| The elderly population has been under the spotlight of social attention as global ageing is becoming increasingly apparent.In today’s highly developed media environment,it is essential to explore how media discourse presents old people,which can help to demonstrate the real and vibrant existence of the elderly population and gradually eliminate the negative,stereotypical,and marginalizing issues.This study,based on news reports on aging from China Daily and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,examines the discursive strategies used in media discourse,explores the elderly images constructed through the use of those discursive strategies,and analyzes the similarities and differences in the construction of elderly images between Chinese and Canadian media in temporal and spatial dimensions.This study specifically answers three questions:(1)What discursive strategies do Chinese and Canadian media use when presenting the elderly in news reports?(2)What images of the elderly have Chinese and Canadian media constructed through utilizing these discursive strategies?(3)What are the similarities and differences in the construction of the elderly images between the two media in temporal and spatial dimensions?This study combines quantitative and qualitative research methods,adopts three-level coding processes and conducts a comprehensive analysis of the data,and obtains the following research findings:(1)China Daily uses six types of discursive strategies when presenting the elderly,namely referential,predication,intensification,mitigation,argumentation,and visual presentation.In contrast,Canadian Broadcasting Corporation only uses five discursive strategies: referential,predication,intensification,argumentation,and visual presentation.(2)Through utilizing discursive strategies,China Daily constructs four types of elderly images: helpless and lonely individuals,imprisoned and struggling individuals,actively engaged seniors,kind and capable contributors.However,Canadian Broadcasting Corporation constructs five types of elderly images: frail and powerless individuals,imprisoned and struggling individuals,abused victims,actively engaged seniors,wise and respected seniors.(3)Comparing the elderly images constructed by Chinese and Canadian media,we find one similarity and three differences in spatial dimension,and one similarity and two differences in temporal dimension.From the spatial perspective,both media construct two kinds of similar elderly images.However,Canadian Broadcasting Corporation presents more types of elderly images than China Daily.Furthermore,Chinese media discourse portrays the elderly more positively,while Canadian media presents them more negatively.Additionally,the Chinese and Canadian media focus on different aspects of the elderly.In terms of temporal dimension,most elderly images constructed by the two media increases in frequency over time.However,there are differences in longitudinal changes of the negative elderly images in the two media,and the types of the elderly images that increased the fastest are different.Similar to the previous studies on the elderly images,the present study also reflects the tendency that media discourse tends to portray the elderly in a tragic manner.However,it also highlights the dynamic and diversity features of the elderly image construction.Discourse has a constructive nature,and images are not created out of thin air,but are discursively constructed.The use of discursive strategies contributes to the construction of elderly images,while the construction of elderly images interferes with media’s choice of discursive strategies. |
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