The main thrust of media discourse is to influence public perceptions of events, issues, and social phenomena through the way information is selected, presented, and interpreted. It is a process of shaping perceptions and guiding public thinking, whereby a particular narrative is conveyed through media institutions and platforms to influence and guide social perceptions.
The content of media discourse in the public sphere is usually directed to the general public. It is also delivered through public channels and can be widely accessed and observed. Media organisations and content producers create specific narratives by choosing the topics to be covered, using specific language, images and visual elements, and adopting specific frames and perspectives. This manufacturing process influences the presentation of information and the understanding of the audience. Media discourse can be in textual, visual, audio, or digital form. Whether it is a newspaper article, a television report, a social media post, or a blog post. Media discourse is a complex process that not only takes place in the public sphere, but is consciously constructed and documented as a form of interaction. This process not only shapes social perceptions and cognitions, but also influences the public’s understanding of events and issues. Analyses of media discourse help to understand how messages are created, disseminated and influence society.
Self-media development has given the public more discourse rights, giving rise to a new ecology of discourse in modern society. In particular, some representative self-media have become an important source of hot news, providing the public with more discourse space and a better discourse platform. However, at the same time, there are many problems of discourse misconduct in the process of dissemination of hot social information, and the ecological disorder of self media discourse has appeared, which damages and hinders the effective communication. As we all know, the social function of discourse dissemination is not to create tears, but to communicate, not to cause conflict, but to facilitate cooperation. Therefore, both sides of communication must follow a certain statute in order to ensure the effectiveness of discourse communication.
In this pluralistic and highly interactive self-media environment, the composition of media discourse has become more complex, encompassing multiple forms of expression and communication. It also calls for a more critical understanding of information by the public to better discern and assess media discourse in the age of self-media.
*Reference:
Christopher M. Toula, Susana Martínez Guillem. (2020). Critical Discourse Studies And/in Communication. Taylor & Francis.
Sally Johnson, Tommaso M. Milani.(2010). Language Ideologies and Media Discourse. Bloomsbury Academic.
Hi, Zheying, Your blog post on self-media communication is fascinating and relevant today. It shows how the media shapes the way people think and see things. With the growth of self-media, everyone has a chance to share information, but this also brings problems like spreading wrong information. Your point about understanding and checking media content carefully is critical. In this new digital world, it’s vital for both the people creating content and those reading or watching it to be more careful and responsible. This is key for keeping conversations healthy and helpful online.