A critical discourse analysis of CNN online and BBC online news on Beijing Olympics 2008

A critical discourse analysis of CNN online and
BBC online news on Beijing Olympics 2008



Nguyễn Thu Trang


Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ
Luận văn Thạc sĩ ngành: English Linguistic; Mã số: 60 22 15
Người hướng dẫn: Assoc.Prof.Dr. Trần Hữu Mạnh
Năm bảo vệ: 2009


Abstract. This study aims to investigate the power and ideology hidden behind the two
e-newspapers, CNN Online and BBC Online, in their news reports on Beijing Olympics 2008 in
the light of critical discourse analysis approach. The analysis consists of three steps. The first is a
general analysis of the coverage content of the Beijing Olympic Games, the use of pictures and
videos reporting swimming competition in the two media institutions. This is followed by a
lexical analysis with regards to the use of references to the Olympic Games in news of both
newspapers. The last step is a comparative analysis of two sample texts in terms syntactic
structure (the use of transitive and intransitive sentences as well as active and passive voices),
cohesion (conjunction, reference) and transitivity on the basis of Halliday‟s Systematic
Functional System. The results of the study reconfirm the relationship between language, power
and ideology. The study recommends that readers should know how to use languages to exert
power and to uncover the ideological representations of texts.
Keywords. Phân tích diễn ngôn; Tiếng Anh; Olympics Bắc Kinh 2008; Báo điện tử

Content
1.1. Rationale of the study
The Beijing Olympics 2008, which took place from the 8th August to 24th August 2008 in

China, is one of the most successful Olympic Games which won great approval from the media
world. With a total of 11,468 athletes from 204 countries and regions, about 100,000 Olympic
volunteers, 400,000 city volunteers, and 1 million social volunteers, Beijing saw the largest
number of female athletes competing in the history of the Games.
As the NBC Universal assesses, the Beijing Olympics is the most-watched U.S. television event
of all time. More than 220 television agencies and over 25,000 journalists covered the event. The
IOC site logged 5 million clicks during the entire process of the Beijing Games, whereas it
logged 2.8 million clicks during the Athens Olympics.
More than 80 heads of states and governments participated in the opening ceremony of the
Beijing Games. About 80 percent of the people in China and about half of the people in the
United States and Europe watched the opening ceremony on television. This was a record
number. Few other events have received so much attention.
The closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics received wide coverage by most U.S. media
outlets, with many praising the Games as the most memorable summer Olympics. It was
described as "the most memorable Olympics ever."
In a piece titled "Truly exceptional Games," NBC said the Beijing Olympics made history "in
virtually every regard.” Beside, many U.S. media outlets heaped praises on the Chinese
volunteers at the Beijing Games; the Los Angeles Times praised the Chinese volunteers for their
friendliness and efficiency.
BBC (The British Broadcasting Corporation) and CNN (Cable News Network) are the world's
largest broadcasters which are very familiar with English users. BBC has bases or
correspondents in more than 200 countries and, as officially surveyed, is available to more than
274 million households, though also possibly far more individual persons and groups than
surveys can gather, and it is the oldest surviving entity of its kind and is more widely known
internationally than any other news organization. As of June 2008, CNN is available in over 93
million U.S. households. Broadcast coverage extends to over 890,000 American hotel rooms,
and the U.S broadcast is also shown in Canada. Globally, CNN programming airs through CNN
International, which can be seen by viewers in over 212 countries and territories.
While According to Alexa's Traffic Rank system, in July 2008 BBC Online was the 27th most
popular English Language website in the world, and the 46th most popular overall, CNN.com is

now one of the most popular news websites in the world.
Critical discourse analysis (CDA) has made the study of language into an interdisciplinary tool.
A great number of researchers with various backgrounds, including media criticism use it. Most
significantly, it offers the opportunity to adopt a social perspective in the cross-cultural study of
media texts. While most forms of discourse analysis "aim to provide a better understanding of
socio-cultural aspects of texts," CDA "aims to provide accounts of the production, internal
structure, and overall organization of texts." One crucial difference is that CDA "aims to provide
a critical dimension in its theoretical and descriptive accounts of texts."
With all above reasons, the author has the temptation to carry out a study named: “A Critical
Discourse Analysis of CNN Online and BBC Online News on Beijing Olympics 2008”.
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study
The study aims at:
- Providing an analysis of CNN Online and BBC Online News on Beijing Olympics 2008
in the light of Critical Discourse Analysis;
- Giving an illustration of CDA approach;
- Raising language users as well as newspaper readers‟ awareness of the power and
ideology of discourses.
1.3. Scope of the study
In critically analyzing CNN and BBC News on Beijing Olympics 2008, the author concentrates
only on the coverage in the CNN and BBC online, not the other kinds like printed or radio news.
Specifically, in this study, the writer particularly examines the content and presentation of the
articles, the use of word, grammar (transitive and intransitive sentences as well as active and
passive voices). Besides, some cohesive devices like conjunction and reference and transitivity
are also factors of concerns in the thesis.
1.4. Methods of the study
In order to obtain the aims of the study, the following activities will be carried out:
In the first place, a literature review will be carried out to provide a theoretical background for
the study.
Then, a number of articles on BBC online and CNN online about Beijing Olympics will be
analyzed in the light of critical discourse analysis. The research method applied in this part is

both quantitative and qualitative.
The analysis will be made in terms of the content and presentation. Apart from that, vocabulary,
syntactic structure and cohesion are also analyzed.
From the analysis, a comparison between the news reported in the two newspapers will be
interpreted and analyzed.
1.5. Design of the study
The thesis is divided into 4 chapters:
Chapter I is the Introduction which provides the rationale, the aims, the methods and the design
of the study.
Chapter II naming Theoretical background first gives an overview of Critical Discourse
Analysis. In this part, the history of CDA and some aspects such as critical, ideology and power
are mentioned and analyzed. Then, it deals with media discourse studies and systematic
functional grammar.
Chapter III is entitled A Critical Discourse Analysis of CNN Online and BBC Online News on
Beijing Olympics 2008. This is the main focus of the thesis which provides and discusses the
main findings of the study.
Chapter IV is the Conclusion summarizing the main findings of the study, drawing important
conclusions and offers suggestions for further research.
Apart from these main parts, appendices and references are also included.



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Vietnamese:
1. Nguyễn Hoà (2007), Phân tích diễn ngôn phê phán: lý luận và phương pháp, ĐHQGHN.
2. Trần Hữu Mạnh (2007), Bàn thêm về cấu trúc ngữ nghĩa tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt dưới góc

độ Ngữ pháp Tri nhận. Tạp chí Khoa học Xã hội và Nhân văn - Tạp chí Khoa học ĐHQG Hà
Nội, 23.
3. Trần Thị Thu Hương (2009), Mạch lạc diễn ngôn hội thoại trong một số tác phẩm văn học
hiện đại: Luận văn ThS, Ngôn ngữ học: 60 22 01, ĐHKHXH & NV.
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