Differing Opinions: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Two Articles Stefan Thomson University of Birmingham MA TESL/TEFL Module 4 Choose two news/current affairs texts, one from English-speaking media (e.g. a British or American TV news report, an Australian newspaper, etc.) and the other from a media outlet in another country/language, but both dealing with the same 'global' events (e.g., wars, disasters, etc..). Critically discuss the two texts using a CDA approach (unit 8). You should reach conclusions as to how the two texts are similar or different in some or all of the following: • the differences in the representation of events and in relations with the intended audience; • the ways ‘news values’ influence the production of news; • the underlying system of values/ideologies which shapes each report; • implicit and explicit evaluations conveyed by the texts; • the ways social actors are represented; • the ways different linguistic codes represent the same events; • the visual illustrations that accompany the texts – are they the same or different and the implications of the choices.
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Differing Opinions: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Two Articles
Stefan Thomson
University of Birmingham
MA TESL/TEFL
Module 4
Choose two news/current affairs texts, one from English-speaking media (e.g. a
British or American TV news report, an Australian newspaper, etc.) and the other
from a media outlet in another country/language, but both dealing with the same
'global' events (e.g., wars, disasters, etc..). Critically discuss the two texts using a
CDA approach (unit 8).
You should reach conclusions as to how the two texts are similar or different in some
or all of the following:
• the differences in the representation of events and in relations with the intended
audience;
• the ways ‘news values’ influence the production of news;
• the underlying system of values/ideologies which shapes each report;
• implicit and explicit evaluations conveyed by the texts;
• the ways social actors are represented;
• the ways different linguistic codes represent the same events;
• the visual illustrations that accompany the texts – are they the same or different and
Kress, G. and Van Leeuwen, T. (1999) “Visual Interaction” in The Discourse Reader
London: Routledge pp. 362-384
Li, J. (2009) “Intertextuality and national identity: discourse of national conflicts in daily
newspapers in the United States and China” Discourse & Society 20/1 pp. 85-121
Silverman, E. (2005) “Kimchi Sales Rise on Link to Possible Bird Flu Cure” [online]
available from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2005/12/30/AR2005123001431.html [accessed 17 March 2011]
Teo, P. (2000) “Racism in the news: a Critical Discourse Analysis of news reporting in
two Australian newspapers” Discourse & Society 11/1 pp. 7-49
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Appendix 1:
Daily Mail
South Korea buries 1.4m pigs ALIVE in bid to eradicate foot and mouth disease By DAILY MAIL REPORTER South Korea has buried 1.4million pigs alive after an outbreak of foot and mouth disease on the peninsula. The controversial measure has been brought in after 115 cases of the disease were confirmed, originating in the city of Andong. The country is also battling an outbreak of avian flu and recently raised its alert level to 'watch' after discovering the virus at poultry farms in four provinces.
Outbreak: A vet vaccinates a cow against foot and mouth disease at a farm in Taean,
South Korea
Slaughter houses have been asked to work on holidays to boost meat supply after the mass cull saw wholesale prices of beef, pork and chicken soared by 22 percent in the last month. President Lee Myung-bak held an emergency cabinet meeting yesterday to discuss measures of containing the rapidly-spreading disease. South Korea has already vaccinated 1.2million livestock against foot and mouth since November in eight of its 16 provinces. It nows plans to expand the programme across the country, except for Jeju Island.
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A statement from the agriculture minis try said: 'Today's meeting reviewed current measures and decided to strengthen preemptive measures.' The government will import m ore vaccines to cover 11 million livestock. Before the outbreak, South Korea only had 300,000 doses.
FLASHBACK: South Korean quarantine officers throw live piglets, taken from a farm
suffering from an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, into a hole prior to burying them alive in Ansung, in this 2002 file photo
The cull - 10 per cent of the total number of pigs and cattle - has sparked a storm of criticism. Joyce D’Silva, Director of Public Affairs for CIWF said: 'Compassion in World Farming is appalled that the Republic of Korea is allegedly throwing pigs into pits and burying them alive. 'This is totally contrary to international guidelines on humane culling, which the Korean government endorsed five years ago. 'We urge the Korean government to end this horrendous practice at once and to ensure that, if animals are culled, this is done humanely.' Foot and mouth affects livestock including sheep, cows and pigs. Meat from infected animals is not harmful to humans. The H5N1 avian influenza virus has been confirmed in 16 cases where it was suspected.
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Precautions: More than one million pigs have been buried alive after 115 cases of the
disease were found on the peninsula Some 470,000 poultry have been slaughtered, 0.4 per cent of the domestic stock, and commercial duck and chicken breeding farm s in affected areas have been quarantined. The outbreak was first confirmed on December 31 in ducks in the city of Cheonan and chickens in Iksan. No human cases of the bird flu strain have been reported. Agriculture Minister Yoo Jeong-bok as formed a national team to contain the spread of the disease. The outbreak is believed to have been brought to the peninsula by migratory birds. Health experts fear the disease could mutate to a form that could be easily transmitted between humans. Since 2003, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has infected around 500 people globally, killing nearly 60 per cent. Most of the deaths have been in Asia. South Korea has said it has no plans to boost imports or cut import duties to cope with the shortage. It imposes 40 per cent tariffs on imported beef, and around 25 per cent of tariffs on imported pork.
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Appendix 2:
Korea Herald
Korea culls 1.3m livestock to combat FMD epidemic Korea has ordered the culling of 1.34 million livestock since late November to stem its severest foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in history, the government said Monday. The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said quarantine officials ordered the culling of 107,500 heads of cattle, just under 1.23 million pigs and over 3,700 goats and deer on 3,300 farms in the past 40 days. The exact cost of losses cannot be calculated properly, but compensation to farmers, the cost of vaccinations and other expenses may run past the 1.3 trillion won mark, although numbers can go up if the outbreaks do not come under control soon, the ministry said. Besides the culling and burial of animals, the government started vaccinating animals on Dec. 25, with 2.15 million livestock in six provinces and two major cities getting shots. All cattle and breeding sows in the central Gyeonggi, Chungcheong and Gangwon provinces as well as those in the city of Incheon, west of Seoul, are being vaccinated. Sources said losses will require the use of the government’s emergency budget since existing reserves and farm-related public funds accumulated in the past are insufficient to deal with the extent of the damage. “Because farms that have been hit will have to re-stock on animals afterwards, the latest FMD outbreak may disrupt the local livestock sector for up to two years,” an insider said. Before the first FMD case was confirmed on Nov. 29, the country had 3.4 million heads of cattle, 9.4 million pigs and a considerable number of other livestock. The ministry, meanwhile, said it found four more outbreaks earlier in the day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 112, along with several other cases that are not officially tallied because the animals were culled as a precautionary measure before test results were checked. The ministry also confirmed the first bird flu outbreak in the Gyeonggi region near Seoul, raising concerns that the highly contagious disease is spreading across the country. A duck farm in Anseong, 77 kilometers south of Seoul, tested positive for the virulent strain of the H5N1 avian influenza after birds started dying off over the weekend, the ministry said. The case is the first to be reported in the province surrounding the capital city in nearly three years. Avian influenza is an airborne disease that can be transmitted to humans, although there has never been a case of a Korean getting sick. Authorities said the Anseong outbreak is the ninth confirmed in the country this winter after the first bird flu cases were confirmed by quarantine authorities on Dec. 31. The initial outbreaks were all centered in the Jeolla region in the southwestern part of the country and South Chungcheong in the central western region. “All 32,000 ducks on the (Anseong) farm have already been ordered destroyed on Sunday as a
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precautionary measure, with 55,000 other birds within a 500-meter radius to be culled,” an official said. He said other birds within a 10-kilometer area of the poultry farm will be barred from being sold on the market or moved, while front-line inspectors will carefully monitor birds for sharp hikes in sudden deaths and drops in egg production. The ministry, meanwhile, said the latest confirmation brings the number of birds culled at infected farms alone to over 194,600, with many more being destroyed to prevent the spread of the bird flu. (Yonhap News)