The newsworthiness of Li Na—A critical comparative analysis of Chinese and international news media

This paper compares the discursive construction of newsworthiness between Chinese and international media in their English-language news reporting about the Chinese tennis player, Li Na. Adopting corpus linguistic methods, discursive news values analysis framework (DNVA) and a modified network of social actor representation, this paper examines news values through key words, naming strategies and evaluative lexis in four news outlets from China, Britain, Australia and the United States. Li Na's Eliteness is enhanced through constructions of Superlativeness, Positivity, Impact and Unexpectedness in all news outlets. However, the international media highlight individualism and Li Na's rebelliousness in the face of systemic change in Chinese sporting culture, while Chinese media emphasizes collectivism and nationalism and Li Na's responsibility towards the nation. The corpus-assisted discourse analysis reveals the ideological forces that are at play in positioning her in relation to the roles and responsibilities she faces as she negotiates competing sports systems in China.