Language Features of News Media Texts

Language Features of News Media Texts
Language Features
Example
Language Features
Example
Noun groups:
Note how word choice may affect meaning, particularly the role of strong adjectives.
The devastated owners of a local takeaway store were shocked to find their shop totally destroyed after a brazen gang of thieves ram raided their business late last night.
How do the adjectives ‘devastated’ and ‘brazen’ affect meaning?
Modality
Among other things, modality expresses degrees of probability or certainty. Modality can be expressed through:
• modal verbs — can, could, must, might, will, shall, should, would
• modal adjuncts — probably, possibly, certainly, perhaps, maybe
• other expressions such as adverbial or adjectival phrases: ‘It is highly probable’.
Gauging the certainty or probability of descriptions included in news reports is interesting in incidences where the facts may not be 100% certain.
It is certain that after the tribunal, scheduled for later today, the player will face suspension for his actions.
Note that this degree of certainty seems to indicate an opinion that the player will definitely be punished for actions. This is ‘before’ the results of the tribunal.
Is it fair for a news media text to report in this manner? Why/why not?
How could the modality be altered to reflect less certainty about events?
Verb groups:
Note how choice of verbs can affect meaning.
It has been alleged that the suspect acknowledged his role in the crime. versus It is reported that the suspect boasted about his role in the crime.
Which description of the subject positions an audience to view the suspect less favorably? How does verb choice contribute to this?
Evocative language
Language that has been specially crafted to evoke a specific experience/emotion in the reader or listener.
The unprovoked attack seriously injured the young father of three, who now is unable to work for up to three months.
The above sentence conveys feeling of anger for the father who was injured.
Intensifiers
Note the role of intensifiers such as ‘very’, ‘extremely’, ‘completely’, ‘totally’, ‘really’, ‘somewhat’ and ‘quite’ in affecting meanings. These adverbs modify adjectives and other adverbs.
The suspect is armed and extremely dangerous.
What level of concern does the intensifier stimulate in the audience?
Interrupting clause/phrase
A subordinate clause or phrase that interrupts the main clause. Unlike an embedded clause, it adds information that is non-essential and, in written news texts, is sandwiched by commas. It can be removed and the main clause will make perfect sense. In news texts, an interrupting clause may provide some indication of opinion.
The offender, a calculated and callous con man, robbed countless pensioners of their life savings.
How do interrupting clauses affect audience responses to the people being described in the sentence?
Which parts of the sentence convey facts?
Which parts of the sentence convey opinions? Which words indicate this?

Language Features
Example
Language Features
Example
STEREOTYPING
This is a simplistic generalisation, imposing a standardised mental image on a person without considering individual characteristics. Stereotyping can be based on gender, racial, ethnic and class differences.

Goths wear black clothes, black makeup, are depressed and hated by society.
All blonds are unintelligent.
All Asians are good at math. All Asians like to eat rice and drive slowly.
How do these examples of stereotyping affect audience responses? Embedded clauses:
Embedded clauses are subordinate clauses that are attached to a noun group to provide essential information. Often embedded clauses function as a qualifier in a noun group. The relative pronouns who, whom, whose, which and that often introduce an embedded clause. Sometimes, a relative adverb such as when, where or why can introduce an embedded clause. However, in news articles relative pronouns are often elided (left out). An embedded clause is not ‘sandwiched’ with commas.
A convicted thief [who was] dubbed a ‘remorseless reoffender’ was sentenced to 10 years jail late yesterday.
Note that ‘who was’ is elided in the example.
Note that the embedded clause is essential in defining this particular thief.
How does this embedded clause affect audience response to the thief?
Are facts or opinions used in the embedded clause?
Language feature
Example

Active vs passive voice
Active voice clearly depicts the subject of a clause as the ‘actor’ or ‘doer’ of a verb. In active voice, the subject usually takes the theme position to perform the verb.
Passive voice depicts the subject being acted upon — receiving (and not ‘doing’) the action of the verb. The actor or ‘doer’ may or may not be included in the sentence.
In news media texts, active voice is used to clearly assign responsibility for actions to individuals. Passive voice may reduce an individual’s level of responsibility.
Active voice
A passerby saved the dog from flood waters.
Passive voice
The dog was saved from flood waters by a passerby.
(The dog isn’t actively ‘performing’ the action described. The dog is passive; it is being acted upon. However, it is the subject of the sentence as it is attached to the past participle verb group ‘was saved’. Note that the ‘passerby’ is not attached to any verbs in the sentence.)
Agentless passive
The dog was saved from flood waters.
(The dog still isn’t ‘performing’ an action. The dog is still passive, but the actor isn’t mentioned.)
How much recognition does the passerby receive in each sentence?