The Language of News Media (Language in Society) [Paperback]

Allan Bell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 1991 | ISBN-10: 0631164359 | ISBN-13: 978-0631164357 | Edition: 1

Written by a linguist who is himself a journalist, this is a uniquely informed account of the language of the news media. Based in the frameworks of sociolinguistics and discourse analysis its concerns are with the notion of the news story, the importance of the processes which produce media language and the role of the audience.

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From the Back Cover

Written by a linguist who is himself a journalist, this is a uniquely informed account of the language of the news media.

In Western countries we hear more language from the media than we do directly from others in conversation, and within the media, news is the primary language genre. The aim of this book is to explore this influential language, to ask what the patterns of media discourse tell us about wider linguistic issues and what they also reveal about news and the media.

Allan Bell emphasizes the importance of the processes which produce media language, as stories are moulded and modified by various hands. He stresses it is indeed stories that journalists and editors produce, not articles. These stories have viewpoint, values and structure that can be analysed. He is concerned too with the role of the audience in influencing media language styles, and in understanding, forgetting or misconceiving the news presented to it.

Based in the frameworks of sociolinguistics and discourse analysis, this book draws together a growing research literature and informs it with the author's own immediate observations and experience as both journalist and researcher.

About the Author

Allan Bell has been both making and studying media language for many years. He has worked as a journalist and editor in a daily news service, weekly newspaper and monthly magazines. He has researched media language in several countries, especially New Zealand and the United Kingdom. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand combining his research there with work as a freelance journalist and media consultant.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (September 3, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631164359
• ISBN-13: 978-0631164357
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,848,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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