The Linguistic Representations of COVID-19 in the British Press: A Corpus-Based Comparison across Waves
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- This study examines how the British media represented COVID-19 during the first three pandemic waves (March 2020 to March 2022). Using a 200,000-word corpus analysed through Corpus Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis, we explore how the British media framed the pandemic. The findings reveal that the media consistently highlighted the role of vaccines, focusing on their benefits in controlling the virus and protecting vulnerable groups. In the first wave, the emphasis was on achieving herd immunity. The second wave shifted to vaccine distribution and effectiveness, while the third wave combined vaccination with continued restrictions. However, preventive measures like lockdowns and social distancing were not always portrayed as the primary means of control, especially by the third wave. The depiction of COVID-19 as a danger persisted but varied in intensity, with the first wave stressing global threats, the second wave portraying the crisis as most severe, and the third wave showing a reduced immediate threat. This research sheds light on the evolving media narratives and their impact on public perception during the early stages of the pandemic.