Table Of ContentIntroducing 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.
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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
