A Critical Discourse Analysis of News Reports on the “Black Lives Matter” Movement in The New York Times

— The death of Floyd, a black man who is violently treated by a white officer triggered extensive protests called Black Lives Matter (BLM). The New York Times (TNYT) continually reports this movement. Aiming to reveal the attitude of American mainstream media towards racial matters, this research conducts a critical analysis of five pieces of news reports on BLM in TNYT with Fairclough's three-dimensional model as theoretical framework. The analysis shows that the language in the news discourse is affected by the medium. At the description stage, it is found that TNYT chooses violence-related words and lots of material processes to depict the police, expressing the negative attitude towards the police's behavior. The employment of relational processes demonstrates that American black community lives in difficult conditions, expressing sympathy for Floyd and black people. The analysis of the interpretation stage found that specified news sources are employed most frequently by TNYT, contributing high credibility to its reports. But the use of semi-specified news sources and frequent employment of indirect discourse blur the boundary between the reporters and news sources, allowing reporters to convey their own opinions in others' names. At the explanation stage, it is found that racism existing in American history is the main reason for this movement. TNYT, as the mainstream medium, opposes racial discrimination but not fully supports BLM since America is facing COVID-19 and this large-scale protest has done damage to the normal civil life and caused adverse effect on the prevention of the virus. This study expands the research scope of critical discourse studies on news discourse. It helps readers arouse their critical awareness, identify ideologies hidden in news reports, and develop an objective understanding of racial events.