/区域和国家新闻报道。结果:结果表明，地方和国家新闻报道都过分强调政府活动，而淡化弗林特居民和社区活动家的非官方声音。此外，全国性报纸比地方报纸更有可能在描述弗林特社区时使用种族暗示，并将危机与其他社会问题联系起来。结论:本研究建议新闻媒体应广泛报道受影响社区在风险/危机沟通方面的努力，而不是复制官方信息。新闻表述应谨防强化刻板印象或形成对传统上被剥夺公民权的社区的负面概念性联想。

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来源期刊

IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication COMMUNICATION-

CiteScore

3.20

自引率

11.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： The IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication is a peer-reviewed journal devoted to applied research on professional communication—including but not limited to technical and business communication. Papers should address the research interests and needs of technical communicators, engineers, scientists, information designers, editors, linguists, translators, managers, business professionals, and others from around the globe who practice, conduct research on, and teach others about effective professional communication. The Transactions publishes original, empirical research that addresses one of these contexts: The communication practices of technical professionals, such as engineers and scientists The practices of professional communicators who work in technical or business environments Evidence-based methods for teaching and practicing professional and technical communication.