A corpus-based comparison of Chinese and Western news reports on doping at the Paris Olympics
Journal: Region - Educational Research and Reviews DOI: 10.32629/rerr.v7i9.4381
Abstract
This study compares Chinese and Western media reports on doping at the Paris Olympics through two self-compiled corpus and Fairclough's three-dimensional discourse analysis model. It examines how each side constructed narratives around doping incidents. Chinese media employed positive discourse to defend athletes' image, affirm national honor, and question international fairness. Western media, by contrast, used a "performance–controversy" frame to cast doubt on Chinese athletes and link doping to moral and geopolitical tensions. The findings reveal ideological differences and power asymmetries in global sports discourse. The study focuses on mainstream news during the Paris Olympics; future research may explore other media contexts or events.
Keywords
corpus-based discourse analysis; three-dimensional discourse analysis model; doping; Paris Olympics
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[3] Fairclough N. 1995. Media Discourse. Edward Arnold London.
https://www.academia.edu/download/59354215/Kitap_Elestirisi_Norman_Faircloug_-_Media_Discourse20190522-39331-1iqoxc9.pdf.
[4 ] Fan H, Zhou X. 2021. National image construction and integration strategies in the Olympics: New perspectives on international communication of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. External Communication, 11: 4-8.
[5] He P, Gong Z. 2023. The global narrative of Chinese sports ethics: Problems, pressures, and challenges. Journal of Chengdu Sport University. https://doi.org/10.15942/j.jcsu.2023.04.10
[6] Dijk T A van. 1988. News as Discourse. Hillsdale (NJ): L. Erlbaum Associates.
[7] Philological Society. 1968. Studies in Linguistic Analysis. Repr. Oxford: Blackwell.
[8] Su H, Qiu Y. 2022. National image self-construction in CGTN's Winter Olympics tweets: A corpus-based discourse analysis. Culture and Communication, 11(4): 66–73.
[9] Wang L. 2016. Discursive construction of "conflict" words in Diaoyu Islands news from a corpus-driven perspective. Journal of Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, 23(4): 72-82. https://doi.org/10.16060/j.cnki.issn2095-8072.2016.04.007
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[11] Zeng W. 2025. Six cognitive dimensions for understanding international communication of Chinese sports through the Paris Olympics. Journal of Southwest Jiaotong University (Social Sciences), 26(1): 69–80.
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