Language and Power in a News Contribution in Sydney Morning Herald - Case Study Example

Any reputed global city needs a global newspaper. New York has the New York Times and Sydney, the only truly global Australian city, has the Sydney Morning Herald.” Antonio Castillo INTRODUCTION The centrality of language in interpersonal, group and international transactions cannot be overemphasized. Social diversity permeates any human transaction and this is encoded in language use. Bakhtin (1999:98) notes that language is as diverse as human activity. To get a complete and clear view of power and dominance encrypted in language, it is imperative to search for social meanings underlying construction of sounds, words and images in human communication. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) concerns itself with deconstructing both opaque and transparent instances of power, control, dominance and discrimination that are manifested in language (Wodak 2001: 2-3). Towards this end, a textual analysis of an article in an Australian newspaper, Sydney Morning Herald (SDH), provides a rich context for CDA. SMH has been chosen since it is the most widely read newspaper in Sydney and the third most largely read newspaper in Australia (The Australian Press council, 2008). The newspaper is published from Monday to Saturday. Castillo (2008: 6-14) considers SMH to be truly “global” in its coverage of international events. It is also thought to provide an independent perspective from the Herald Sun (Australia’s most read newspaper based in Melbourne). The SMH, the Australia’s oldest newspaper in continuous print, is owned by Fairmax Media Ltd and published in Sydney. METHODOLOGY AND RATIONALE This study adopts a three dimensional approach to textual analysis: social practice, discoursal practice and the text proposed by Fairclough (2010: 59). This view loosely responds to Halliday’s three functions of language namely ideational, interpersonal and textual (Halliday & Mathhiessen, 2004). It has been acknowledged that CDA specifically aims at making social practices, discourse practices, and social structures transparent (Sheyholislami, 2001). The text in focus will, therefore, be analyzed by these criteria for greater transparency as shown in this framework. Figure1: A framework for CDA (adapted from Fairclough, 1995: 59) The rationale for critically analyzing media texts lies in the role media plays in the society and the need put their textual and social meaning in perspective. Media constructs, reflects, and expresses cultural, political and social lives. In this sense, there is a strong nexus between language and power manifested in media. Curran (2002) presents contradicting perspectives of media power: that media controls the audience, and that the audience dominates media. Media influence society in complex and contingent ways. The present discussion will be limited to that which goes into the “structural properties of news reports” to make them influential (van Dijk, 1986). THE NEXUS BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND POWER Ifversen (2002) argues that textual analysis concerns itself with linguistic forms of representations of the past events. From this perspective, language is viewed as an element of social operations responsible for making the society to appear real. Discourse analysis theory mediates language and society by shedding light on the intricate relationship between social power and language. Van Dijk (1986) outlines eight levels at which language and power could be analyzed six of which are discussed below in light of the newspaper article “EU urged to act as migrant boat toll passes 400” The first level of analysis addresses the source of power. Social power is best understood as a product of relationships between social formations like groups, classes and persons. As such, social organization initiates power from the way a member(s) of one stratum of society relate(s) to a member(s) of another. Social power, hence, emerges when a more dominant group controls actions and the mindset of a less dominant entity. It will be important to analyze the power relations among the institutions mentioned in the news article like the Pope, the EU leaders, the EU Home affairs Commissioner and the EU member states. Others are the news agencies like the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), AFP and the DPA. The current enterprise of CDA is to illustrate links between the text and power relations (Wodak 1996:20) At the second level of analysis is the manner in which social power is exercised. Social interaction is the means by which of social power is exercised. This means that if social group A interacts with B in a manner that controls the latter, the former has power over B. Further to this, B’s actions are constrained by the power A wields over it. CDA aims to make explicit the implicit exercise of power underlying texts (Widdoson, 1995). The interactions between the centres of power identified in the news article will be crucial in the analysis of power axis in this text. Thirdly, the power of cognitive control is analyzed. Cognitive aspects of B like beliefs, desires, plans and wishes are presumably subject to the wishes and interests of A. This implies some form of mental of control that is typically exerted by means of persuasion or other forms of communications. Mental control can also result from the fear of sanctions from the group in control. Discourse analysts are concerned with the role of discourse in legitimatizing, exercising and maintaining power. Mind is controlled by ideologies responsible for organizing, maintaining and stabilizing certain forms power-relations (Hall, 1996). Fourthly, the basis for exercising power is also taken into account. The basis for exercising power is the unequal distribution of socially relevant attributes such as positions, privileges, affiliations, knowledge and economic advantages. Groups or individuals enjoying privileged positions use them as resources to exert influence. The less privileged would also comply for fear of sanctions. The institutions in the news report in focus have unequal access to these resources. CDA is considered as a tool for deconstructing mass media ideologies so that historical and socio-economic power relations between subduing and subdued groups can be identified and defined (Henry & Tator, 2002). Fifthly, cultural context that defines social power is analyzed. Culture regulates most of power resources by attaching values, norms and belief systems around them. The values (shared or contested) are negotiated through consensus. The values like humanitarianism are central in understanding the power play evident in this news article. The Pope’s call has been construed as a championing of migrant rights. Lastly, there is an ideological framework that justifies exercising social power – and this needs to be analyzed. The framework comprises shared interests. Language and discourse enact, entrench, maintain or change this framework. Globalization as an ideology provides a justification for the inclusion of an EU issue in a Sydney newspaper. This kind of manifestation of globalization in mass media is a debate in the West and “the occasional honorary ‘western’ country like Australia” (Curran, 2012). ABOUT THE NEWS ARTICLE: “EU urged to act as migrant boat toll passes 400” This news article from the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper has been selected due to its international appeal. The news article was published on Monday 14th November 2013 on page 12 in the World News section. The news story is reported from Rome, Italy by Alvise Armellini who works for Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) and the photograph in the article is from Agence France-Presse (AFP). For the purposes of textual analysis, this article is rich in both verbal and visual texts. The variety in the text’s internal structure gives it analytical advantages. Lastly, the length of the article (296 words) allows an in-depth critical textual analysis envisaged for this particular discussion. The article intertwines calls for the EU’s intervention to stop migrant deaths with the reports on the casualties and survivors of three “shipwrecks” in the Mediterranean Sea. The calls come from Joseph Muscat, the Prime Minister of Malta, the Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis and Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU Home Affairs Commissioner. According to the article, a vessel with more than 500 people on board sank on October 3, 2013 off the Italian Island of Lampedusa. The survivors were 155 while the death toll stood at 359. The second accident that occurred on Friday 11 2013 left 200 survivors with 34 bodies being recovered. The third accident happened the same day claiming at least 12 lives with 116 people rescued. Other information given in the article is to the effect that the migrant death crisis would be discussed at an EU summit in Brussels from October 24. It is also reported that boat migrant arrivals to Italy are on a sharp rise since July. Lastly, the article lists Syria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and the Horn of Africa as the sources of the ill-fated asylum seekers. TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE ARTICLE Social Practice Power structures exist in the organizational setup of the print media. These structures are responsible for creation, selection and crafting of news article for the end user. A good grasp of the social relations which control the formation of a news story would facilitate a thorough understanding of the text. Bell (1991) observes that twelve or more media personnel will be involved in writing and editing almost every news article. In a small news room, news articles are typically generated in the following process. Chief Journalist Reporter Subeditor Editor Figure2: Path of a news article formation in a small newsroom (Adapted from Bell 1991) Larger media houses will engage more editors at the news creation stage. Since each media house has a distinctive reporting and presentation style, the news writers, reporters, journalists and editors constantly review the articles to fit within the parameters set by top level management. According to Fairclough (2003) social practices constitute the organizational entities between social structures and the text. The social practice in the case of SMH is newspaper production whose goal is news product that the readers will buy. The editorial management, therefore, follows editorial guidelines that result into something attractive to the target readers. The immediate audiences for SMH are the citizens of Sydney which has been described as a “reputed global city” whose population has a “representation of the world” Castillo (2008). The audience profile for this newspaper entails slightly more males than females (55% versus 45%), high income earners working at managerial and professional levels (28%), readers with white collar jobs (25%) and the retired (29%); the remaining 7% work at home, are students or are without jobs (Roy Morgan Research, 2014). The selected news item for the current analysis would certainly appeal to the residents of Sydney from the EU, Africa and those high-end readers who need to keep abreast with international news. Social structures EU operates as social group whose ideology constrains actions of member states. Social structures that control these modern European democracies include globalization and humanitarianism. The article is subtly constructed around humanistic and global themes. The problem of migrant deaths is viewed as a humanitarian crisis of international concern. To actuate this structure, the article mentions 8 locations in different countries: Italy, Malta, Egypt, Cyprus, Spain, Tunisia, Libya and Brussels. Two regions in different continents are also mentioned namely the Horn of Africa and the EU. Given the word count of only 296 for the entire article, it is clear that the article deliberately derives its power from the social structures around which it is constructed. The statements attributed to the EU commissioner, the Pope and the Maltese PM underpin social responsibility expected of the EU. The Pope’s lament for instance, subtly reminds member states of their callousness. To illustrate how desperate the situation has become, he appeals to the Deity: “Lord, have mercy!” The text Verbal and visual language can be manipulated to exert control over the audience and/or perpetuate social power and this news extract from SMH is not an exception. To analyze power dynamics in the text construction, the criteria to be used will be adopted from Fairclough (2003). A critical analysis of following elements of the article’s internal structure reveals the underpinning nexus between language and power. Action Fairclough (2003) relates a text to an event. It is essential to determine what the text does. The article in focus is constructed to persuade the EU to act in a certain way. This function is reflected in the structure of the text’s headline, body and the accompanying image. Direct quotes, startling statistics and subtle verbal and visual appeals for intervention are some strategies of persuasion used. The headline and the first paragraph The positioning of this article at the top of the newspaper page, reflects its hierarchy of importance (Ghannam (2011). Placed below this article, is the one about the African Union shielding their heads of states from ICC. This implies EU’s preeminence over AU in the newspaper’s perspective. The headline of a news story and the opening paragraph rank high in hierarchy as they provide the gist of the story. Consider the headline: EU urged to act as migrant boat toll passes 400.By its very nature, a headline constrains a writer in terms of space, layout and size (Reah 1984). The reader must be attracted to the article by use of minimal number of words. In the case of this particular headline, the writer uses familiar journalistic collocations like “ urged to act” and “toll passes” to accentuate “strong connotations that carry an emotional load beyond their literal meaning” (Reah 1984). The first paragraph sets the evocative tone with expressions like “calls are intensifying” and “in little more than a week” (compare with “ in less than two weeks”). Organizational Pattern This text cites three authorities that urge EU’s action: Maltese Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat; Pope Francis; and the EU Home Affairs Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom in that order. The choice and sequencing of these entities are deliberate and have to do with the social power. Cormack (1992) introduces the idea of hegemony in CDA. In this article, it appears that the ordering of centres of power moves from the least to the most powerful hegemonies. The appeal from the Maltese PM, an EU member in the midst of the Mediterranean Sea in which the boat tragedies occur, is unquestionably powerful. The Pope’s moral voice is weightier than the PM’s due to the religio-political control the Catholic Church has over nations. The EU commissioner’s appeal is the most important since it comes from an EU bureaucrat. The newsmakers The fact that the issues in this report are attributed to three reputable news agencies in Europe raises article’s credibility. The story is reported by an internationally recognized German news agency, DPA. The article quotes the world renowned BBC interviewing the Maltese PM and the article’s image is from an equally respected French Agency, AFP. Lexicalization Through this process, writers select different words to construct the same concept in different ways (Janks, 1997). The writer’s choice of words gives this article a forceful elocution. Consider the following lexical choices: intensifying, shipwrecks, cemetery, tragedies, horrible and urgency. Each of these words carries strong and emotive connotations; let’s take the example of ‘shipwrecks’. This word means ships lost or damaged at sea hence using it in this story to talk about boat accidents creates the effect of exaggeration. Similarly, words like cemetery, tragedies and horrible intensify the gravity of the problem while the use of intensifying and urgency would connote the pressure to act. Overlexicalization Construction of the same phenomenon by different words is called overlexicalization. In this article, it is evident in representing the same idea as ‘death toll’ and ‘death count’. While the former is a journalistic collocation, the latter is more statistical. This kind of construction achieves emphasis. Another example is when the words ‘vessel’ and ‘boat’ are used for the same referent. The word ‘vessel’ is not as restrictive as ‘boat’ as it generally refers to both ship and boat. Metaphor This refers to the construction of a new idea by putting it together with a familiar one. The Maltese PM is quoted to have used a strong metaphor thus: […] we are building a cemetery within our Mediterranean Sea. Metaphorical language used here espouses poignant ideological attachments which could be contestable if literally put (Fairclough, 1989). Another powerful metaphor is attributed to Pope Francis: Too often are we blinded by our comfortable lives and refuse to see those dying at our doorstep. By using this metaphor, the writer urges for an intervention by subtly suggesting the reason for inactivity. The level of callousness on the part of the EU is heightened by pointing out that they are unconcerned by deaths at their doorstop. Theme or rheme These rhetorical strategies put new information at the text’s beginning or at its end respectively. This article’s writer applies thematisation in the opening paragraph. The new information – calls for the EU to stop deaths – occupies the theme position of the sentence while the old or the given information is at the rheme position. This kind of foregrounding essentially decides what to be read first. Conversely the new information can also be preceded by the given fact. The old information – the identity of Malmstrong is given first, while what she proposes – the new information, occupies the rheme position. This type of text construction implies that the rheme derives its power from the theme. The context of understanding what Cecilia says is defined by her position as an EU commissioner. Direct and indirect speech Reporters only cite parts of exchanges consistent with their world view (Caldas-Coulthard, 1994:298). Direct and indirect citations have been ostensibly in this news report to consolidate the writer’s argument. Joseph Muscat’s and the Pope’s comments appear as direct speeches while Cecilia’s comments are given partly as direct speech and partly as reported speech. Direct speech is dominantly used in this news story due to its immediacy and intimacy to readers especially in persuasive discourse. The use of the following rhetorical construction by Muscat is advertently provocative: “I don’t know how many more deaths people need to die at sea before something gets done” Active and Passive Voice These syntactic choices at the disposal of a writer are useful in determining the agent’s visibility. Nordlund (2003) points out that the agentive role can be given emphasis, minimised or entirely omitted. Active voice thematizes the agent while the passive weakens it and allows for its elimination. Passive voice is commonly chosen for headlines partly because of its brevity but mostly due to the bureaucratic nature of the reported events (Fowler 1991).The latter explains the passivation of the title and other sentences in the news article in question. The visual image Any CDA should include visual images contained in the texts because they affect the reader’s perspective of the reported events. The mage in this article has a Maltese policeman carrying a rescued child. Factors that affect readers’ perception include the picture’s distance, angle of view, composition and position. The far personal distance used in the photograph connects the reader with the picture’s action (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1999). The frontal angle from which it is taken increases intimacy with the readers as if to tell the readers that what they see is part of their world; something they are involved with (ibid). The picture’s position (on the right of the verbal text), its size (larger the text) and its content (a rescued child) greatly influence the reader’s perspective and response to the article. CONCLUSION CDA is a powerful tool for decomposing articles in order to decode power encryption in language. The analysis begins with reconstructing social conditions surrounding the text and then delves into deconstructing the verbal and visual text constructions. Three social groups: the purchasing audience, the media house and the society at large seem to be competing for dominance in any news article. There is need for a theory of discourse analysis for determining who gets heard most rather than just what gets heard. References ABC 2014, ABC Circulation Results – Feb 2014. Available From: [11 November 2014] Bakhtin, M 1999, ‘The Problem of Speech Genres’, in The Discourse Reader, eds. A Jaworski & N Coupland, London, Routledge pp. 98-107. 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