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прагматика и медиа дискурс / Teun A van Dijk - News Analysis

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2. STRUCTURES OF INTERNATIONAL NEWS

77

 

 

 

TABLE 2.12

 

 

Topics and Topic Categories in the Thematic Structure of the News Report

 

 

 

 

in the New York Times (Sept. 15, 1982)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topic Category

Topic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a. Circumstances

G. died when addressing 400 party members at a

 

 

 

 

weekly meeting

 

 

b. Results

Eight people died, and fifty were wounded

 

 

c. Actor (1)

(i) G. was 34

 

 

 

 

(ii) G. was to be inaugurated on Sept. 23

 

 

d. Reaction (1)

Premier Wazzan deplored killing

 

 

e. Actor(s) (2)

No one claimed responsibility

 

 

f. Consequence

Fighting was feared

 

 

g. Actor/Cause(s)

(i) Election of G. on Aug. 23 boycotted by Moslems

 

 

 

 

(ii) G. was considerad an agent of Israel

 

 

 

 

(iii) G. was commander of the Christian militia

 

 

 

 

(iv) His troops enabled his election

 

 

h. fieZICH ,,, f'"

No m•ction yet from b

 

 

i. Consequences

It will be difficult to find a new president or: There

 

 

are various options for his succession

 

 

d. Event/Time

4:10 PM Tuesday

 

 

e. Event/Instrument

Bomb of 400 pounds

 

 

L Event/Circumstances

Unknown how bomb could be intnxiuced into the

 

 

 

 

building

 

 

m. Event/Happenings

There were rumors that he had survived the explosion

n. Event/Happenings

Finally he was found dead in the rubble of the

 

 

 

 

building

 

 

o. Consequence

Announcement by Wazzan of death many hours after

 

 

the explosion

 

 

p. History

There were previous attempts to kilt G.

 

 

q. History

G. involved in lcilling of Tony Franjieh

 

 

r. History

(i) G. most hated man in Lebanon

 

 

 

 

(ii) His opponents were different (leftist, Moslem, Palesti-

 

 

Man) groups

 

 

 

 

(iii) He also had enemies among Christian groups

 

 

s. Context

To compromise with Moslem opponents, he promised

 

 

to loosen his ties with Israel

 

 

t. Event/Circumstances

Purpose of the meeting (with party members) was to

 

 

discuss opening of highway and the disarmament of

 

 

private militias

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hierarchical link also explains why there subtopics appear. later in the text. In other words, except from the constraints of relevance and news schema, it is the top-down organization of topical structure that also determines the order in which topics and subtopics will appear. Even then there are exceptions. For rhetorical reasons discussed earlier, some topic detail may nevertheless occur high in the relevance structure, even in the headline, if it satisfies one of the interesting or salience criteria of the news. For example,

78

THEMATIC STRUCTURES

NEWS EPISODE

Preeldent-elect, B.chIr Owneyei,

of Lateen la imeaseinated by bomb (e) 1

ISTORY

HISTORY OF

GEMAYEL

Opposition botasen

Perticipated In

Membrana and Christians,

civil wat, kIlled

and mond Chflatians;

opponente; Pr.10.

Civil Wer (c)

.ttacks (g)(p)(q)(r)

CONTEXT PREVIOUS EVENTS

Gemoyel wat elected preeldent; Modem. were

opposed (g)( e)

Meeting with party

 

 

(e)(t)

 

 

4:10 pm

Felangiet 14C/

1PARTOIPANTS I

 

 

())

NEO

 

 

 

 

Gemayel,

Bomb exploded Gemayel dled;

 

 

(c)

(10(1)

°there oled

 

 

 

 

woundeC (a)(b)(n)

FIGURE 2.1. Schema of the thematic structure of the news episode as described by the New York Times. Letters between parentheses refer to themes usted in Table 2.12.

the weight of the bomb is even mentioned first in the headline of the item in

El País.

Since all the semantic categories that organize the thematic structure rendered in Figure 2.1 are filled with one or more macropropositions, we may conclude that the Times item is more or less structurally complete according to the standard news format. That is, the information may be used to answer at least part of the -why" questions about the assassination: Previous events, context, and history information gives a mínimum of data that may be interpreted as direct or indirect causes or conditions of the assassination, as well as indirect suggestions about the political background of the possible agents of the attack.

Granma

It is interesting to compare the thematic structure in the leading U. S. quality newspaper with that expressed by a the Cuban party newspaper Granma. If there are politically-based or ideologically-based differences among news accounts, they should become apparent in such a comparison. The evaluation of the participants in the Lebanese situation (Moslems, Falangist, PLO or other leftist groups), as well as the role of Israel and the United States, may be expected to be different in newspapers like Granma. The consequences of this different regional and political points of view ore

Granma item
York Time-s, Granma,

2. STRUCTURES OF INTERNATIONAL NEVYS

79

the topics selected will be analyzed. One basic difference immediately should be mentioned: The New York Times item is from a local correspondent, whereas Granma depended on Western news agencies for its information. In a next section we show that agency news and correspondent's reports, especially for the Northwestern. newspapers, are rather similar, and that if agency news is used it is usually copied rather directly. This means that if Granma's topical structure is much different from that of the Times, it must be the result of a conscious choice to deviate from the topical structures provided by the agencies about the events in Lebanon.

Table 2.13 lists the topics expressed in Granma. Granma clearly has fewer topics than the Times. Yet, the major topics from the main event theme are also present here. Not present, however, are topics such as the circumstances of the assassination, speculations about the identity of the agents of the attack, rumors about Gemayers survival, and information about previous attacks against his life. This lack of some major subtopics might be used for an ideological interpretation. For instance, the fact that no information is given about the previous attacks on Gemayel's life, whereas his own bloody actions in the civil war are mentioned, may be interpreted as a bias towards a more negative portrayal of Gemayel. And lack of speculations about possible agents might be explained if there would be reason to believe that his leftist opponents were behind the assassination. The New

and many other newspapers make it clear, however, that the agents might well be found in circles of the opponent Christian factions in Lebanon. Both quantitatively and strueturally, the

TABLE 2.13

Topics in the Thematic Structure of the News Report

in Granma (Sept. 15, 1984)

1.Others were killed and wounded

2.G's body was drawn from rubble, six hours atter explosion

3.Bomb contained 200 kilos of TNT (said EFE)

4.(a) G. was Christian maronite

(b)G would be president on Sept. 23

(c)G was 34-years-old

(d)He was son of Pierre G.

5.G. was chief of Falangist forces during civil war

6.He had many enemies also among Christian parties

7.(a) He was involved in killing of Tony Franjieh

(b)He was involved in Icilling of 500 followers of Chamoun

8.He was considered an ally of Israel

9.His election was made possible by "Zionist” invasion

10.G. has contacts with Israel

11.Israel and United States welcomed G's election and hoped for a peace treaty between Israel and Lebanon

80

THEMATIC STRUCTURES

has about 50% of topics that may be seen as negative about Gemayel, at least from a lefist, communist, or pro-Arab point of view ("murderous past," "spy of Israel," "had many enemies," etc.). The use of the word "sionista" to denote Israel also suggests that the whole event is interpreted within an anti-Israel, and hence anti-Falangist framework, which is confirmed by the occurrence of the topic about the American and Israeli congratulations following the election of Gemayel. This topic also appears as part of the background thematics in the Times, but has less prominence. In general, the Western press, as well as the Arab press, portrays Gemayel in an ambivalent way: On the one hand, his civil war past and his controversial position are thematized; on the other hand, it is stressed that he was perhaps the only one who could reunify Lebanon and organize the withdrawal of foreign troops (see also Rugh, 1979). Conservative newspapers, on the other hand, may emphasize the anticommunist, antileftist, or anti-PLO stance of Gemayel and portray his role in more favorable terms.

The differences between The New York Times and Granma, indicate a possible influence of political or ideological position on the selection and organization of topics. Topics that are inconsistent with ones own attitudes may be played down or omitted. Of course, this is just one example, and more data must be analyzed before such generalizations are made.

Excelsior

To avoid repetition and save space, the other newspapers are discussed rather briefly. Only the ways that their thematic structures differ from the topical organization already discussed are presented. Mexican Excelsior has more topics than Granma, but like Granma it emphasizes, even in the headline, that Gemayel's ties with Israel made him "unpopular" (which is an understatement of course, when one knows how hated Gemayel was among many groups in Lebanon). At the same time, this reference to the "unpopularity" of Gemayel, may be interpreted as an implicit explanation of the reasons for the assassination. Contrary to Granma, the initial rumors about his survival are a topic in Excelsior, as well as the previous attacks on his life.

El Universal

This newspaper from Venezuela has the unique property of providing several overlapping stories about the assassination, drawn from various agencies. No one single item exists for which we can analyze the thematic structure. Strictly speaking, some of the articles even contradict each other because they are about different stages of the events as they became known. There is no integration of the various reports into one overall news article.

Another characteristic of El Universal is the stylistically but also thematically interesting use of the word terrorist in its headline. Since there is no

2. STRUCTURES OF INTERNATIONAL NEWS

81

information about the agents of the attack, this usage is rather peculiar. It defines the situation of the assassination within a characteristic conceptual framework, that of political terrorism, which is itself rather directly associated with the Middle East. In fact, the routine designation of the PLO in the Israeli press and official Israeli discourse, which we also find in much of the Western press, is an example of such a conscquent use. For El Universal, the use of "terrorist" may be less specific and - might also involve the participation of other Christian groups.

In the items of El Universal, we find most of the topics about the assassination story. Especially the AFP-based stories give more information about the controversial election, the historical backgrounds, and especially the confusion in Beirut after the attack, a topic not treated in the New York Times or many other papers. The rather positive information that Gemayel had promised to ban all foreign troops and to negotiate with his opponents appears in these reports. There is little information about the actual circumstances of the attack, however.

El País

This Spanish newspaper has the most extensive European coverage about the events in Lebanon. Besides a main report about the assassination, there are long background articles and a personal and political history of Gemayel. In other newspapers, such information may often be integrated into the main article itself. The headline of El País is remarkable:

TWO HUNDRED KILOS OF DYNAMITE

PUT AN END TO THE LIFE OF BECHIR GEMAYEL

This rhetorical expression, which involves both a synecdoche (the use of the instrument instead of the agent) and the well-known emphasis on precise numbers discussed earlier, epitomizes what is also very prominent in other newspapers, namely, the attention for details about the bomb. We may conclude that in this case the headline is not quite a summary of the highest topic. The rhetorical upranking of the quasi-agent "200 kilos," however, makes the headline more concrete, emphasizes the violence involved, and stresses the size of the bomb and the seriousness of the event.

Whereas most newspapers follow the canonical order of topics belonging to Main Event, Context and History, respectively, El País opens its lead with information about the political Consequences of the attack: confusion in Lebanon, speculations about the future president, and the key role of Gemayel. Similarly, the international reactions, e.g., from the United States and Israel, are placed prominently at the beginning of the article, as well as in a separate item. Historical information about Gemayel is brief but is further detailed in a separate item under the title "A SHORT LIFE MARKED BY VIOLENCE. - The topical coverage of El País is rather complete. Special is

---r

82

THEMATIC STRUCTURES

the ordering of the topics: Political context and consequences and internatonal reactions come rather early in the article. In other words, here we find another constraint on the actual realization of topics, their political relevance. Details about the bomb attack itself are rather scarce compared to this prominence given to the political themes.

Svenska Dagblackt

The report in this conservative Swedish daily is very short. It only contains information about the main event topics and practically no context, consequences, or history topics, which are in part covered by a separate article on the next day. As such, however, the short item resembles the coverage given in a number of popular mass papers in Europe, such as the English tabloids and German Bild Zeitung. The title is also topically incomplete: It only says that Gemayal died, not that he was assassinated, or that a bomb killed him. This is one of the few headlines that are incomplete expressions of the main event topic, but the lead ,1„es give information about the attack on Gemayers headquarters.

This article is an example of what we may call coverage of the topical

kernel: Only the main event is briefly covered, but no causes, consequences, or other background are presented that make the assassination intelligible. Although in the selection of quality newspapers such a brief account is exceptional (recall that Svenska Dagbladet repairs its omissions by an additional background article the next day), this is the lcind of report that also may be found in TV news and in the majority of the Western press read by most readers.

Renmin Ribao

The large Chinese party newspaper brings both the news about the assassination and the news about the invasion of West Beirut by the Israeli army. The main topics of the assassination story are mentioned: bomb attack, time, place, circumstances, and results (victims). Although Gemayel is identified, no historical background about his role in the civil war is given. Yet, unlike most other newspapers, the story recalls the earlier occupation of South Lebanon by the Israeli army. This short report also deals with the controversial election of Gemayel (his contacts with Israel, the opposition of other groups). It is the only newspaper that explicitly claims that the assassination was expected. Here, too, is a kernel story, but vvith somewhat more information about typical context topics.

Indonesian Tintes

The English quality press in Indonesia, such as the Indonesian Times and the Indonesian Observer, has long and complete stories about both the

2. STRUCTURES OF INTERNATIONAL NEWS

83

assassination and the invasion topics. As usual, the last event, viz. the invasion, is emphasized in the headline, and the assassination of Germayel is interpreted as its possible cause. Whereas El Pais started the story with information about the political context, the Indonesian Times also changes the canonical order, and starts with Comments and Evaluation: the assassination is the result of personal and political vengeance and a move to keep Lebanon from a strong central government. Similarly, some international reactions (especially from the United States) are mentioned early in the article. Few background and context information is given, although the controversial election is mentioned. This is embedded in an interview of a correspondent with a Lebanese member of parliament, who explains why Gemayel was killed, especially stressing his ties with Israel. Such a quotation is of course a strategically safe way to speculate openly about the possible agents of the attack.

Conclusions

From the analysis of the thematic analysis of eight newspaper stories about the assassination of Bechir Gemayel the following conclusions may be provisionally drawn:

1.Whatever the length of the story, it will always at least feature the socalled kernel topics that represent the main event.

2.Topical differences appear especially in the presence or absence of context and background information, in this order. A political evaluation of the possible consequences of the events especially tends to be absent, whereas information about the political history of Gemayel as well as about the controversial election may be minimal. However, most newspapers provide enough context and background that make the assassination minimally intelligible.

3.There seem to be few regional, cultural, or ideological constraint on topical organization. The presence or emphasis, or the absence or downgrading of information about Gemayel, however, may lead to a slightly more negative, neutral (ambivalent), or positive portrayal of Gemayel, depending on a pro-Israel (United States, Falange, Christian) or pro-Arab (PLO, Moslem) perspective.

4.The canonical ordering of topics roughly follows the main event, context, backgrounds schema of presentation. Yet, some newspapers emphasize consequences, international reactions, and, in general, the political context by mentioning such topics early in the story, for instance, directly after the lead. Only once was an explicit evaluation or comment in this position.

84

THEMATIC STRUCTURES

5. In general, the overall macroproposition "President-elect Gemayel of L,ebanon was killed in a bomb attack" dominates the thematic structare of the items analyzed. This dominance also appears in the structures of the headlines and in the leads. The two other major topics deal with the historical bacicground (the role of Gemayel in the civil war) and with the political context (controversial election and succession). Details about the precise circumstances of the bomb attack, direct consequences of the bomb explosion, and verbal reactions seem to vaiy most across newspapers.

These general conclusions suggest that thematically there are no dramatic differences in the coverage of the various dailies in different countries or regions. Differences can be attributed mainly to the amount or the length of coverage: Longer items have more topics. Some newspapers tend to pay more attention to the political context and consequences of the events and show this in their topical organization. There are slight differences that could be explained in political or ideological terms, such as inconsistent topics that are omitted or played clown. And finally, a more serious ideological analysis of the thematic structures would need to probe into the topics that are not covered, or only succinctly covered by most papers. For instance, although attention is paid to Gemayel's controversial election and to the fact that he had many enemies, it is hardly explained how he could be elected in the first place.

Second, it is routinely mentioned that Gemayel was considered an ally of Israel, but not many details are given about the relationship between the Falangist party and the policy of the Israeli authorities. Nor is it explained how an ally of Israel could possibly be favored as the new Lebanese president by the Arab countries.

Third, the position of the Falangist party itself within Lebanon does not receive much attention, and only a few papers briefly mention the historical backgrounds of the party (and its founder Pierre Gemayel, father of Bechir, and his admiration for Hitler and Mussolini).

Fourth, the role of the U. S. administration and its links with the Falangists is not explained. In other words, there is background and context that provides some immediate and intelligible explanations about the assassination of Gemayel: His election was controversial, he had many enemies both among Christians and Moslems, and during the civil war he had been involved in factional ldllings. Yet, the deeper political backgrounds are hardly dealt with. He was simply murdered because he was hated, which is more a human than a political explanation.

Apparently, the complexity of the Lebanese drama is thematically reduced to a few schematic categories, such as Christians and Moslems, friends and foes, violence and vengeance. The news focuses on spectacular

2. STRUCTURES OF INTERNATIONAL NEWS

85

main events such as an assassination, ongoing fighting, and especially factional strife. The real backgrounds, the local power relations, the influence of foreign countries, are at most only hinted at. Thus, the assassination is presented merely as another example of the endemic violence and mutual hatred and fighting in the Middle East in general and in Lebanon in particular. Since the topical structure is the basic content represented and preferably recalled by the readers of the news, we may expect that it is also the model of the situation as it is construed and memorized by the readers.

Quantitative Results

The qualitative analysis reported in the previous section gives an impression of the thematic organization of news about the assassination. More general conclusions about the presence or absence of themes in different dailies or regions of the world require further quantitative analysis, however. Table 2.14 presents some of the major themes of the assassination story and their frequencies of occurrence in the First World and Third World press.

As may be expected, the themes of the bomb attack and the death of Gemayel score high, both in First World and Third World newspapers. Yet, most frequent, especially in the Third World press, is the topic of interna-

TABLE 2.14

Frequencies of Themes in First and Third World Newspaper Articles

 

 

First

Thirrl

 

Theme

World

World

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Meeting with Falange

14

(48)

15

(52)

29

2.

Bomb attack

119

(56)

93 (44)

212

3. Survival rumors

61 (54)

51 (46)

112

4.

Gemayel (found) dead

120 (49)

125(51)

245

5.

Immediate consequences

57 (49)

59 (51)

116

6. General political consequences

138 (58)

99 (42)

237

7.

Political situation

86

(65)

46 (35)

132

8. Military situation Lebanon

65

(63)

39 (37)

104

9.

Personal history G.

86

(51)

82 (49)

168

10. Earlier attacks on G.

38

(54)

32 (46)

70

11. Election

83

(54)

71 (46)

154

12. Civil war Lebanon

39

(75)

13 (25)

52

13. Funeral

52 (49)

55 (51)

107

14. Declaration and reactions

118 (45)

143 (55)

261

Total

1076 (54)

923 (46)

1999

Mean

 

76.9

 

65.9

142.7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Based on 758 articles.

( ) Rounded percentages.

86

THEMATIC STRUCTURES

tional reactions, which is part of the thematic structure in 261 articles. This special attention given to the international reactions to an important event shows that this is indeed a news schema category. The fact that this topic occurs even more often than the bomb attack itself shows that there must be a considerable number of articles that have such reactions as a major topic, which is indeed the case. In Third World news, such reactions are not limited to accounts of what the U. S. president or the Israeli government raid, but also feature reactions of local government spokespersons.

The kernel topics in 150 articles about the assassination are the following:

1.A bomb attack was made against president-elect Gemayel of Lebanon.

2.Gemayel died.

3.This event has consequences for the political situation in Lebanon and the Middle East (and for Israel and the United States).

4.Gemayel's personal history is presented.

5.Gemayel's election was controversial.

6.International reactions about the assassination are given.

This list also reflects the major semantic categories of the thematic structure: main event, history, context, consequences, and international reac- tions, which at the same time may function as schematic news categories.

Differences

Overall, frequency differences between First World and Third World coverage are not spectacular. On the contrary, there is surprising balance in the distribution if we assume that Third World newspapers might select different topics from the international wires. A few differences need to be mentioned. First World newspapers pay more attention to the bomb attack itself, the political consequences, the political context (especially the role of Israel and the United States), the military situation, and the history of the civil war. These are typical background topics, and their higher frequency of occurrence in the Western press is in accordance with the higher proportion of background articles in the Western press. We may provisionally assume that the difference can be explained partly by the fact that the Western press has more correspondents' reports that typically feature such background topics, as well as more staff writers and documentation facilities that allow the editors to include more background information not supplied by the news agencies. Note also that the involvement of the United States and Israel are political background topics that appear more interesting for the Western press. We find some confirmation of the assumption that the