March in March: Two Sides to the Story We Didn't Run by J. Maley - Article Example

Name Critical Discourse Analysis Course Date Critical Discourse Analysis: March in March: Two sides to the story we didn't run Genre News Article The article is written by a Jacqueline Maley who is the Parliamentary Sketch Writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and an established journalist. The Sydney Morning Herald is a popular newspaper and is credited with high standards of journalism. Basically, the perspective of the readers is that the regular opinion columns are written after conducting thorough research, the details are valid and integrity is upheld. Opinion columns from such a reputable newspaper are expected to uphold high standards of journalism, have a strong and details that give richness to a story. The second paragraph should have been the first paragraph because it is the lead of the news story: The second paragraph with the catchline ''Dear Sydney Morning Herald re March in March'' provides a clear and concise overview of the key points and thus conveys to the readers what they will be learning regarding the piece (Carter, 2014). Allegory The piece uses allegory to illustrate the ideas and concepts so that the readers can easily digest the story. According to George (2008) allegory conveys its message using symbolic figure, actions, imagery or even events rather than directly using words. Examples of allegory commonly used as form of representation include literary, visual, or musical art. In this piece, a photograph and an artwork have been used to represent the anti-Tony Abbott protests. Just by the reader looking at the photograph and the artwork showing people matching, the reader will most definitely have an idea regarding the story (George, 2008). According to Fairclough’s theory, the language is used to talk about politics in Australia. On the other hand, Foucault’s theory has been applied in the article in analysing the alleged bias of Herald. Framing Text Good side vs. bad side Focused Protests vs. Unfocused Protests Proper language vs. improper language The title text “Two sides to the story we didn't run” has been used to influence the reader regarding the content that the piece will talk about. On reading the title “Two sides to the story we didn't run”, the reader will obviously form a mental picture that there was no bias as to why the story was not run since there two balancing reasons why the story was not run! “The lack of coverage of March in March probably…. it was unfocused”. This text influences the reader to have an opinion that Herald did not error in not covering the story but the reason why the protest was not covered is because the protest was unfocused. Additionally, the article gives many reasons as to why Herald should not be blamed for not covering March in March protest. For example, the group that organized the protests really despises Main Stream Media and hence there is no reason they should complain if they are not covered by the same media they despise. Again, during the protest, dirty language was used even in placard. This included using extremely vulgar language to describe the prime minister. Obviously, such reasons might influence and give the reader a perspective that there were good reasons as to why the March in March protests were not covered (Druckman, 2001). Visual Aids The illustration photograph of the protestors carrying an enormous loudspeaker that is uttering “unprintable” indicates that perhaps using of “unprintable/dirty” language could have the reason why the story was not covered. Additionally, the depiction of the large photograph showing the protest on that day tells the reader that indeed the story was covered only that the story missed after editing. This gives the reader the perspective that indeed Herald did not blatantly refuse to cover the story (Druckman, 2001). As per Fairclough’s theory, the texts have been used to regard to a political protest. For instance, f---ing a---hole that is Tony Abbott. Such words would be inappropriate say in a church gathering. In regard to Foucault’s theory, focus has been given to language where using dirty language is being resisted. Foregrounding Herald is fore-grounded in this article and is demonstrated as a newspaper that observes high standards of journalism and also as being unbiased. “The Herald didn't blatantly ignore the protest, it sent a reporter along to cover it, and that reporter was me. I wrote a…report about it. Jacqueline Maley goes ahead and gives a hyperlink for the readers to access the report that she wrote about the coverage of the protest. The word “Herald” has been used consistently and it is also italised which distinguishes the word from other words. The reader will notice “Herald” because of its consistent use and its distinguished italic form. Perhaps this was to emphasise on the popularity of the newspaper and leading stand when it comes to giving news when compared to bloggers, social media and internet. This is further noted when the writer says “whether the bloggers, tweeters and other internet denizens like it or not, newspapers still get to make that call.” The reasons as to why Herald never covered the story have also been fore-grounded since nearly the entire story is about why Herald never covered the story. Fairclough’s theory is relevant in emphasizing the significance of newspaper (Herald) in disseminating news. Foucault’s theory is applicable on the effect of fore-grounding in reporting and the effect of fore-grounding to the reader (Lee, 2007). Omission The precise reason why March in March protest was not in the paper has been omitted. The title does not say anything about why the protest was not published on the Herald. Jacqueline only gives the spotlight to the justification on why the protest was not covered rather than indicating why Herald newspaper never published the story. Likewise, the entire article does not give any reason as to why the March in March protest was not in Herald: rather only justifications: The Herald didn't blatantly ignore the protest, it sent a reporter along to cover it, But the editors did not include the story in Monday's paper. The reasons why the editors failed to include the story in the paper have not been given at all. March in March protestors have been omitted too. Jacqueline does not provide the views of the organisers’ of the protest but only gives the concerns of Herald. Fairclough’s theory: Justification of why the March in March protest was not in the paper Foucault’s theory: Resisting publication of unruly protest (Lee, 2007) Discursive Differences Heading: It is not formal and indicates that it is a heading worth an opinion column. March in March: Two sides to the story we didn't run Lead: The lead is written in informal style “Wrote rather a sweet open letter”. The lead indicates that Timothy Pembroke loves Herald and here Jacqueline wants to show the popularity of Herald newspaper regardless of the paper being criticised for not covering the protest. Body: The body also follows an informal style. Jacqueline goes ahead and reports the happenings of the protest even in slang language indicating the informal writing style. Some of the examples of the informal sentences used throughout the body include: I wrote a small (and, in hindsight, rather sniffy and unkind) report about it I am used to Twitter abuse Calling him a ''f---wit'' Shameful, racist, homophobic … f---ing a---hole that is Tony Abbott''. Fairclough’s theory: Uses the informal style to report happenings of an informal event (political protest). Foucault’s theory: Using the slang language and the abuses to show how bad the language the protesters were using was (Fairclough, 2003). Intertextuality Vertical: The photograph of protestors holding a huge loudspeaker has been borrowed from michaelmucci.com. The photo has been used to indicate how rowdy the protest was and the language that was being used was unprintable as illustrated by the “unprintable words” coming from the loudspeaker. Horizontal: Jacqueline has quoted several texts from other sources, for example: ''Dear Sydney Morning Herald re March in March'', “We figure your news team would search social media TRENDS for new content ideas? You must have noticed the fuss?' ''Convoy of No Confidence'' rallies of 2011 Additionally, two links have been provided to access the referred articles and they include links to the open letter that Thomas wrote to Herald and the report that Jacqueline wrote about the protest. Fairclough’s theory: Uses the quoted texts and the photo to report the protest Foucault’s theory: Using imagery (photo) to illustrate negativity associated with the March in March protest (Fairclough, 2003). Presupposition From the heading, the lead and throughout the body Jacqueline presupposes that the reader will agree to the reasons she gives as to why the protest was not in Herald paper. She argues that the Herald did not ignore the coverage and hopes the reader agrees to that. Jacqueline also presupposes that the reader knows about 'Convoy of No Confidence' rallies of 2011, anti-carbon tax protesters and left-wing and right wing (Fairclough, 2003). Fairclough’s theory: Uses presupposition to convince the reader why the protest was not in the paper. Foucault’s theory: Uses presupposition to compare March in March protest with other similar unruly protests (Fairclough, 2003). Insinuation Jacqueline insinuates that failure for the March in March protest to be in Herald is justifiable due to the way the protests were conducted from being unfocused to using foul language during the protests. Bibliography Carter, M., 2014, How to Write a Newspaper Article. < https://suite.io/mia-carter/xdq23d>. Druckman, J., 2001, The Implications of Framing Effects for Citizen Competence, Political Behavior 23 (3): 225–256. Fairclough, N., 2003, Analysing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research, London: Routledge. George, A., 2008, Classical Rhetoric and Its Christian and Secular Tradition from Ancient to Modern Times, New York: UNC Press. Jacqueline, M., 2014, March in March: Two sides to the story we didn't run. < http://www.smh.com.au/comment/march-in-march-two-sides-to-the-story-we-didnt-run-20140321-357tg.html>. Lee, B., 2007, A Thing of This World: a History of Continental Anti-Realism. This study covers Foucault and his contribution to the history of Continental Anti-Realism. NW: North-western University Press. Read More