Exploring Media Narratives and National Identity through Corpus Linguistics: A Case Study of Moroccan Media Coverage of Alhawz Earthquake

Television, newspapers, magazines, and other print and electronic media contribute to developing and preserving national and cultural identity by providing a platform for diverse voices, enabling different communities to share their narratives, traditions, and values. Media nurtures a sense of belonging and fosters a more unified and inclusive society by promoting cultural events and showcasing unity, harmony, and group spirit among citizens during times of crisis. Media narratives can shape the nation's perception, including national identity and political, social, and international relations narratives. However, the current paper focuses mainly on crisis narratives, another type of media narrative that can affect the perception of a nation. Those narratives focus mainly on events threatening a nation's stability, security, or well-being. Crisis narratives include natural disasters, economic slumps, and public health emergencies. Therefore, the current study attempts to analyse the Moroccan media narratives on the Alhawz earthquake, utilising a comprehensive analysis of 17 articles published between 10th September and 26th September 2023. The analysis is conducted within the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis and corpus linguistics to reveal how media narratives foster a sense of unity and nationalistic sentiments among citizens during the Alhawz earthquake. The findings indicated that Moroccan media narratives on the earthquake could shape how the public perceives the nation's ability to handle a crisis, the effectiveness of its leadership, and the resilience of its people, who were able to show a sense of unity and national pride during that natural disaster.