Research On The Media Portrayals Of Sun Yang By Overseas Media From The Perspective Of Critical Discourse Analysis

As a Chinese swimmer,Sun has won gold medals for China at the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics,as well as breaking world records several times in competition.However,in contrast to his outstanding athletic performance,there is an endless stream of negative press about him,and the declining media image in the overseas.The Times and the New York Times,as the most influential old newspapers in Britain and the United States,can be said to represent the voice of overseas traditional media.Both have always emphasized the coverage of sports news,and there are quite informative reports on athletes from all over the world.Asahi Shimbun is one of the biggest print media at Japan,which has tremendous influence both at home and abroad.In this paper,with The Times and the New York Times and Asahi Shimbun in 2009 to 2020 stories about the sun as the research object,using literature analysis,content analysis and text analysis,the research method of the combination of a variety of ways,critical discourse analysis as the theoretical basis,from the three print medias of Sun reported text,discourse practice and social cultural practice from three aspects,to explore the foreign media shape and present the media image of Sun,also the media image of the changes of Sun’s characteristics and experiences are analyzed.The study found,with The Times,the New York Times and Asahi Shimbun is given priority to the foreign media for the sun the media image of the construction from the start with the positive image of the "national hero",gradually shift to neutral and negative "controversial" and "drug cheats" reported theme of Sun also reports from only competition performance,he turns to Sun’s depiction of the individual,as well as the subsequent reports involving the use of drugs.The transformation of Sun Yang’s media image by foreign media can be attributed not only to Sun Yang’s own reasons,but also to the competition between countries in the reporting discourse,and the different values between the East and the West.In general,as China steps forward to become a sports power,more and more athletes will become heroes of the new era.It is also a matter of time for foreign media to change their attitude towards Chinese sports.Therefore,Chinese athletes,mainly Sun Yang,should be more cautious in their words and actions on the international stage such as the Olympics and show more restraint when dealing with sensitive issues such as doping.