The discourse of broadcast news : a linguistic approach

265 Pages·2007·1.83 MB·English

by  Martin Montgomery

The Discourse of Broadcast News
Inthistimelyandimportantstudy,MartinMontgomeryunpickstheinside
workings of what must still be considered the dominant news medium:
broadcast news. Drawing principally on linguistics, but multidisciplinary
initsscope,TheDiscourseofBroadcastNewsdemonstratesthatnewspro-
grammes are as much about showing as telling, as much about ordinary
bystandersasaboutexperts,andasmuchaboutpersonaltestimonyascalling
politicianstoaccount.
Usingcloseanalysisofthediscourseoftelevisionandradionews,thebook
reveals how important conventions for presenting news are changing, with
significantconsequencesforthewaysaudiencesunderstanditstruthfulness.
Fullyillustratedwithexamplesandincludingadetailedexaminationofthe
high-profile case of ex-BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan, The Discourse of
Broadcast News provides a comprehensive study that will challenge our
currentassumptionsaboutthenews.TheDiscourseofBroadcastNewswill
beakeyresourceforanyoneresearchingthenews,whethertheybestudents
oflanguageandlinguistics,mediastudies,orcommunicationstudies.
MartinMontgomeryisDirectoroftheScottishCentreforJournalismStudies
andReaderinLiteraryLinguisticsattheUniversityofStrathclyde.

The Discourse of Broadcast
News
A linguistic approach
Martin Montgomery
Firstpublished2007
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada
byRoutledge
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This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
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©2007MartinMontgomery
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor
utilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now
knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orin
anyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwriting
fromthepublishers.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Montgomery,Martin.
Thediscourseofbroadcastnews/MartinMontgomery.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
1.Massmediaandlanguage.2.Discourseanalysis.I.Title.
P96.L34M662007
306.44–dc22 2007015387
ISBN 0-203-00663-1 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10:0-415-358 71-X(hbk)
ISBN10:0-415-35872-8(pbk)
ISBN13:978-0-415-35871-2(hbk)
ISBN13:978-0-415-35872-9(pbk)
Contents
Listoffigures ix
Acknowledgements xi
Transcriptionconventions xiii
Structuralnotations xvii
1 Broadcastnews 1
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Definingnews 4
1.2 Newsvalues 5
1.3 Theepistemologicalstatusofnewsvalues 10
1.4 Broadcastingstandards:theregulationof
broadcastnews 11
1.5 Therelativeimportanceofbroadcastnewsto
audiencesandproducers 13
1.6 Conclusion 18
2 Broadcastnewsanddiscourseanalysis 20
2.0 Introduction 20
2.1 Thelinguisticapproachtodiscourseanalysis 21
2.2 Discourseassocialaction 23
2.3 Discoursepractice 24
2.4 Disco ursestructure 25
2.5 Discoursegenre 26
2.6 Discoursedomain 27
2.7 Orderofdiscourse 28
2.8 Participationframeworkandbroadcastnews 29
2.9 Scripteddiscourseandimproviseddiscoursein
broadcastnews 30
2.10 Modalityandthespeaker’salignmenttothe
discourse 32
vi Contents
2.11 Institutionaliseddiscourserolesandparticipation
framework 34
2.12 Summary 36
2.13 Conclusion 36
3 Thediscoursestructureofbroadcastnews 38
3.0 Introduction:broadcastnewsanddiscourse
structure 38
3.1 Theoveralldiscoursestructureofanewsbulletin
programme 39
3.2 Openingthenewsbulletinprogramme 41
3.3 Closingthenewsbulletinprogramme 45
3.4 Openingabulletinnewsitem 48
3.5 Openingandclosingabulletinnewsreport 50
3.6 Openingalivetwo-waywitha
reporter/correspondent 53
3.7 Closingaliveinterviewwithareporter/
correspondent 57
3.8 ‘Open’versus‘closed’discoursestructuresin
broadcastnews 59
3.9 Openstructurenewsdiscourse 61
3.10 Conclusions 66
4 Newspresentation 68
4.0 Newspresentation:itsroleandperformance 68
4.1 Televisionnewspresentation,news-readingand
directvisualaddress 74
4.2 Thespaceofthenewsstudioversusthespaceofthe
newsfield 75
4.3 Thediscourseofheadlines 78
4.4 Newsitemsandnewskernels 83
4.5 Featuresofnewskernels 84
4.6 Conc lusions 87
5 Thediscourseoftelevisionnewsreports:narrativeorcommentary? 89
5.0 Introduction 89
5.1 TVnewsandnarrative 89
5.2 Sometextualfeaturesandprinciplesofintelligibility
oftelevisionnewsreports:tenseandreference 92
5.3 Textualcohesionintelevisionnewsreports:the
interplayofthevisualwiththeverbal 94
Contents vii
5.4 PrinciplesofintelligibilityinTVnewsreports 97
5.5 Theintelligibilityoftelevisionnewsreports:
anexample 105
5.6 Conclusions:narrativeorcommentaryinTVnews
reports? 108
Appendices 109
6 Thediscourseoflive,two-wayaffiliatedinterviews 117
6.0 Introduction 117
6.1 Livediscourse,scripteddiscourseandthenews 118
6.2 Thediscourseofthelivetwo-waycomparedwiththe
discourseofnewspresentation 120
6.3 Furtherdiscursivepropertiesofthelivetwo-wayand
thequestionoftruthvalues 125
6.4 Theuseofscalarexpressionstosupport Pushversus
Pull 127
6.5 Issuesofidentityinthelivetwo-way 128
6.6 Thelivetwo-way,theGilliganaffairandtheHutton
inquiry 130
6.7 TheaftermathoftheGilligan–Humphrystwo-way 139
6.8 Conclusion 142
7 Thebroadcastnewsinterview 144
7.0 Thenotionofinterview:ashortsocialhistory 144
7.1 Themediainterviewandthenewsinterview 145
7.2 Theaccountabilityinterviewwithapublicfigure 148
7.3 Theexperiential/witnessinterviewwithanordinary
memberofthepublic 155
7.4 Theexpertinterview 170
7.5 Theinterviewfragment 176
7.6 Conclusions 178
8 Thechangin gdiscoursesofbroadcastnews 182
8.0 Broadcastnewsasanorderofdiscourse 182
8.1 Stylistic,sub-genericnormsofbroadcast
newsdiscourse 183
8.2 Broadcastnewsandpressuresforchange 184
8.3 Illustratingsomechangesinthediscourseof
broadcastnews:twobulletinnewsprogrammes 185
8.4 Changesinpresentationalstyle:towards
conversation 200
viii Contents
8.5 Unevenratesofchange 202
8.6 Discursivechangeandnormativetension:news
presentationandthelimitsofconversationalism 202
8.7 Discursivechangeandnormativetension:
accountabilityinterviewingandthelimitsof
adversarialism 203
8.8 Discursivechangeandnormativetension:the
accountabilityinterviewandthelimitsof
neutralism 213
8.9 Discursivechangeandnormativetension:thelive
two-wayandthelimitsofinformality 216
8.10 Discursivechangeandthevalidityclaimsof
broadcastnews 217
8.11 Towardsanethicsofthediscourseofbroadcast
news 219
Notes 222
References 231
Index 240
Figures
1.1 Primarysourceofworldnewsamongstthe
generalUKpopulation 14
1.2 PrimarysourceofUKnewsin2003 14
1.3 Averageaudiencesfornetworknewsbulletins
2003/2004 15
1.4 Averageweeklyreachofnewschannelsin
multichannelhouseholds,1996–2003 18
2.1 Componentsofadiscoursemodelforbroadcastnews 36
3.1 SignaturegraphicsandlogofortheBBC’s
SixO’ClockNews 43
3.2 OpeningsignatureandgraphicsforNBC’s
NightlyNews 44
3.3 EndofnewsitemonPrinceWilliam’sgirlfriend 51
3.4 Beginning of the next item about USA air strikes in
Somalia 51
3.5 Transitionfromnewspresentationtolivetwo-way 56
3.6 Transition from news presentation to live two-way
continued 56
3.7 Presentercontinuingtoframequestion 57
4.1 PresenterNatashaKaplinskyreadingaSixO’Clock
Newsitem 70
4.2and4.3 BBCBreakfastpresentersBillTurnbulland
SusannaReid 72
4.4 M oreflexibleuseofstudiospace 73
4.5 Beginningofthefirstnewsitem 73
4.6 PresentermoreexpressivethaninFigure4.5,smiling 75
4.7 BBCScotland’snewsroomisdiscernibleas
backgroundtoDavidRobertson’spresentation 76
4.8 Time,spaceandprogrammetitleblendedinopening
signaturegraphicforITN’s‘NewsatTen’ 76
4.9 ThetitleofthisScottishnewsprogramme,Reporting
Scotland,hasbeensuperimposedonpartofamapof
Scotland 77