Japanese media versus American media coverage of the Virginia Tech tragedy

Abstract

Japan and the U.S. have a long intimate relationship. Both have a history together that has included some of the most epic clashes and collaborations of all time. It stands to reason that even though both countries differ markedly in culture, values, socially accepted norms and conventions, there exist similarities as well, especially in the way mass media texts are related to the social domains for which they exist. This critical analysis of two editorial news articles covering the tragedy at Virginia Tech in April of 2007 - one from a Japanese/International perspective and the other from an American perspective - will attempt to show, through critical discourse analysis, how the authors’ texts, reflect and serve to at least contribute to defining the society for which they have been written (Coulthard, 1991).

Norman Fairclough, who is considered one of the founders of critical discourse analysis, lays the foundation upon which this analysis is built. This analysis will first identify five “aspects of textuality” (Fairclough, 1989) as they appear in the articles, and then will proceed with the Fairclough’s “interpretation of the interaction” in part 2. Part 3 is devoted to explaining how the identification and interpretation above “are inserted in social action” (Fairclough, 1992a and b, 1995). How discourse is shaped by relations of power and ideologies will be brought to light in parts two and three through a critical analysis looking at the following five aspects: 1) visibility and invisibility, 2) consistency, 3) modality, 4) relational processes, and 5) common sense appeal.