COVID-19 Pandemic: To Be in the Focus of Media : A Critical Discourse Analysis of Denmark and Sweden's News Media's Reporting on the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020

Abstract: Aim and research questions: This study investigates how the corona pandemic COVID-19 has been noticed and presented in the news reporting of a Danish newspaper and a Swedish newspaper in their digital news feed. The study is based on the following questions: ● What discursive themes can be identified in Danish and Swedish news reporting on COVID-19 in 2020? ● What are linguistic features used in the headline of the articles in Danish and Swedishnews media? ● How can the Danish and Swedish media reports on COVID-19 be explained by discourse analysis and theoretical framework? Method and material: The study has used a qualitative method with a critical discourse analysis that uses Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional analysis model to analyze a total of 48 articles from Aftonbladet and Kristeligt Dagblad. Main result: The study results show an overview of how news media reporting from Aftonbladet and Kristeligt Dagblad shapes the COVID-19 pandemic with four discursive themes: infection, information, restriction, and immunity. They shaped the discourses onCOVID-19 through a critical perspective in relation to the actions of politicians and authorities and their handling. Linguistic features are used to construct our society during the pandemic to capture readers' attention through the headlines. These have been in the form of metaphorical and charged words that reflect either negative or positive emotional reactions. It also highlights that the media has an influence on how things look; they can consciously or unconsciously make us feel a certain way. As a result, people perceive things differently and can sometimes misunderstand information.