Discursive construction of news reports on people with mental illness in Malaysian online newspapers

Abstract

Background and Purpose: As one of the most common trustworthy sources, online newspapers have been regarded as the primary source of knowledge among the public to obtain reliable and unbiased information. However, in the context of media coverage of people with mental illness, they are often portrayed negatively and regarded as unpredictable and dangerous, resulting in increased stigma and misunderstanding among the public at large. This study examines the discursive strategies used in Malaysian news articles in portraying mental illness and the linguistic devices used to successfully implement these strategies. Methodology: This study investigated 43 news articles published in popular Malaysian online newspapers to examine how issues related to mental health-related illnesses are discursively constructed and the linguistic elements that were employed to represent the complexities of the cases from a discourse analysis perspective. Findings: The results show that the local media use nomination, predication and argumentation strategies to legitimise people with mental illness. They are portrayed negatively and through various linguistic elements, primarily as perpetrators and offenders. Contributions: The study provides media professionals with nuanced information on responsible reporting of mental health issues and uses the media as a platform to destigmatise mental illness among the general public.