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The inverted pyramid structure
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Studies focusing on the ideal of 'objectivity' in 'hard' news reports are numerous, with most of them falling within journalistic studies and being theorised from diverse theoretical insights. This article departs from a journalistic to a linguistic discourse approach, presenting evidence that the linguistic discourse analytical framework of Apprai...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... commentary/editorial, on the other hand, is typically regarded as the opinionated, subjective, emotive and reactive discussion of the events and people making headlines. The textual organisation of the hard news story is characteristically explained in journalistic theoretical concerns through the inverted pyramid structure, and linguistically through the orbital structure theorised within Appraisal Theory (see Figures 1 and 2). The 'inverted pyramid' technique thus is, according to , an arrangement by which the 'most important information' comes first. ...
Context 2
... on the other hand, is typically regarded as the opinionated, ive, emotive and reactive discussion of the events and people making headlines. The organisation of the hard news story is characteristically explained in journalistic ical concerns through the inverted pyramid structure, and linguistically through the structure theorised within Appraisal Theory (see Figures 1 and 2). ...
Citations
... Abasi and Akbari (2013) used the appraisal system to study dissent in news discourse during the Iranian presidential election debates, focusing on how the candidates were evaluated in the news media. By shifting from a journalistic to a linguistic discourse approach, Sabao (2016) showed that the linguistic discourse analytical framework of appraisal analysis provides a different approach to examining objectivity and ideological bias in hard news coverage. ...
Using a discourse approach, this study examines online news and opinion pieces about calls for the British Museum to return Chinese artefacts. We examine the interpersonal meanings conveyed by the linguistic choices made in these texts. This study uses the appraisal system in the systemic functional linguistic (SFL) framework to examine how news discourse addresses the issue and constructs interpersonal meanings. Graduation resources, as a subcategory of appraisal system, can underpin the degree of meanings and perspectives, allowing writers to adjust the gradability of attitudinal meanings conveyed to readers. This research first examines how the writer's voice is embedded in graduation resources, and later, how these graduation resources are used in online news articles calling for the return of the artefacts. This study also examines how online newspapers covered a short film by vloggers called "Escape from the British Museum", which sparked massive social media reactions, offering new perspectives on how social media and traditional news organisations interact to construct meanings through language. The results show that quantification and fulfilment (completion) resources are the two most common subcategories of graduation resources. The findings shed light on the language strategies used in news and social media discourse, as well as the interpersonal meanings behind such requests for cultural heritage repatriation.
... For Fowler (1991), as a reflection and construction of social realities, news can be loaded with hidden intentions that make the events not always communicated objectively. Although the media essentially has the code of ethics to be neutral in relation to news coverage (Thomson, White, and Kitley, 2008;Sabao, 2016), it also takes a stand on one side of the event because of particular interests. The unattainability of ideal objectivity in journalism is evidenced by the fact that "news-making is intrinsically selective, partial, and thereby subjective in its practice" (Chong, 2017, p. 2). ...
... The Appraisal analysis in this study has explained how language construes attitude and helps writers to confirm their position themselves evaluatively with respect to the potential readers' viewpoints (White, 2007). The attitude has demonstrated that the media is not ideology-free, by trying to accommodate the pro and antigovernment sides while trying to maintain its reputation as a politically neutral media (see Thomson, White and Kitley, 2008;Sabao, 2016). It has been made clear that the ideological position is multifaceted and thus needs to be explained within its relevant context. ...
... In terms of its news orientation, the Post appears to be neutral in reporting the news by using attitudes that are proportional to positive and negative resources. This finding is in line with Sabao (2016), who highlights that journalists attempt to avoid subjective expressions using various strategies. The media suggests a neutrality that does not formalize any endorsement of certain parties by managing a relative balance of information in its spatial coverage and providing different perspectives in the news stories. ...
News production is a discursive act and a value-laden process through which media reports social issues using various stances to articulate certain ideologies. However, how reporters construct their stance and relationship with their readers has yet to significantly be an object of systematic investigation. This study sheds some light on the attitude of The Jakarta Post towards the spread of Omicron to reveal the media’s stances and ideological positions, in which certain interests play a role in discourse production. The principles of appraisal system and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) were deployed to examine 25 news articles about Omicron. The results reveal how language construes attitude and enables writers to position themselves evaluatively in certain aspects. While politically it deploys attitudinal resources to portray its neutral position, economically The Jakarta Post discloses itself as a media that accommodates its plural readers to maximize advertising revenue and reading traffic. This ideological stance is interpreted in light of the socio-political dimension that shapes news reporting.
... Framing is important in explaining the ways in which the media subjectively chooses which news items to report and the factors -cultural, political or otherwise that shape the 'framing' of such news. In discussing framing and its manifestation in news reporting and journalistic practice, several scholars (Entman, 1993;Sabao, 2013Sabao, , 2016Sabao, Magadza & Chikara, 2021;Sabao & Visser, 2015;Weaver, 2007) have expressed its importance in explaining how the media contextualises news reports and events. The news does not occur in a vacuum but instead in a context, which context (coupled with other news external convictions, beliefs, vices and subjectivities) shape the angle from which the news is reported, read and interpreted. ...
The most abhorred population group in Africa (and by extension in Namibia) is the LGBTQI community. Non-heterosexuality is largely condemned in most African countries for political, religious, cultural and legal reasons. Couched within Appraisal Theory, the paper examines how linguistic resources are exploited in manners that evince how homophobia is politically and legally framed in two Namibian daily newspapers – The Namibian and New Era. For example, while the world has reacted to the realities of the departure from the traditional binary definitional parameters of sexualities and sexual identities, Namibia still remains largely homophobic, together with at least 47 other African countries still criminalising homosexuality. In 2001, for example, a video documentary quotes the then President of Namibia, Dr Sam Nujoma, expressing the sentiments that “Lesbians and homosexualism, these we condemn – we reject them. In Namibia there will be no lesbian, no homosexualism” (Blecher, 2001). In August 2005, Minister of Home Affairs, Theopolina Mushelenga, publicly denounced the human rights of Namibian gays and lesbians and also asserted that “homosexuals were responsible for the HIV and AIDS pandemic” (Lorway, 2006, p. 436). Homosexuality has generally, thus, been regarded as an uncultural, unAfrican, uncommon and unacceptable phenomenon in Africa, including Namibia. In Namibia, as in other African countries, the penalty for homosexual behaviour is imprisonment. Many Namibian political leaders have publicly expressed that homosexual rights go against the legal, religious and cultural values of the country. There are political and legal imports to the rejection of homosexual behaviour patterns in Namibia as evinced in news reporting cultures. Homosexuality in Namibian political and legal discourses is largely imagined as either an ‘unAfrican’ behaviour or attributed to western influences on Africa. Linguistic expression by many Namibian politicians also evince a revulsion of homosexuality.
... The 'hard news' is in the form of providing citizens with social knowledge is strictly 'objective' text in which there is no sign of /journalist's explicit value judgment (Sabao & Visser, 2015), and they are least subjective (Martin & White, 2005) and based on factual news with non-opinionated inputs (Sabao, 2016). It is a strategic avoidance of particular key evaluative work and backgrounding the subjective role of journalist/author (Thomson & White, 2008). ...
... For analyzing the role of online newspapers concerning their ideology in reporting election campaigns, the existing study is focusing on 'Attitude Analysis' of online alternative and mainstream newspapers. Sabao (2016) stated that the authors/speakers construe the resources of appraisal for negotiating the relationships socially. The study is seeking to explain the choices of reporter/speaker that are made at a lexical level which leads to describing the authorial stance taking with different ideologies. ...
... By the use of rhetorical markers, a journalist's voice gets hidden and the social actor's voice becomes the actual source that maintains the objectivity of hard news. Sabao (2016) stated that the attributed resources are employed for clinching personalization to hide the voice of news media for the maintenance of hard news objectivity. Bell (1991) stated that the journalist puts the responsibility on the actual source in a news story that reflects the reality. ...
... The genre contrastive analysis of the first 14 weeks of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in government: a study on two online newspapers under attitude analysis Politics recognize and give shape to language and decision is on us to figure out the hidden meaning of statements (Joseph, 2006). The hard news has characteristics that depict the ideology of news outlets by its portrayal which is nonopinionated, factual based, and characterized by neutrality, facticity, objectivity, and attribution (Sabao, 2016). ...
... Appraisal analysis is an alternative approach to analyze linguistic discourse in 'hard' news of newspapers to find hidden ideology and objectivity (Sabao, 2016). It is an attributed evaluation of 'hard' news which serves as an ideological function and supports journalists for imprinting their voices (Sabao, 2016). ...
... Appraisal analysis is an alternative approach to analyze linguistic discourse in 'hard' news of newspapers to find hidden ideology and objectivity (Sabao, 2016). It is an attributed evaluation of 'hard' news which serves as an ideological function and supports journalists for imprinting their voices (Sabao, 2016). Appraisal analysis by Martin and White (2005) is employed in the study to find the stances from a generic and dialogic perspective in online newspapers. ...
The study aimed to identify the hidden meaning lying behind the text of two Malaysian Online newspapers i.e. ‘Malaysiakini’ (alternative newspaper) and ‘The New Straits Times’ (mainstream newspaper). The language of the newspaper always depicts its ideology through its stances. To discover the stances of newspapers, Martin and White (2005) ‘Appraisal Analysis’ framework was employed on 5 news reports (3,265 words) from ‘Malaysiakini’ and 3 news reports from ‘The New Straits Times’ (2,456 words) which were based on the performance of social actors during the 17th and 18th August 2018. It has been found that Pakatan Harapan (PH) government (Dr.Mahathir) was represented the most in both newspapers as compared to the Barisan Nasional (BN) as an opposition who lost the election in 2018, the very first time after independence. By ‘Appraisal Analysis’ it is found that both newspapers have represented Dr. Mahathir the most by positive attitudinal results in ‘Appreciation’ resource as ‘Malaysiakini’ has shown 37%, while; ‘NST’ given 56% positive attitudinal instances being a governmental influenced newspaper.
... The genre contrastive analysis of the first 14 weeks of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in government: a study on two online newspapers under attitude analysis Politics recognize and give shape to language and decision is on us to figure out the hidden meaning of statements (Joseph, 2006). The hard news has characteristics that depict the ideology of news outlets by its portrayal which is nonopinionated, factual based, and characterized by neutrality, facticity, objectivity, and attribution (Sabao, 2016). ...
... Appraisal analysis is an alternative approach to analyze linguistic discourse in 'hard' news of newspapers to find hidden ideology and objectivity (Sabao, 2016). It is an attributed evaluation of 'hard' news which serves as an ideological function and supports journalists for imprinting their voices (Sabao, 2016). ...
... Appraisal analysis is an alternative approach to analyze linguistic discourse in 'hard' news of newspapers to find hidden ideology and objectivity (Sabao, 2016). It is an attributed evaluation of 'hard' news which serves as an ideological function and supports journalists for imprinting their voices (Sabao, 2016). Appraisal analysis by Martin and White (2005) is employed in the study to find the stances from a generic and dialogic perspective in online newspapers. ...
The study aimed to identify the hidden meaning lying behind the text of two Malaysian Online newspapers i.e. 'Malaysiakini' (alternative newspaper) and 'The New Straits Times' (mainstream newspaper). The language of the newspaper always depicts its ideology through its stances. To discover the stances of newspapers, Martin and White (2005) 'Appraisal Analysis' framework was employed on 5 news reports (3,265 words) from 'Malaysiakini' and 3 news reports from 'The New Straits Times' (2,456 words) which were based on the performance of social actors during the 17th and 18th August 2018. It has been found that Pakatan Harapan (PH) government (Dr.Mahathir) was represented the most in both newspapers as compared to the Barisan Nasional (BN) as an opposition who lost the election in 2018, the very first time after independence. By 'Appraisal Analysis' it is found that both newspapers have represented Dr. Mahathir the most by positive attitudinal results in 'Appreciation' resource as 'Malaysiakini' has shown 37%, while; 'NST' given 56% positive attitudinal instances being a governmental influenced newspaper.
... Framing Theory (Entman, 1993;, in which framing is defined "as the process of culling a few elements of perceived reality and assembling a narrative that highlights connections among them to promote a particular interpretation" (Entman, 2007, p. 167) is important in explaining how the media subjectively chooses which news items to report and the factorscultural, political or otherwise that shape the 'framing' of such news. In discussing framing and its manifestation in news reporting and journalistic practice, many scholars (Arowolo, 2017;Entman, 1993;Sabao, 2016;Weaver, 2007) have expressed their affinity to the agenda-setting approach. Framing Theory is useful to examine how the media selectively, deliberately and intentionally pays particular "attention to certain events and then places them within a field of meaning" (Arowolo, 2017, p. 3). ...
The name Robert Gabriel Mugabe conjures a multiplicity of often highly divergent thoughts, emotions and sentiments. With conflicting reflections of Mugabe in both his personal capacity and as head of the Republic of Zimbabwe, being lauded as an inimitable African nationalist, orator, liberator, reformist, decolonialist, Pan Africanist among other praises on the one hand and vilified as a despot, murderer, election thief, gross human rights violator among other colourful indictments on the other, Mugabe remains in death as he was in life, an enigma. Robert Gabriel Mugabe (21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) ruled over Zimbabwe for nearly four decades in the capacities of both Prime Minister (1980 – 1987) and President (1987 – 2017) and was removed from power by his lieutenant and deposed former Vice President, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa with the backing of the military through what has been considered a ‘soft coup’. Hailing from diverse multidisciplinary expertise and/or active participation in politics, international relations, policy studies, history, social sciences, media studies and/or language studies, the book is a collection of scholarly contributions that are reflective of issues surrounding and about the life of the late former Zimbabwean President, Robert Gabriel Mugabe as it relates to this philosophy, life, politics, legacy and other relevant issues to understanding the ‘enigma’ that is Mugabe.
... Framing Theory (Entman, 1993;, in which framing is defined "as the process of culling a few elements of perceived reality and assembling a narrative that highlights connections among them to promote a particular interpretation" (Entman, 2007, p. 167) is important in explaining how the media subjectively chooses which news items to report and the factorscultural, political or otherwise that shape the 'framing' of such news. In discussing framing and its manifestation in news reporting and journalistic practice, many scholars (Arowolo, 2017;Entman, 1993;Sabao, 2016;Weaver, 2007) have expressed their affinity to the agenda-setting approach. Framing Theory is useful to examine how the media selectively, deliberately and intentionally pays particular "attention to certain events and then places them within a field of meaning" (Arowolo, 2017, p. 3). ...
The chapter, in attempting to configure the enigma that Mugabe is, comparatively analyse the framing of his death in Zimbabwean and British newspapers. The chapter makes a comparative discourse analytic and framing analysis of news reports breaking the death of Mugabe in British and Zimbabwean newspapers. In doing this and through the Framing Theory (Entman, 1996), the chapter demonstrates how Mugabe possessed a multiplicity of political personas as he is imaged in diverse and conflicting ways in different media, based on their content and context. Drawing from the elusive nature of his description, The chapter responds to the question of whether the apt description of Mugabe should be that of a liberation war hero to be celebrated. The chapter observes that the diverse ways in which Mugabe is framed can only be understood within the context of the history between Britain and Zimbabwe on the one hand (in order to understand the frames in British media) and political history and developments in Zimbabwe since the turn of the millennium (to be a able to appreciate the frames in Zimbabwean newspapers) on the other. Frames in British media, which largely and collectively vilify Mugabe on whatever pretext as a murderer, despot and tyrant under the guise of being the voice of reason and democracy, the chapter argues, are shaped by historical relations between Zimbabwe and her colonial master that have degenerated over the years into one characteristic by an insult hurling contest. On the other hand, frames in Zimbabwean newspapers can only be understood in the context of the media polarity in Zimbabwe that was birthed by the growth of populist oppositional politics as well as newspaper ownership patterns in Zimbabwe.
... Appraisal analysis is an extension of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) of Halliday's (1978) theory. It acts as an alternative approach for analyzing the discourse in linguistics of 'hard news' of newspapers that acts for their Copyright © 2021, authors, e-ISSN: 2502-6747, p-ISSN: 2301-9468 ideological functions and support journalists to imprint their voices (Sabao, 2016). Martin and White (2005) explain the pattern choices semantically and organization of text that affect the reader for enhancing social values. ...
... Fairclough (1995) stated that the evaluation of patterns and social actors' representation shows the social practices that appear as a discursive process in text production. The similar findings were also found in another study of Sabao (2016) that attribution resources were employed for clinching personalization by hiding the news institution's voice for the maintenance of objectivity in the hard news reporting. The attributed voice becomes the authority in the quoted text that frees journalist from any sort of responsibility. ...
For the maintenance of the authorial voice, newspapers use rhetorical markers as an external supporting voice to win their readership. The current five year studies show that news writers maintain engagement with their readers by their stances towards their point of views. This study aimed to find the attitudinal stances of two Pakistani Online newspapers i.e. 'Dawn' (alternative newspaper) and 'The News' (mainstream newspaper). The newspaper's inclination was identified through its language. To discover the newspapers' stances, Martin and White (2005) 'Appraisal Analysis' framework was employed on '2' news reports comprising of '5013' words on Prime Minister Imran Khan's Speech at 74th United Nations' session along with Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) by Norman Fairclough (1995). It was found that both newspapers indirectly invoked attitudes by laying evaluative ground which was explicitly explained in the quoted text. The prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was found the 'Appraiser' in both news reports and served as a main social actor in highlighting Pakistan's current issues. The issues expected to be solved urgently for peace and prosperity in the region by the involvement of world leaders and United Nations on Kashmir conflict between Pakistan and India, climate change and elimination of Islam phobia.
... Lastly, by the subsystem of graduation, evaluation carried by the two previous subsystems can be intensified or downgraded. (Zappavigna, 2011:796) Several studies have discussed how interpersonal language resources can be employed for various effects and purposes in different fields such as in education, news reports and translation (Chueasuai, 2017;Kabigting, 2020;Li, Lei, & Cheng, 2020;Mustikawati, 2017;Sabao, 2016;Wei, Wherrity, & Zhang, 2015). In social media, they are especially exploited to construe certain values or framing (Ayomi, 2021). ...
In today's society, social media, especially Twitter has become an important platform for everyone to broadcast information, opinions, and emotions freely and almost without border. With such a high engagement between users, how the social media users organise language to manage interpersonal role-relationship effectively determine how smooth a communication goes. This study aims to describe the language resources of interpersonal meaning that one can use to engage more positively in social media while exercising their freedom of expression. To serve that purpose, a qualitative case study is conducted, by analysing data from a trending topic in Indonesian Twitter. The data were taken purposively by choosing the utterances that can best reflect the variety of interpersonal meaning occurring on social media. This study draws upon the Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) theory of interpersonal metafunction that focuses on Mood, Modality and the Appraisal system. This study shows that specific interpersonal language resources can produce a more negotiated stance and solidarity that can lessen personal conflicts between users and encourage more positive communication.
