“Devil”,“scammer” and “troublemaker”: How is an educator role model promoted in a Negativity-based news interview?

Abstract

This article explores the discourse function of the news value of Negativity in reporting on Principal Zhang, a prominent female educator in a Chinese news interview. Drawing on DNVA (Discursive News Values Analysis) and appraisal theory, the study examines how negative evaluative language helps establish a specific type of newsworthiness. The article introduces the concept of constructive Negativity, defined as a discursive effect produced by particular narrative configurations in which negative news values are strategically deployed to construe a positive and iconic role model. Theoretically, the study extends the DNVA framework proposed by Bednarek and Caple (2017) by making a clearer distinction between textual construction and social effects, suggesting that Negativity can function as a resource for moral alignment. Methodologically, it demonstrates how discourse analysis of negative news value construction can be used to map the positioning of putative readers (White, 2020) towards positive social evaluations.