The linguistics of news production a primer Tom

The linguistics of news production: a primer Tom Van Hout & Geert Jacobs Ghent University Press release seminar | University of Milan | 24 April 2008 1

The linguistics of news production: a primer 1. 2. 3. 2 Ring the alarm: PR rules supreme Linguistics the rescue churnalists to : rejoice Knocking copy into shape Apple TV PR :

“Not journalistsbut churnalists , ” “Davies names and exposes the national news stories which turn out to be pseudo events manufactured by the PR industry and the global news stories which prove to be fiction generated by a new machinery of international propaganda. ” 3

“Not journalistsbut churnalists , ” Assignment 1: Name 3 recent ‘flat earth’ news stories from national or international news media. 4

Four rumoursand an explanation journalists have become news processors instead of generators market demands force smaller workforces to produce more journalists have become less weary of PR copy decreased editorial independence in UK newsrooms Source: Lewis, Williams & Franklin 2008 5

Four rumoursand an explanation “ 30 per cent of published items were wholly dependent on agency copy with a further 19 per cent strongly derivative from agency materials. ” (p 29) **50% of all news articles is based on PR & PA copy** Source: Lewis, Williams & Franklin 2008 6

Researchtraditions media language : Sociolinguistic Narrative structure Style and register Discourse analytic CA: detailed study of broadcast news talk CDA: study of power, bias, ideology in the press Pragmatic Genre (eg. press releases) The role of the audience 7

From press releaseto newsarticle Allan Bell: the practice of newsmaking Geert Jacobs: preformulation Formal properties: headline, lead, boilerplate Metapragmatic properties: self-reference pseudo-quotes Assignment 2: Find passages in the Apple. TV news text which have been copied from the Apple. TV press release. 8

Analyzing the newstext Preformulation plays a crucial role in the news production process BUT: This type of textual analysis is: Comparative (speculative) Decontextualized How do journalists transform press releases into newspaper articles? 9

Researchmethodbingo Quantitative research Qualitative research Information The mean N=∞ Ingenuity in design Statistics Certainty but triviality Counts all the grains of sand in the universe Adapted from Berger 2000: xvii 10

Researchmethodbingo Quantitative research Qualitative research Information Interpretation The mean N=∞ Ingenuity in design Statistics Certainty but triviality Counts all the grains of sand in the universe Adapted from Berger 2000: xvii 11

Researchmethodbingo Quantitative research Qualitative research Information Interpretation The meaning N=∞ Ingenuity in design Statistics Certainty but triviality Counts all the grains of sand in the universe Adapted from Berger 2000: xvii 12

Researchmethodbingo Quantitative research Qualitative research Information Interpretation The meaning N=∞ N=1 Ingenuity in design Statistics Certainty but triviality Counts all the grains of sand in the universe Adapted from Berger 2000: xvii 13

Researchmethodbingo Quantitative research Qualitative research Information Interpretation The meaning N=∞ N=1 Ingenuity in design Ingenuity in analysis Statistics Certainty but triviality Counts all the grains of sand in the universe Adapted from Berger 2000: xvii 14

Researchmethodbingo Quantitative research Qualitative research Information Interpretation The meaning N=∞ N=1 Ingenuity in design Ingenuity in analysis Statistics Concepts from various domains Certainty but triviality Counts all the grains of sand in the universe Adapted from Berger 2000: xvii 15

Researchmethodbingo Quantitative research Qualitative research Information Interpretation The meaning N=∞ N=1 Ingenuity in design Ingenuity in analysis Statistics Concepts from various domains Certainty but triviality Uncertainty but significance Counts all the grains of sand in the universe Adapted from Berger 2000: xvii 16

Researchmethodbingo Quantitative research Qualitative research Information Interpretation The meaning N=∞ N=1 Ingenuity in design Ingenuity in analysis Statistics Concepts from various domains Certainty but triviality Uncertainty but significance Counts all the grains of sand in the universe Sees the universe in a grain of sand Adapted from Berger 2000: xvii 17

Analyzing the newsprocess Linguistic ethnography Participating observation Writing process analysis Keystroke logging 18

Meanwhilein the newsroom , How do journalists knock PR copy into shape? Ethnographic fieldwork Oct 2006 -Mar 2007 Business desk @ quality newspaper “Follow the story” from start to finish Story meetings, interviews, participant observation 19

Collecting “rubbish ”? Products Context fieldnotes interview Process 20 press releases news articles Inputlog Camtasia

The Apple. TVstory Product launch Press release Reporter Walter PR manager Steven Source reliance? 21

Newswriting the speed of at light Apple. TV process product differential Total number of characters 3054 2455 599 Total number of words 491 409 82 Production time (in minutes) 18. 11 / / Pause time (in minutes) 18. 24 / / Total duration of writing process (in minutes) 36. 36 / / 22

Plying his trade Three writing strategies Background frame Sourcing truth claims Evaluation frame 23

Writing strategies Strategy Lines nrs Passage 1. Product contextualization 7 -8 American computer company Apple had already announced the launch of Apple TV last January at the Mac. World fair, where the long-awaited i. Phone was also introduced. 2. Sourcing truth claims: technical information versus product limitations 18 -19 28 -30 Apple TV is compatible with all common Wifi-networks that comply with 802. 11/b or 802. 11/g-norms. However, Apple TV cannot be used to stream video directly from the internet to your TV. “In the US it is already possible to simultaneously watch movies downloaded from i. Tunes on Apple TV. This will be available here shortly”, says Van den Eynde. 3. Product evaluation 32 -36 Apple is clearly planning on drawing more people to their online music and movie store i. Tunes via Apple TV. “All content that i. Tunes can play, can also be watched through Apple TV. Formats not supported by i. Tunes will first have to be converted to a format that is supported”, says Van den Eynde. Those who want to be sure that they can play a movie had better buy it on i. Tunes, is the implicit message. 24

Pausebehavior 25

Fluency 26

Thank you Paola! 27

Contact information Tom Van Hout tom. vanhout@ugent. be http: //www. ntt. ugent. be 28