LANGUAGE AND JOURNALISM

An expanding research agenda

John E Richardson
Since the publication o Roger !o"ler#s se$inal %&''&( text) the stud* o
the language o +ournalis$ has increased dra$aticall*, -he or$) unction and
politics o the language o +ournalis$ ha.e attracted scholars ro$ a "ide
range o acade$ic disciplines) including linguistics) discourse studies) $edia
studies) sociolog* and others, It goes "ithout sa*ing that such "or/ has
de.eloped sophisticated and intricate anal*tic tools in order to describe the
or$ and content o the ne"s) and has produced detailed and re0uentl* astute
readings o the products o +ournalis$, Ne.ertheless) such approaches oten
said $ore about the .ie"s and $ethods o the anal*st than the language o
+ournalis$ qua +ournalis$ 1 that is) about the speciic dialectical relations that
exist bet"een +ournalists and their text genres) these texts and their
audiences) and bet"een +ournalis$ %as a trade) proession and constellation o
institutions( and the "ider social or$ation,
O course) +ournalis$ produces texts 1 texts that can be anal*sed using
the sa$e linguistic categories) tools and concepts that can be used to stud*
an* other t*pe o text, -his obser.ation) alongside the $ore general and
re0uentl* co$$ented upon 2linguistic turn3 in social scientiic en0uir*) has
resulted in a s"athe o research "hich i$plicitl* %and on occasion explicitl*(
suggests that ne"spaper texts can be studied in the sa$e "a* as $aga4ine
texts) or in the sa$e "a* as political speeches) or con.ersations across a
dinner table) or a range o other discourse genres, Such an approach is
appreciabl* "rongheaded, Each genre o text or tal/ is the product o a
co$bination o discursi.e practices that $a/e it) to the greater extent) uni0ue,
Aside ro$ the dierences bet"een +ournalis$ and other genres that can be
identiied through irst5le.el anal*sis o ne"spaper texts %e,g, the uni0ue
narrati.e se0uencing characteristic o hard ne"s reporting() +ournalis$ ulils
particular social unctions6 has been created b* $en and "o$en in accordance
"ith particular production techni0ues and in speciic institutional settings6 is
$ar/ed b* particular relationships bet"een other agencies o political) +udicial
and econo$ic po"er6 is characterised b* particular interpersonal relations
bet"een "riter and reader6 and is consu$ed) interpreted and en+o*ed in "a*s
that are speciic, As !airclough %&''78 9:;( puts it) +ournalistic texts are <the
outco$e o speciic proessional practices and techni0ues) "hich could be and
can be 0uite dierent "ith 0uite dierent results,= >o"e.er) all too oten these
proessional practices are lost behind linguistic logocentris$ 1 a ailing not
peculiar to discourse anal*sis 1 in "hich anal*sts are o.erl* preoccupied "ith
the intricacies o 2the text3) rather than "ith the $aterial contexts that bound
and situate +ournalis$, In $ore detail) ?lo$$aert %&'''8 75@( argues8
-exts generate their publics) publics generate their texts and the anal*sis
o 2$eanings3 no" has to ta/e into account a historiograph* o the context
o production) the $echanis$s and instru$ents o reproduction and
reception) "a*s o storage and re$e$bering, -he act is that discourses
ABC ha.e their 2natural histor*3 5 a chronological and sociocultural
anchoring "hich produces $eaning and social eects in "a*s that cannot
be reduced to text5characteristics alone,
Journalistic discourses are al"a*s sociall* situated) thereore anal*sing the$
re0uires $ore than a list o text5linguistic concepts, And) contrar* to the "a*s
that his "or/ has oten been interpreted and used) this obser.ation "asn3t lost
on !o"ler, Indeed) he argued explicitl* that) since discourse occurs in social
settings %o production and consu$ption() and the construction o discourse
<relates s*ste$aticall* and predictabl* to AtheseC contextual circu$stances=
%!o"ler) &''&8 D@() so these settings) and the .alues and practices that spring
ro$ and underpin the$) should be a actor in our anal*sis, -hese aspects o
the stud* o the language o +ournalis$ re$ain the $ost under5de.eloped,
Reerring speciicall* to Eritical Discourse Anal*sis 1 the bundle o approaches
ad.ocated b* scholars such as !airclough %&''7) 9::D() Graha$ %9::7() .an
Di+/ %&'FF) &''&( and Goda/ %9::&) Reisigl H Goda/) 9::&6 Geiss H Goda/
9::D( 5 Jones and Eollins %9::@8 D:( go as ar as to argue that although the
critical interpretation and interrogation o discourse
ABC can onl* be supplied b* experienced) "ell5inor$ed and criticall*
$inded participants in the rele.ant ield ABC this principle has been
ignored or set aside in EDA in a.our o a .ie" in "hich detailed historical)
theoretical and practical /no"ledge o the rele.ant spheres is dee$ed
unnecessar* to understanding political and ideological aspects o
discourse,
At this point in the stud* o the language o +ournalis$) this is undoubtedl*
a salient argu$ent, -his special issue is ounded on the belie that "e) "ithin
the .arious ields o stud* interested in the language o +ournalis$) need to
de.elop <a t*pe o $aterialis$ "hich should replace the current idealis$ ABC
but "hich should not lapse into too rigid interpretations o Marxis$ as
econo$is$= %?lo$$aert) &'''8 I( that li$ited the applicabilit* o so$e
Marxian anal*sis published in the sixties and se.enties, As ?ergle4 %9::@8 &F(
points out) so$e earlier Marxian "or/ <tended to ignore the potential po"er o
discursi.e practices) and in $an* cases incorrectl* classiied language use as
strictl* deter$ined b* $aterial structures,= Instead) our $aterialist approach
should be guided b*
ABC an ethnographic e*e or the real historical actors) their interests) their
allegiances) their practices) and "here the* co$e ro$) in relation to the
discourses the* produce 1 "here discourse itsel is seen as a crucial
s*$bolic resource onto "hich people pro+ect their interests) around "hich
the* construct alliances) on and through "hich the* exercise po"er,
%?lo$$aert) &'''8 I(
!ocusing on +ournalistic discourse in particular) Eotter %9::&8 ;9F( argues
that current research has not anal*sed ne"s texts as the <outcome of a
discourse process ABC A process5 or practice5orientated approach "ould allo"
ne" insights into the integrated exa$ination o ne"s practice) ne"s .alues and
audience role=, Such concerns) and others) about the current state o EDA are
spelt out $ost clearl* and thoroughl* in the opening article o this collection)
b* Anabela Ear.alho,
-he principal ocus o Ear.alho3s article is EDA 1 an approach to the
anal*sis o $ediated language use that has risen in pro$inence in recent
*ears) and no" do$inates the ield, She argues that) despite the goals that
EDA has set itsel) <o loo/ing be*ond texts and ta/ing into account institutional
and sociocultural contexts ABC a research progra$$e that enco$passes all the
$o$ents in the 2lie3 o a particular ne"s text as "ell as the "ider picture o
the $edia discourse produced on a gi.en topic= is still unacco$plished %p,JJ
A9C(, More speciicall*) Ear.alho exa$ines three aspects o EDA that currentl*
lac/ satisactor* exa$ination8 irst) longitudinal studies and diachronic anal*sis
exa$ining ho" the reporting o a particular stor*) the$e or issue de.elops o.er
ti$e, Second) the discursi.e strategies adopted b* sources and other social
actors outside the ne"sroo$ in their eorts to gain access to the pages o the
ne"s) and the extent to "hich the discursi.e strategies o each %rele.ant(
social actor are reproduced) challenged or excluded b* +ournalists need closer
consideration, Ghilst +ournalists3 discursi.e inter.entions regarding particular
sub+ects ha.e been exa$ined at length %e,g, ?lac/ledge) 9::7) on i$$igration
and citi4enship6 Richardson) 9::;) on Isla$ and Musli$s() the inter.entions o
sources ha.e thus ar escaped s*ste$atic anal*sis, And third) EDA should pa*
greater attention to the eects o $ediated discourse o.er speciic ields o
action %e,g, the political ield( and) conco$itantl*) the inluence o such ields
upon the practices and products o +ournalis$, !ollo"ing this account) Ear.alho
presents an anal*tic ra$e"or/) and a "a* o operationalising this ra$e"or/)
in order to start plugging so$e o these holes in the EDA oeuvre, >er approach)
"hich starts b* exa$ining the text as a unit o anal*sis) expands this out to an
exa$ination o the "ider context and atte$pts to dra" out the dialectical
relations bet"een text and context) pro.ides an extre$el* useul account o
the practice o doing EDA) "hich should be o interest to both the no.ice and
.eteran ali/e,
Although directed to"ards EDA) $uch o Ear.alho3s discussion is rele.ant
and potentiall* sti$ulating or other approaches to the anal*sis o +ournalistic
discourse, Indeed) so$e o the neglected issues she identiies are discussed in
other articles later in this issue, And) although the papers that ollo" shouldn#t
be .ie"ed as explicitly ta/ing up the challenge o addressing these lacunae o
$ediated discourse anal*sis) the* certainl* contribute to the debates, !or
instance) Martin3s article) on the <discursi.e transor$ation in labour ne"s in
the second hal o the t"entieth centur*=) ta/es a historic and co$parati.e
sa$ple o the prestige press o Eanada and the USA %the New York Times) the
Washington Post and the Toronto Star( and traces a decisi.e shit in the "a*s
that the* report stri/ing "or/ers, -he ai$ o the article is to de$onstrate ho" a
ne"spaper3s target readership de$ographic) and their class in particular) can
ha.e proound eects on the language o ne"s reporting, In $ore detail) Martin
irst details the historic <shit in the target $ar/et o U,S, and Eanadian
ne"spapers ro$ a $ass audience o the "or/ing and $iddle class to a niche)
2upscale3 audience o the upper $iddle class= %p,JJ A9FC(, Second) the article
criticall* anal*ses the "a*s that the sa$pled ne"spapers report transportation
stri/es %o) or exa$ple) rail) bus and airline "or/ers( and <ho" the ra$ing o
those stri/es dra$aticall* s"itched ro$ a pre5&'I:s orientation o "or/er
struggles to a post5&'I:s orientation o high consu$er incon.enience= %p,JJ
A9FC(, >e concludes b* arguing the
consu$er5oriented approach to ne"s har$s the "or/ing class and labour
in t"o "a*s, !irst) targeting upscale consu$ers contributes to class
ine0ualit*) as the "or/ing class is excised ro$ ne"s discourse, ABC
Second) consu$er5oriented discourse is <an expression o a prooundl*
rag$enting indi.idualis$)= "ith signiicant political conse0uences %Eross)
9:::) p, &'&(, Instead o ne"s stories that reer to labour3s long collecti.e
$o.e$ent or econo$ic and social +ustice) ne"spapers began to ocus on
indi.iduals organi4ed into leeting collecti.es onl* or occasions o
<spontaneous interest=,
Such shits in ne"spapers3 editorial contents also bear testi$on* to the
creeping inluence o $ar/et research proiling and disiguring eects that such
concerns ha.e on the potential o +ournalis$ to treat their readers as citi4ens
and hence ser.e co$plete co$$unities, In an article included later in the
issue) Machin and Nibloc/ also exa$ine the issue and inluence o class) the
increasing i$portance o aluent readers and the eects o this on the
branding and identit* o a ?ritish ne"spaper, Explicitl* <addressing one o the
$a+or criticis$s o EDA) that it ails to consider the role o production actors in
explaining textual choices=) their article <loo/s at these changes in the context
o the re5branding o one ne"spaper= %p,JJ A&97C(, -a/ing a local ne"spaper)
the %Li.erpool( Daily Post) as a case stud*) Machin and Nibloc/ anal*se the
visual dierences bet"een the pre5 and post5 rebranding .ersions o the
ne"spaper) and as/ <"hat /inds o discourses) ideas and .alues these
AdierencesC connote= %p,JJ A&97C(, As the* point out) little acade$ic "riting
has ac/no"ledged) $uch less anal*sed) the <careul attention to .isual design
that has s"ept through press organisations o.er the past decade= %p,JJ A&97C(
1 the e" notable exceptions pro.ing the rule %c, ?arnhurst &'';) ?arnhurst H
Nerone) 9::&(, -r*ing to help ill this gap) their paper attends to the gra$$ar
o .isual design) appl*ing the $ulti$odal approach to anal*sis de.eloped b*
Kress and .an Leeu"en %9::&(, Dra"ing on >allida*3s %&'F7( .ie" that
language ulils three co$$unicati.e unctions 1 to con.e* ideas) attitudes and
pro.ide textual coherence 1 the $ulti$odal approach expands anal*sis to
include the co$$unicati.e potential o visual ele$ents o texts, -hat is)
$ulti$odal anal*sis exa$ines the "a*s that ele$ents such as colours)
t*pograph* and la*out <can create $oods and attitudes) con.e* ideas) create
lo" across the co$position) in the sa$e "a* that there are linguistic de.ices
or doing the sa$e in texts= %Machin) 9::I8 xi(, Supple$enting their anal*sis o
the ne"spaper "ith an inter.ie" "ith the co$$issioned designer) Machin and
Nibloc/ argue that the .isual st*les adopted as part o the rebrand should not
be .ie"ed si$pl* <as aesthetic or indi.idual choices $ade b* the text
producers= %p,JJ A&9@C() but rather as <part o the social practice o
co$$ercialising the regional press and o targeting $ar/et groups to increase
proits= %p,JJ A&;DC(,
In their dierent "a*s) these t"o co$pli$entar* articles ro$ Martin and
Machin and Nibloc/ both exa$ine the "a*s that capitalis$) and the "ant or
proit in particular) dri.e ne"spapers to change their discourses 1 both
linguistic and .isual 1 in order to appeal to aluent target readers, ?oth articles
de$onstrate ne"spaper $ar/eting3s continued use o class and "ealth in the
$ar/et seg$entation o readers 1 "hich re$ain the $ost salient $odes o
social stratiication despite the increasing use o 2ps*chographic3
characteristics,
Labaleta et al re$ind us that) or a large nu$ber o +ournalists) the irst
0uestions to ans"er in relation to their reporting are not "hich "a* to
represent an issue or "hich reader de$ographic to tr* to attract) but "hich
language to use and the degree to "hich it is possible to report in this
language, -a/ing as their ocus the +ournalists that "or/ in the $edia o ten
European $inorit* linguistic co$$unities %?as0ue) Eatalan) Galician) Eorsican)
?reton) !risian) Irish) Gelsh) Scottish5Gaelic) and SM$i( the* explore these
+ournalists3 perceptions o <their o"n language3s de.elop$ent and issues "hen
applied to +ournalis$) their /no"ledge o the $inorit* tongue and its use in the
"or/place= %p,JJ A7&C(, In a ascinating and i$portant addition to the $ini$al
a.ailable literature on $inorit* language +ournalis$ %though see Eotter &''@)
&'''() Labaleta et al re.eal <less than t"o thirds %@9,@N( o the European
$inorit* language +ournalists sur.e*ed ABC belie.e their language is suicientl*
de.eloped or +ournalis$= %p,JJ A7'C(, Echoing debates o $ainstrea$
broadcasting %and conser.ati.e 2proper English3 ca$paigns in particular() so$e
o the percei.ed deiciencies see$ to arise ro$ the tensions a$ong the
sa$pled +ournalists on "hether their point o reerence should be the standard
or$ o the $inorit* language or should instead ai$ to relect people3s speech
and dialects, Drating and adhering to ne"sroo$ st*leboo/s is cited b* the
sa$pled +ournalists as a re0uentl* adopted discursi.e strateg*) though these
$a* be a double edged s"ord8 "hile the* help standardi4e linguistic and
presentational st*les) the* also %perhaps necessaril*( introduce a degree o
2+ournalese3 and learned or standardised or$s o "ording %i,e, clichOs(, Such
st*listic and lexical practices "arrant close attention) ro$ +ournalists as "ell as
acade$ics) gi.en the "a*s that the* can <contribute to the $oderni4ation and
standardi4ation o the $inorit* language= %p,JJ AIDC(, As Labaleta et al
conclude) the linguistic inter.entions o $inorit* language +ournalists) relected
in <.aried strategies %ne"sroo$ discussions) in5house linguists) st*leboo/s)
etc,( add an additional language5reco.er* role to +ournalis$) but also create
tension or the audience "ho $a* not ull* understand the ne" or rene"ed
lexicon= %p,JJ AIDC(,
!ollo"ing Labaleta et al) are t"o articles that appl* the APPRAISAL $odel to
illu$inate their close readings o the sa$pled texts, -he irst) b* -ho$son et
al) exa$ines the or$ and content o hard ne"s reporting across languages
and cultures) ocusing in particular on ob+ecti.it*) authorial neutralit* and the
use %or constraint( o attitudinal language, As the authors point out)
unortunatel* .er* little acade$ic "or/ has been published
"hich has as its pri$ar* ocus the co$parison o ne"s reporting discourse
across the di.ersit* o the "orld3s +ournalistic cultures, ABC -his lac/ o
/no"ledge is o concern in its o"n right) since it $eans that "e re$ain
unclear as to the degree to "hich dierent languages and cultures ha.e
de.eloped their o"n indi.idual +ournalistic st*les and structures, ?ut it is
e.en $ore troubling gi.en the possibilit* that the global orces ABC $a* be
acting to ho$ogenise +ournalistic practices internationall* %p,JJ A'F5''C(,
Dra"ing on so$e cases o hard ne"s reports in languages other than
English %!rench) Japanese and Indonesian( the authors <point to both
si$ilarities and dierences in the "a* hard ne"s reporting is conducted across
dierent +ournalistic traditions and in the "a* the 2ethic o ob+ecti.it*3 is
understood and practiced= %p,JJ AIIC(, -heir anal*sis o hard ne"s e$plo*s the
ruitul notion o 2+ournalistic .oice3 %see Ghite) 9:::a) 9::7) 9::@6 Martin H
Ghite) 9::7() allo"ing or a separation and clariication o the episte$ic and
agenti.e aspects o 2ob+ecti.e reporting3, In $ore detail) <+ournalistic .oice
reers to a taxono$* or classi*ing and grouping ne"s $edia texts according
to the use the* $a/e o certain /e* e.aluati.e $eanings) and $ore speciicall*
to the .arious "a*s in "hich positi.e or negati.e assess$ents are con.e*ed or
acti.ated= %p,JJ AFFC(, -heir article exa$ines the /e* tension at the heart o
hard ne"s reporting8 bet"een the sub+ecti.e and ob+ecti.e) bet"een .alue
+udg$ents and +ournalistic neutralit*) bet"een recording an e.ent and
interpreting it, O course) nobod* could e.er con.incingl* argue that ne"s
reporting is .alueless) gi.en that .alue +udge$ents are built into the process o
ne"s $a/ing at all stages o ne"s gathering) processing and presentation, ?ut
the ine.itable .alue5laden status o hard ne"s +ournalis$ doesn3t stop it ro$
being ournalistically ob+ecti.e %Richardson) 9::I(, -he tas/) thereore) is to
exa$ine +ournalistic ob+ecti.it* b* anal*sing <"hat +ournalists do "hen the* are
being ob+ecti.e= %Dunle.*) &''F8 &9:(,
As -ho$son et al point out) the t*pical hard ne"s report in.ol.es <a
strategic a.oidance o certain /e* e.aluati.e $eanings and thereb*
bac/grounding and potentiall* concealing the sub+ecti.e role o the +ournalist
author= %p,JJ A';C(, -heir anal*sis sho"s that ob+ecti.it* should be .ie"ed as a
relati.e 0ualit*) <a $easure o the degree to "hich the <.oice= e$plo*ed
a.oids or constrains the use o /e* attitudinal $eanings and $odes= %Ibid,(,
!urther) in their preli$inar* indings) presented here) the* ha.e obser.ed
so$ething <.er* si$ilar to English5language reporter .oice operating in the
hard ne"s reporting o a range o languages) including Japanese) !rench)
Indonesian) -hai and Ehinese= %p,JJ A';C(, Such i$portant indings deser.e
urther in.estigation,
O course) a pri$ar* strategic ritual adopted b* +ournalists ai$ing to
produce ob+ecti.e cop* is the 0uotation o sources) "hose credentials and
credibilit* are openl* accounted) to .erbalise %usuall* opposing( truth5clai$s,
?ut "hat are the conse0uences or ne"s actualit* and ob+ecti.it* o using
unnamed sources in ne"s reportsQ In the second article dra"ing on the s*ste$
o A--I-UDE laid out in the APPRAISAL ra$e"or/) Sten.all explores the .arious
"a*s that anon*$ous sources aect ne"s rhetoric, -he data set is a si4able
sa$ple o reports collected bet"een 9::9 and 9::I ro$ the ne"s"ires o
Associated Press and Reuters) a$ounting to about ;$illion "ords) or F):::
pages) o ne"s text, !or this article) Sten.all ta/es as her starting point a
$e$o o June 9::7) drated b* the $anaging and executi.e editors o AP and
sent to their reporting sta, -his e$phasised AP3s corporate .ie" 1 also echoed
b* Reuters 1 that anon*$ous sources are the "ea/est sources, >o"e.er such
sources still eature in the reports o these press agencies) included) a$ongst
other considerations) or their inherent 2ne"s"orthiness3, Gi.en that such
sources cut against both spirit and letter o editorial polic*) their inclusion
re0uires +ournalists to use a range o explicating rhetorical techni0ues to +usti*
their anon*$it*) particularl* ollo"ing AP3s editorial polic* re$inder, So) "hile
there "ere <onl* a e" exa$ples reerring to reasons or anon*$it*= in the
reports iled beore this date) <In contrast) the AP iles ater June 9::7 oer a
great .ariet* o anon*$it* explanations6 and Reuters) too) see$s to ha.e
adopted a si$ilar trend) though on a $uch s$aller scale= %p,JJ A&&7C(, Such
explanations are not rhetoricall* benign) ho"e.er) and Sten.all3s anal*sis
pro.ides ascinating e.idence <o the central unctions that the attribution o
unna$ed sources can ha.e in ne"s rhetoric=) including <enhancAingC the
credibilit* o an unna$ed source or e.o/AingC e$otions in the reader= %p,JJ
A&9:C(, -hus) she concludes) <the $ore copiousl* +ournalists surround the
anon*$ous sources "ith .arious expressions) the $ore possibilities the* open
up or their rhetorical construction= %p,JJ A&9&C(, And) since these expressions
contain e.aluation) these /inds o attribution <can be argued to under$ine the
actualit* and ob+ecti.it* o the ne"s agenc* discourse= %Ibid,(,
-he inclusion o sources is also a central concern o the next article in the
collection) b* Montgo$er*) though here the ocus is s0uarel* on the broadcast
ne"s inter.ie", Montgo$er* argues that <broadcast ne"s constantl* see/s to
disco.er appropriate or$s o discourse or a $ass audience= and "ithin <this
process) the ne"s inter.ie" itsel is the pri$ar* $echanis$ or dra$atising or
$a/ing palpable the ne"s as an interactional) dialogic discourse= %p,JJ A&@'C(,
?ut) despite the relati.e rarit* o co$bati.e) political inter.ie"s in standard
ne"s progra$$ing 1 in "hich a politician or si$ilar public igure is held to
account 1 this particular or$ o ne"s inter.ie" has attracted a considerable
%indeed disproportionate( a$ount o acade$ic attention, In a si$ilar "a* that
acade$ic research d"ells on 2politicall* "eight*3 national ne"spaper titles to
the detri$ent o our understanding o the e0uall* i$portant local and regional
ne"spapers) so too ha.e political inter.ie"s 1 or "hat Montgo$er* calls
2accountabilit* inter.ie"s3 1 al$ost deined our understanding o "hat a
broadcast ne"s inter.ie" is, In act) as Montgo$er* puts it) <to ocus on the
political inter.ie" as i it "here t*pical o ne"s inter.ie"ing in general is
supported neither b* the histor* o the +ournalistic inter.ie" nor +ustiied b* a
sur.e* o current broadcasting practice= %p,JJ A&;'C(, Supporting his argu$ent)
Montgo$er* explores the range o t*pes o ne"s inter.ie"s) positing the
experiential %or "itness( inter.ie") the expert inter.ie" and the affiliated
inter.ie" %such as t"o5"a*s bet"een presenter and correspondent or reporter(
as additional sub5genres to acco$pan* the accountabilit* inter.ie", Each o
these sub5genres is $ar/ed b* a dierent $atrix o asse$bled relations
bet"een the ne"s organisation) the e.ent or stor* in 0uestion) the inter.ie"ee
%and speciicall* the inter.ie"ee3s relation to the ne"s e.ent() and the
align$ent "ith the audience, -a/ing the accountabilit* and experiential
inter.ie"s) or instance8
-he or$er is built upon 0uestions designed to see/ +ustiications ro$ the
recipient or their state$ents or lines o action and to challenge the$, -he
latter is designed to elicit perspecti.es on an e.ent or an issue ABIn
addition)C in the accounta!ility interview the inter.ie"er spea/s as i or us
and the inter.ie"ee is presented as estranged ro$ the audience %2an
e.asi.e politician3() in the experiential interview the inter.ie"ee is treated
as one o us %p, JJ A&@95DC(
Montgo$er* sho"s that) although the sub5genres he introduces and
discusses should be .ie"ed as ideal5t*pes) nonetheless each <are associated
"ith recognisable dierences ABC both in ter$s o broad purpose %"ithin the
o.erall discursi.e econo$* o the ne"s( and particular discursi.e practice %or
instance) t*pe o lead5in or 0uestion(= %p,JJ A&7:C(,
Li/e $an* o the earlier articles) the inal paper in this collection) b* Leon
?ar/ho) starts ro$ a position "hich oregrounds the $aterial production o
ne"s8 in other "ords) +ournalists as people producing texts, -he article
identiies <a regrettable gap= in the discourse5anal*tic literature on the
language o +ournalis$) $eaning <the i$pact political) econo$ic and social
relations and inluences ha.e on discursi.e output= has been under exa$ined
%p,JJ A&IDC(, -he largel* logocentric approaches o .an Di+/ %&'FF( and
!airclough %&''7( are speciicall* $entioned or conining their anal*sis <to the
scrutin* o the actual details o content and the reali4ation o the s*ste$s o
ideas through the language as a inal product= %p,JJ A&ID5I;C(, As ?ar/ho
points out8
A critical stud* based $erel* on the anal*sis o texts) despite its
i$portance and useulness) "ill not pro.ide good ans"ers or "h* and ho"
these particular structures are chosen and "hether the selection is part o
an o.erall discursi.e strateg* that places special constraints on reporters)
and editors %p,JJ A&I;(C
-he article ocuses on the discursi.e strateg* and practices o the ??E and
the "a*s these relate to the "a* the Eorporation3s +ournalists report the
Palestinian5Israeli conlict, And) although ?ar/ho does oer a critical anal*sis o
ho" the Israeli5Palestinian conlict is linguisticall* represented) dra"ing in
particular on !o"ler3s "or/ on transiti.it*) the article $o.es be*ond these
ne"s reports) contextualising their ideational content through an exa$ination
o the ??E editors3 blog) ??E editorial guidelines %particularl* their st*le
policies( and extensi.e inter.ie"s "ith senior ??E editorial sta, -he result is
not onl* a nuanced and critical exa$ination o the "a* the Eorporation reports
this $ost contested o stories) but also the $ost up5to5date insight into the
ai$s and practices o ??E ne"s reporting in a post5>utton) post5Neil Report
era, In conclusion) ?ar/ho argues that the <??E3s choice o .ocabular*= in
reporting Israel5Palestine <relects the une0ual di.ision o po"er) control and
status separating the protagonists and this ine0ualit* suraces at se.eral le.els
and is strongl* bac/ed b* editorial strateg* and polic*= %p,JJ A&';C(,
-hough necessaril* selecti.e) collecti.el*) this group o articles represents
so$e o the breadth and depth o "or/ currentl* being "ritten on the language
o +ournalis$, Ge hope that readers ind this special issue interesting and
useul) that it pro.o/es urther debate around the or$ and unctions o
+ournalistic discourse) and that it helps to resituate ournalists and their "or/ing
practices at the centre o such an anal*tical and e$pirical ocus, It onl*
re$ains or $e to than/ the editor) ?ob !ran/lin) or his ad.ice) encourage$ent
and enthusias$ throughout the de.elop$ent o this special issue) the
contributing authors and the re.ie"ers or their supporti.e criticis$ o the
articles, Gor/ing "ith *ou all on this pro+ect has been an absolute pleasure,
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