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Introducing the Language of the News Introducing the Language of the News is a comprehensive introduction to the language of news reporting. Assuming no prior knowledge of linguistics, the book provides an accessible analysis of the processes that produce news language, and discusses how different linguistic choices promote different interpretations of news texts. Key features include: • comprehensive coverage of both print and online news, including news design and layout, story structure, the role of headlines and leads, style, grammar and vocabulary • a range of contemporary examples in the international press, from the 2012 Olympics, to political events in China and the Iraq War • chapter summaries, activities, sample analyses and commentaries, enabling students to undertake their own analyses of news texts • a companion website with extra activities, further readings and web links, which can be found at www.routledge.com/cw/busa. Written by an experienced researcher and teacher, this book is essential reading for students studying English language and linguistics, media and communication studies, and journalism. M. Grazia Busà is Associate Professor of English Linguistics at the University of Padova, Italy. This page intentionally left blank Introducing the Language of the News A student’s guide M. Grazia Busà First published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 M. Grazia Busà The right of M. Grazia Busà to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Busà, Maria Grazia. Introducing the language of the news / Maria Grazia Busà. pages cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Mass media and language. 2. Broadcast journalism--Language. 3. Newspapers--Language. 4. Discourse analysis--Social aspects. I. Title. P96.L34B87 2013 070.101’4--dc23 2013006025 ISBN: 978-0-415-63729-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-63730-5 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-79706-8 (pbk) Typeset in Sabon by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby Contents List of fififi gures viii Preface ix Acknowledgements xi Introduction: Language and texts 1 Linguistic competence 1 Variation in language 3 Distinguishing between formal and informal English 8 A note on varieties of English around the world 9 Students’ activities 10 Further reading 11 1 Making news 13 1.1 News as texts 13 1.2 Who controls the news? 13 1.3 Economic factors 15 1.4 News as the work of many 17 1.5 Time deadlines and space-on-the-page constraints 18 1.6 Effects of information technology 19 1.7 The impact of ‘convergence’ on the world of news 21 Students’ activities 22 Further reading 23 2 Defifi ning news 25 2.1 Defifi ning journalism and news 25 2.2 What is newsworthy? 26 2.3 Objectivity in news reporting: a factor of language, audience and technology 33 2.4 Hard news and soft news 36 vi Contents Students’ activities 37 Further reading 39 3 Sourcing news 40 3.1 News stories need sources 40 3.2 Sourcing the news 40 3.3 Interviews 41 3.4 Reporting news sources 42 Students’ activities 47 Further reading 49 4 Conveying meaning through design 50 4.1 Design as the key to a successful publication 50 4.2 Integrating content, editing and design 50 4.3 Designing a publication for an audience 51 4.4 Redesigning a paper 54 4.5 Meaning through a multimodal layout 55 4.6 Designing multimodal news for the web 58 Students’ activities 59 Further reading 61 5 Structuring the story 62 5.1 Basic story structures 62 5.2 The Inverted Pyramid 62 5.3 The Hourglass 65 5.4 Narrative story-telling 68 5.5 Impersonal writing 73 5.6 Strategies for connecting paragraphs 75 Students’ activities 78 Further reading 79 6 Headline, lead and story proper 80 6.1 The components of a news story 80 6.2 The headline 80 6.3 The lead 88 6.4 The paragraphs after the lead 90 Students’ activities 92 Further reading 94 Contents vii 7 The tools of the trade 96 7.1 The ‘kiss and tell’ principle 96 7.2 Well-packaged information 96 7.3 Use of concise, plain language 100 7.4 The passive voice 101 7.5 Use of syntax 104 7.6 An example: describing victims through verb choice and verbal constructions 109 Students’ activities 113 Further reading 115 8 Reporting information and evaluating likelihood 116 8.1 Encoding attitude and point of view 116 8.2 Use of reported speech 116 8.3 Modality 121 Students’ activities 127 Further reading 128 9 The power of words 129 9.1 Words as a tool for establishing an ideological stance 129 9.2 The expressive power of the English language 129 9.3 Use of words in news reporting 132 9.4 Use of words to convey point of view 134 9.5 Irony in the news 136 9.6 Representing groups in the news: a way to reinforce stereotypes and promote attitudes 138 9.7 Naming as a way to convey ideology 143 Students’ activities 150 Further reading 151 Epilogue 153 Notes 155 References 158 Index 160 Figures 2.1 Comparison of four newspaper front pages from August 13, 2012: theIndependent, UK; theChina Daily, China; theGulf News, United Arab Emirates; the Global Times, China. 28 2.2 The front pages of two US tabloids: theBoston Heraldd and theDaily News. 35 4.1 Differences in front-page design in three UK newspapers using different formats. 53 4.2 Terms used in a newspaper page. 56 4.3 An example of a 5-column grid. 58 5.1 Schematic representation of the Inverted Pyramid story structure. 63 5.2 Schematic representation of the Hourglass story structure. 66 9.1 Page 22 of The Timesof February 26, 2008, reporting on Levi Bellfifi eld. 149 9.2 Front page of theSun of February 26, 2008, reporting on Levi Bellfifi eld. 149 Preface This book is about the English of the news. It focuses on a set of linguistic features and analytical approaches that I, as a teacher of English Linguistics to students of communication, believe are useful to students with an interest in understanding and producing news. It offers an account of the processes that produce media language, explores the role of audiences in framing news texts, and explains how different linguistic choices promote different interpretations of news texts. It also addresses the changes that are taking place with the advent of online journalism and the new media. Whether we are news junkies or low-information people, we are surrounded by news. Thanks to the news, we can be updated on what is happening all over the globe. We can obtain information on local, national and international current affairs, politics, fifinance and business, often packaged with a healthy dose of shopping advice, sport, showbiz, entertainment, science, technology, cuisine, holidays, lifestyle, fashion and celebrities’ lives. Reading, watching or listening to the news fulfifils our desire and our civic duty to understand what is going on around us; it increases our knowledge about the world and lets us form our own opinions and ideas of current affairs. It also provides us with topics for discussion during social or professional events. The news comes to us in a number of formats. The oldest tool for delivering it is, of course, the newspaper. The two other traditional media are the television and the radio. These three are probably still considered the most trusted news sources, although they are currently facing harsh competition from the more recent Internet and wireless information technology. In fact, the Internet has become the largest and most widespread source of news production and consumption, with thousands of newspapers from every corner of the world available online – many at no cost, some requiring a nominal fee for full access. Portable electronic devices, such as smart phones and tablets, have become ubiquitous and are boosting people’s ability to access and read news round the clock. The easy accessibility of information from distant corners of the globe for a readership of unprecedented size makes this a golden age for news. News