Covering health in digital age a critical discourse analysis of English language newspapers in India

Abstract

This thesis is a comprehensive study examining health news coverage in India using a critical discourse analysis lens. The study focuses on two major English-language daily newspapers, The Times of India and The Hindu, analyzing a sample of 940 articles in the year 2018. The thesis investigates the framing of health issues, power, authority, and responsibility in health news, and examines media coverage of health issues prioritized by the government and the World Health Organization. The study finds that the media predominantly frames health as an individual responsibility, mostly neglecting social, economic, and political determinants of health. It highlights the need for more comprehensive health discourse that incorporates these broader determinants, especially given the structural inequities in the Indian context. newline