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Is your news reporting really neutral? How can critical discourse analysis expose media bias?
In today's society, the media plays an important role in conveying information, but is it completely neutral? Critical discourse analysis (CDA) provides a framework for in-depth analysis that helps us uncover the hidden meanings in texts and conversations and explore how language reinforces power relations, social classes, and ideologies.
Language is not only a tool for communication, but also a reflection of social structure and power relations.
CDA believes that language is a social practice that not only reflects reality but also shapes social reality. This approach combines criticism and interpretation of discourse, revealing how language shapes social reality in a particular context and may therefore serve as a basis for changing that reality. Scholars believe that non-linguistic social practices and linguistic practices are mutually constitutive, highlighting the importance of language in social power relations.
Critical discourse analysis originated from "critical linguistics" developed by Roger Fowler and others at the University of East Anglia in the 1970s. Since then, the contributions of Norman Fairclough and Ruth Wodak have made CDA gradually become an important methodology for studying discourse.
The three-dimensional framework proposed by Fairclough is the basis of CDA research, including the analysis of language texts, the analysis of discourse practices (the process of text production, dissemination and consumption) and the analysis of discourse events (instances of social and cultural practices). This allows researchers to analyze textual features such as grammar, metaphors, and rhetorical devices at the micro level, and to study the context of the text’s production and consumption at the meso level.
Language should be analyzed as a social practice rather than observed in isolation.
At the macro level, researchers should focus on the cross-textual and cross-discursive elements of the text and consider the important social trends that influence the text. In Australia, for example, Stephen Teo has uncovered racist representations of Vietnamese youth in media coverage, demonstrating the influence of mainstream media in shaping public opinion.
However, CDA is not without controversy. Some critics argue that CDA's analytical scope is too broad to accurately identify manipulations in discourse, while at the same time being insufficient to discover all intended research findings. In this regard, Fairclough emphasizes that researchers must wisely balance multiple levels of analysis to fully understand the social power of language.
Furthermore, Teun A. van Dijk's approach combines cognitive theory with linguistic and social theory. His three-level framework includes discursive, cognitive, and social, which helps to understand how larger social phenomena are reinforced through everyday discourse. Nonetheless, critics have pointed out that his approach tends to focus on the reproduction of ideology without paying enough attention to its transformation.
The application scope of CDA is constantly expanding, covering areas such as media research, advertising texts, and English teaching.
By analyzing advertising texts and media coverage, CDA reveals the role of power and ideology in society. With the development of social sciences and humanities, CDA research methods have become increasingly mature. The important contributions of scholars such as Fairclough, Wodak and Van Dijk in this field have enabled CDA to continue to reflect and develop.
In practice, CDA is used to analyze how the media reports on court cases. Such analysis reveals the political manipulation behind media reports and how they affect society's perception of punishment. Pamela D. Schulz points out that in many countries there is a tendency to exaggerate "harsh sentencing" in media reports, which makes it difficult for calls for legislative changes to be truly effective.
Through critical discourse analysis, we can see more clearly how language and power influence each other. For example, when it comes to policy advocacy and social issues, media reports are often suggestive and may even unconsciously convey bias and discrimination. So, how can we make people aware of these potential power operations and reflect on them in their daily lives?
