Views in the news: riassunto libro EFIR PDF

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Views in the news: a textbookIntroduction: behind the linesNewspaper are not easy to read: in fact, newspaper language is difficult to understand for various reasons.0 The Free PressStereotypes, clichéd views are found in the Press. Despite this, western democracies are seen having a free press: the...

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Views in the news: a textbook Introduction: behind the lines Newspaper are not easy to read: in fact, newspaper language is difficult to understand for various reasons. 0.1 The Free Press Stereotypes, clichéd views are found in the Press. Despite this, western democracies are seen having a free press: the government cannot abridge the freedom of speech or the press. However, no definition is offered of Free Press, which is nevertheless the heart of democracy. 0.2 Media magnates Newspaper ownership may affect the news, editorial point of view and political stance. The power to influence the content, the point of view and opinions expressed in the paper lies in the ownership, but what is last year is the degree of partiality and subjectivity involved in reporting the facts. Newspaper ownership is a complicated issue: in UK there are large conglomerates so the competition is limited, while in Italy there are many more local papers competing with National ones. So in Britain several media magnates control the diffusion of news. 0.3 Who pays for the paper? A newspaper must be economically viable or it will close. Profit lies in sales and advertising: The higher the circulation, the more lucrative the advertising. Advertisers will not invest in expensive page space if they cannot be guaranteed a high readership, aka plenty of potential clients, and readers' needs must be satisfied, otherwise they will desert the paper. If the readership is seeking a certain type of entertainment, opinion or slant on events, a profit-seeking paper will try to meet their needs. It's difficult for an editor to satisfy a request to place advertisements for luxury and at the same time dedicate space for reporting poverty. The fundamental question is whether any newspaper organisation or owner can afford to publish articles that are hostile to their commercial or political interests. 0.4 can newspaper be impartial? The newspaper reader is not only the receiver of new information about recent events: he’s the receiver of selected information which may be selected with an ideological spin often hidden. As a result, readers don’t question what they read and don’t have the opportunity to make independent decisions or construct their point-of-view. 0.5 quality and popular press British newspapers are divided into quality and popular press based on the content. Quality is called broadsheets and it usually includes more home and overseas news, political and economic news with detailed and extensive coverage of Sports, finance and cultural events: they also carry less advertising (the times). The popular press or populars are also known as the tabloids as they are smaller in size: they carry large photographs and more advertising and they tend to concentrate on the local news, the personal perspective of the news, reports of sensational events often involving celebrities. The language of the tabloid is more colloquial and the working class is the readership (the sun). This distinction is not so clear-cut in Italian papers, because the bigger or smaller format is not an indicator of the distinction between quality and popular press. There are also papers that fall between the two categories and are known as middle range tabloids, where the readership is considered to be from the middle classes. The readership falls into quite distinct socio-economic groups, so that the contents of the papers will appeal to these group interests. Unit 1: What is news? What is news and according to whom? 1.1 what is in the paper? Newspaper means paper full of news. But not only: it contains comments on the news and more. But what do we mean by news? Any event recurring in the world can be considered news: but there are some boundaries, aka the factor of interest to or affecting the lives of a sufficiently large number of people. It doesn't face the

question of according to whom. The events reveal also a set of selection criteria (important also to look at what is not reported): after the selection, the stories undergo a process of elaboration whereby different sources are integrated. These process are guided by ideas and beliefs. 1.2 Newsworthiness What makes a story newsworthy? There are some news values, elements that predict the amount of interest a story will generate in the readership. According to these, the editor makes a choice of content based on the likelihood of the readership interest. A high level of newsworthiness means being: timely (story happens in the last 24 hours and if is short, it's better), negative, novel (unexpected, out-of-the-ordinary), celebrated (with VIPs), geographically close (the nearer, the better), culturally close (people with the same culturale values are more meaningful), attributable (reporting an authoritative source), factual (with evidence), numerical (bigger, better), personal (events presented in familiar terms, better), relevant (effects on the reader, better). 1.3 Gatekeeping Selecting stories and aspects to include means mediating the news, or gatekeeping: everything that happens is a recent event and of potential interest, but somebody has to decide what the event is and how it is to be presented or constructed. Gatekeeping is found in public events, like protest march, which can be exposed or ignored by different newspapers. Many readers though do no question the press. 1.4 Types of news The newspaper contains various different types of text with different aims, presentation and content. There are 4 types of news: hard news and soft news (based on the seriousness and timeliness, the immediacy, of a story: hard-timeliness and immediacy-politics, economy... soft news: informing or satisfying curiosity, focused on people, timeliness is less important), special interest news (travels, sport, art) and headlines, subheadings, captions. Timely events can occur in non-serious subjects: there are also serious stories which are not event-driven: hard and soft news overlap. Some stories can be time-sensitive but provide an opportunity for reflection and analysis. A soft news story is often timeless, it happens over a long time span. 1.5 Stabilising and destabilising events. It’s important for newspaper to maintain their readership by producing what they believe their readers want. They choose the events and also the angle they are reported from: events with high newsworthiness tend to have a positive (human interest stories) or negative (terrorism, war…) impact on material and/or moral aspects of the readers’ lives. News are often reported in terms of individuals: broadsheets are about politicians, tabloids about VIPs. Unit 2: The structure of newspaper stories The structure of news story concerns stance and the possible intrusion of the reporter’s point of view. 2.1 Background The structure of news stories has changed over time. In 19 th and 20th centuries, stories were chronological: the story didn’t have a headline and started with crisis event, moved through the consequences in order of time and concluded with reference to how the situation was resolved. This temporal organisation has changed and now there’s a style of writing based on the headline and on the lead. News stories don’t end with a conclusion, and with online news services they are updates constantly. Moreover, technological and socio-cultural advances have led to an exponential increase in the number of potential readers as well as competition from other papers. These pressures makes the newspaper need to signal the newsworthiness of an event to a wider audience by asserting cultural and ideological values, indicating the importance of what and who, indicating the relevance to the reader. 2.2 The audience and the angle Thanks to the market research, newspapers cultivate an implied readership based on the interests the newspaper shows. The newspaper can orient itself in relation to the news in a way which appeals to the beliefs of the readership: news can be written focusing on the interests of a group. In this way the newspaper develop an angle on the event, aka the approach to an event that helps make the purpose of the resulting story clear. An event can be interpreted in various angles (points of view), the reporter will choose one according

to the paper's stance on the issue. In this way, the angle becomes the basis for the nucleus of the story structure. 2.3 The nuclear structure The structure of news stories which evolved from the chronological structure is based on a nucleus and radiating satellites. The satellites are not liked to each other but they are linked to the nucleus (shift focus). Thanks to this structure, it's possible to cut satellites or change their order, without affecting the coherence of the story (pro for editing) 2.3.1 The nucleus News story begins with a surge of informational intensity, which maximises the story's impact. The headline and lead are the basis for how the story will develop. Also in the body of the story there are similar information (repetition). The lead follows the headline and previews the events and perspective that the satellites will describe. The lead is not an introduction: a newspaper story launches directly into the event, which begins in the point of maximum impact. Often the lead gives the consequences before it reveals the events. It gives also the 5 W's, numbers and measures. The wrap-up stems from the nucleus: it is not a conclusion in a narrative sense and it gives a sense of "resolution" by putting events in a larger context. Not all stories have a wrap-up, though. 2.3.2 The satellites The nucleus generates satellites which appear to be randomly organised. They may reformulate the information given in the nucleus (elaboration); add information to it (extension), give causes and conditions (enhancement). The satellites are based on the 5W's (who what where when why), and the story must answer to the question "so what?" that refers to the significance of the story for the implied readership. A news story has a main idea that is identified in the lead: that's the focus of the story and why it's newsworthy. The nuclear structure of news stories allows the factors of the story to be foregrounded: these factors are underlined in the angle (as presented in the lead) and echoed in the wrap-up and hint at social issues. News events are often describes through the eyes of people involved and of the newspaper. Unit 3: What the headlines say The headlines are in bold and have a telegraphic wording which attratcts attention (cryptic and difficult to understand). Headline+lead= nucleus of the story. 3.1 Headlines The large font size and skeletal wording attract attention and the urgency or importance of story: the headline is the newspaper’s opportunity to establish its angle and stance on a story, it summarises the most salient aspects in terms of newsworthiness. The headlines are written by the editor and not the reporter. 3.2 The lead The opening sentence (lead) of a story overlaps the headline to some extent .the print is usually bolder and larger than the rest of the story and it will extend the headline and it’ll be described in greater detail in the satellites. The lead be preceded by a by-line which names the reporter or the source of the story. 3.3 The distinctive language of headlines The reader may have difficulty understanding headlines, because they presume a high level of cultural or background knowledge which readers may not have. Others headlines don’t make sense if the readers didn’t follow the story from top. The vocabulary for headlines tends to be unusual and with the use of rhetorical devices as metaphor metonymy and alliteration. 3.4 Attention-seeking strategies There are some methods to make a headline memorable: omission of words; the use of short, loaded words; nominaliation (frequent use of complez noun phrases in the in the subject position; the use of gimmicks (puns, wordplay and alliteration).

3.4.1 Omission For economy of space, headlines often omit certain words, like function words (those essential to the grammatical structure, like articles, relative pronouns, determiners, verbs and auxiliaries, titles) while content words (nouns, main verbs, adjectives) which are necessary to understand are not eliminated. The omission attract reader’s attention on certain words. 3.4.2 Loaded words Many Words used in headlines are not found elsewhere in the language: They have evolved Because of their brevity and colour. Tabloids use more sensational words and they are more economical so they occupy less space, so short words are preferred to longer ones. Headlines of tabloids often use sensational and emotionally charged lexis with connotations that go beyond the literal meaning. The exaggeration has an important role in enticing the reader to continue reading. 3.4.3 Noun phrases Headlines create incisive, effective and economical texts by creating noun phrases (NPs) where modifiers add further information to the noun, including descriptive detail. The noun (headword) is the last word. Another distinctive technique of headlines is nominalisation, which permits a noun to be used instead of the verb. The flexibility of English makes this possible, because modifiers describe the noun. 3.5 Gimmiks Gimmiks create ambiguity: they are called puns, because they have a double sense, a second meaning linked to the context of the article. Plays on words are often based on well-known quotation and include homophones (same pronunciation but different written form); homonyms (same word, two meanings); intertextuality (reference to familiar phrases). In the puns, the substitution or alteration of words must not radically change the phrase: it should remain comprehensible. Other gimmiks include: metaphor (comparison between two apparently unrelated subjects); alliteration (repetition of the same sound); rhyme. 3.6 Verbs Headlines don’t use finite verbs, auxiliary verbs or adverbs: there is no time reference. The verb may be incorporated in a noun phrase (nominalisation) and may become a dynamic noun. Headlines don’t say when the event happen, it’s the lead who does so. Verbs in headlines appear in present simple (used instead of a past tense); past participle (used to express the passive form, it expresses also the effects of the actions); infinitive (for the future, it occupies less space than will); modal and conditional (to express future); other tenses that reflect spoken language. Unit 4: Evaluation Certain values are encoded in news stories because they reflect the beliefs of the writer/editor. It is presumed that journalists hold a high moral position, placing themselves above the news. It is said that hard news should be objective, but the problem is whether it is attainable: it is just one version among the others and the reporter’s point of view is always present. 4.1 Different ways of saying the same thing The reporter will build his point of view into the text: every utterance is the result of a series of more or less conscious choices, because there is no neutral way of speaking and writing. The utterance reveals the speaker’s views (positive or negative), inner feelings, cultural context, opinions. Distortion of the news is a phenomenon that exists in some papers. 4.2 Evaluative language Evaluation express in words that lead to positive and/or negative views of people, states of affaires and events. It expresses implicitly or explicitly the writer’s point of view, it’s the indication if something is good or bad. So language is a series of choices, but how can an evaluation be implicit or explicit? 4.2.1 Explicit evaluation

It uses words that indicate unequivocally the writer’s position: it’s aimed to the consolidation of reader’s feelings and defies the values of objectivity and impartiality. 4.2.2 Implicit evaluation Evaluation may be less direct thanks to a lexical choices that reveal a particular stance: evaluation is implied but clear, the choice of words reveal the reporter’s point of view. 4.2.3 Tokens of evaluation A token is a type of evaluation lies in entire stretches of language that appear to be objective: it anticipate that the reader has his same opinion on the matter, so they seem to be objective but they evoke evaluative responses which depends if the readership shares the same ideological values with the reporter. The power of language lies more in implicit than in explicit evaluation, because it’s easier to challenge an ideology if it’s clear. 4.3 Denotative and connotative meanings Perlocutionary force is how language can persuade the reader using only word choice: a choice of a word on another can have a predictable effect on the reader and it encodes the reporter’s point of view. Every word has two meaning: a denotative one (the literal meaning, found on a vocabulary) and a connotative one (the association or emotional loadings linked to it). So a group of words can share a denotative meaning but have a different connotative meaning. 4.4 “Loaded” language “Loaded” language is a term referring to the emotional and evaluative overtones or connotation of the language the reporter may use. It includes euphemism, dysphemism and doublespeak and it’s closely connected to connotative meaning. The reader is guided towards an evaluative conclusion influenced by these devices: the reporter must anticipate readership’s reaction. 4.4.1 Euphemism and dysphemism A reporter wishing to dilute unpleasant ideas resorts to euphemism: it makes sound something better than it actually is. Dysphemism makes something sounds worse than it is, using harsh words instead of neutral ones. Newspapers adopt euphemism, or positive connotation, when they have to soften the news, and dysphemism (negative connotation) to turn the reader against some ideas. Over time, in particular with the aim of being politically correct, euphemisms become corrupted and lose their positive connotation, becoming neutral. 4.4.2 Doublespeak When the government, military, corporate institutions use euphemism, it is called doublespeak, because the message is softened by confusing and concealing the truth. 4.4.3 Hyperbole It’s a figure of speech that refers to exaggeration that distorts the facts by making ideas and events appear bigger or more important than they are. 4.4.4 Presupposition Reporters presuppose a certain point of view or state of affairs without defining it: they can be triggered by a lexical device or grammatical feature like a comparative form, possessive pronouns, the, still, again and certain verbs like manage, stop, begin, continue. Ex. a better system: the current one is not good. 4.5 Figures of speech Metonymy, metaphor and simile are effective to construct opinions and to reveal the reporter stance: this presumes that reporter and reads share the same values. 4.5.1 Metonymy

A single characteristic or attribute is used to identify a more complex entity (location for political powers, it obscures personal responsibility; individuals for regimes). 4.5.2 Metaphor A quality belonging to a particular area of the lexis is applies to another area: two entities are identical. 4.5.3 Similes Comparison between two entities with the use of “like, as...” Unit 5: Who does what to whom: participants and processes The way elements are organised in a sentence is syntax: different syntactic organisation give more or less emphasis. 5.1 Participants and processes Sentences can be broken into the participants (people who act) and processes (states and actions itself). The study of transitivity is the way in which processes, circumstances and participants interact with each others (who does what to whom): how these are organised will reveal the reporter’s point of view about the event. A clause consist of: processes (actions, states and events=verbs); participants (people and things involved as actors (do-ers) and those who suffer the actions (done-to)); circumstances (where? When? They add information to the sentence). 5.2 Participants People or entities involved in a story as subjects or objects of the processes. The way in which they are presented reveals the reporter’s point of view. 5.3 Processes Participants are linked by processes realised by verbs: the type of process used is crucial to know how events will be perceived by the readers. There are six process types: Major process types: material (process of doing); relational (proce...