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Article published In: Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 25:3 (2026) ► pp.358–382

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When pro-vaccine media discourses meet vaccine hesitancy

an intertextual analysis of online news on COVID-19

ORCiD logo with link | University of Cyprus
 | University of Cyprus
Published online: 22 April 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.24054.tri
Abstract
This article examines how intertextuality and polyphony in online media narratives shaped media discourse on COVID-19 vaccination in Cyprus, focusing on their relationship with vaccine hesitancy. Drawing on concepts of legitimation, pre-legitimation, and crisis imaginaries, the analysis explores how media narratives constructed vaccination as a pathway to “returning to normality.” The findings reveal that while Cypriot media predominantly adopted a pro-vaccination stance, their hierarchical privileging of elite voices — scientific experts and politicians — potentially undermining trust. Pre-legitimation strategies framed vaccination as a necessary response to speculative crises, while unvaccinated individuals were constructed as societal threats. These imaginaries aligned with technocratic discourse, emphasizing expertise while sidelining citizen positioning. This, along with contradictions in rhetorical strategies, such as juxtaposing scientific and religious appeals, may have contributed to vaccine hesitancy. This article contributes to critical discourse studies by illustrating how crisis communication can simultaneously legitimize solutions and alienate segments of the public.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review and theoretical framework: Crisis communication and the intertextual analysis of the return to normality
    • 2.1COVID-19 as crisis
    • 2.2Approaching the pro-vaccination narratives from an intertextual perspective
  • 3.Data and methods of analysis
    • 3.1Data collection
    • 3.2Methods of analysis
  • 4.Results and discussion
    • 4.1Quantitative discourse analysis
      • 4.1.1Type of reporting discourse
      • 4.1.2Voices/Actors
      • 4.1.3Subtopics
      • 4.1.4Multimediality
      • 4.1.5Positioning
      • 4.1.6Writing strategy
    • 4.2Qualitative discourse analysis
      • 4.2.1The voices of the experts: Expertise of the decision on vaccines
      • 4.2.2The voices of the politicians: Between the fear of the future and the critique of the present
      • 4.2.3The voice of the public?
      • 4.2.4Synthesizing Voices and Rhetorical Strategies in Media Discourses
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • References
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