Competing and hybridized discourses in Chinese news reporting: case studies of three key newspapers in Southern China

Comparative discourse studies have tended to emphasize uncovering the dichotomous systems or the differential ideological patterning between the East and the West. The present study attempts a turn in moving beyond the dichotomous perspective to examine the complexities and the internal variations within the Chinese culture and discourse. It explores the diverse discourse systems operating in the media practice of contemporary China and emphasizes that a discourse system is dynamic and constantly undergoing changes, competing with other discourse system(s) and incorporating elements from the other discourse system(s). The notion of stance by Du Bois is utilized to study the different possible stances the three key newspapers in Southern China (i.e. Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, Guangzhou Daily, and Southern Metropolis Daily) have adopted in reporting the case of the Sanlu milk scandal, manifesting the competing forces and the changing Chinese media in a globalizing context, with differential extent of hybridization between at least two discourses: the politically driven and the professionally driven discourses.