The Study of News: A Discourse Analysis Perspective

Abstract

Within the growing research in the field of communication, discourse analysts have given a noticeable interest to news by considering it an autonomous type of discourse. It has been shown in this perspective that news discourse possesses institutional features that distinguish it, given its communicative goal of addressing the public and highlighting events that would otherwise go unnoticed. The aim of this paper is to clarify the salient characteristics of news and to focus on the way discourse analysts approach its linguistic aspects. Particularly, Van Dijk's analytical framework for the study of news discourse is discussed. Generally, it is thought that the multitude of techniques that discourse analysis offers may benefit researchers when examining unexplored contexts and forms of news. This might enhance better news production.