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7. SARS discourse as an anti-SARS ideology: The case of Beijing

  • Hailong Tian
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The Social Construction of SARS
This chapter is in the book The Social Construction of SARS

Abstract

This study examines a series of SARS case reports produced by the News Office of China’s Health Ministry between 21 April and 20 May 2003. The study first examines the change of “stages” in the generic structure of the 30 case reports, and then relates these changes to the way in which the News Office selectively included and excluded SARS case information. It is observed that, by adding and deleting stages in the case reports, the News Office attached more prominence to information that went with the interests and beliefs of its own group and downgraded information that was inconsistent with their interests and desires. Preference for some information and ignoring of other information are seen as a way of representing the anti-SARS social practice and constituting the group’s particular anti-SARS ideology.

Abstract

This study examines a series of SARS case reports produced by the News Office of China’s Health Ministry between 21 April and 20 May 2003. The study first examines the change of “stages” in the generic structure of the 30 case reports, and then relates these changes to the way in which the News Office selectively included and excluded SARS case information. It is observed that, by adding and deleting stages in the case reports, the News Office attached more prominence to information that went with the interests and beliefs of its own group and downgraded information that was inconsistent with their interests and desires. Preference for some information and ignoring of other information are seen as a way of representing the anti-SARS social practice and constituting the group’s particular anti-SARS ideology.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part I. Constructions of SARS in Hong Kong
  5. 1. Hong Kong's multiple constructions of SARS 17
  6. 2. A hero story without heroes: The Hong Kong government's narratives on SARS 33
  7. 3. "SARS" versus "atypical pneumonia": Inconsistencies in Hong Kong's public health warnings and disease-prevention campaign 53
  8. 4. Internet press freedom and online crisis reporting: The role of news web sites in the SARS epidemic 69
  9. Part II. Constructions of SARS on the Chinese mainland
  10. 5. Party journalism vs. market journalism: The coverage of SARS by the People's Daily and Beijing Youth News 93
  11. 6. Construction of nationalism and political legitimacy through rhetoric of the anti-SARS campaign: A fantasy theme analysis 109
  12. 7. SARS discourse as an anti-SARS ideology: The case of Beijing 125
  13. Part III. Constructions of SARS in Singapore and Taiwan
  14. 8. "Triumph over adversity": Singapore mobilizes Confucian values to combat SARS 145
  15. 9. Singapore at war: SARS and its metaphors 163
  16. 10. Reporting an emerging epidemic in Taiwan: Journalists' experiences of SARS coverage 181
  17. Part IV. Cross national constructions of SARS
  18. 11. Newspaper coverage of the 2003 SARS outbreak 203
  19. 12. Effects of rationality and story attributes on perceptions of SARS perception 223
  20. Index 241
https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.30.10tia

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part I. Constructions of SARS in Hong Kong
  5. 1. Hong Kong's multiple constructions of SARS 17
  6. 2. A hero story without heroes: The Hong Kong government's narratives on SARS 33
  7. 3. "SARS" versus "atypical pneumonia": Inconsistencies in Hong Kong's public health warnings and disease-prevention campaign 53
  8. 4. Internet press freedom and online crisis reporting: The role of news web sites in the SARS epidemic 69
  9. Part II. Constructions of SARS on the Chinese mainland
  10. 5. Party journalism vs. market journalism: The coverage of SARS by the People's Daily and Beijing Youth News 93
  11. 6. Construction of nationalism and political legitimacy through rhetoric of the anti-SARS campaign: A fantasy theme analysis 109
  12. 7. SARS discourse as an anti-SARS ideology: The case of Beijing 125
  13. Part III. Constructions of SARS in Singapore and Taiwan
  14. 8. "Triumph over adversity": Singapore mobilizes Confucian values to combat SARS 145
  15. 9. Singapore at war: SARS and its metaphors 163
  16. 10. Reporting an emerging epidemic in Taiwan: Journalists' experiences of SARS coverage 181
  17. Part IV. Cross national constructions of SARS
  18. 11. Newspaper coverage of the 2003 SARS outbreak 203
  19. 12. Effects of rationality and story attributes on perceptions of SARS perception 223
  20. Index 241
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