The article is devoted to the comparative analysis of newspaper articles in search of linguistic and extralinguistic features of the functioning of mass media discourse in Germany and Russia. In the modern world, the mass media are becoming more and more important due to the limitation of contacts and the transition to distance work and learning. The object of media linguistics is all types of texts that exist in the mass media space: in newspapers, on television, radio or on the Internet. We define the concept of mass media discourse as a cognitive-pragmatic environment that realizes its potential through the production and translation of evaluative meanings and metaphorical interpretation of fragments of social life to a wide audience. The main goal of mass media discourse is the function of influencing the recipient by presenting semantic and evaluative information, implemented using various communication means and channels.