English Language: News Structure and Headline Characteristics

Lingua Inglese

Scienze e Tecnologie della Comunicazione Prof.ssa Ilaria Iori University of Ferrara 13 Mar 2025 UNIV ARIAE ASI Y3 . FERRAR ITA Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici ABORE FRUCeditorials

Communicative Purpose and Authorship

A Facebook post Advertisements Communicative purpose (what it is written for > persuade, inform, promote etc ... ) Authorship (who writes it) ? Formal features (register formal/informal; style, etc.)Editorials

Content and Authorship of Editorials, Facebook Posts, and Advertisements

A Facebook post Advertisements Communicative purpose Express the newspaper's view; argumentative nature Various purposes: readers can express their opinions, provide feedback, or engage in discussions related to articles or topics Persuasive; aims to promote products, services, or ideas Authorship 'collective' authorship > reflects the newspaper's view rather than that of individual journalists (Van Dijk, 1988) User-generated content written by individual readers or users of the platform (Rasmussen, 2010) Corporate or brand-driven; written by marketers or advertising agencies

Formal Features of Different Media

Formal features Formal and longer texts Informal and shorter due to word limits, often including emojis, GIFs, or hashtags Highly visual, concise, often using slogans, persuasive language, and multimedia elementsLast week

Style and Identity

Genre Style = A way of speaking or writing that signals identity and belonging. Style can be formal or informal, standard or non-standard, professional or casual.

Alan Bell's Audience Design Theory (1984)

• We modify our language based on who we think is listening -> Code- switching and style shifting
• Example: Talking to a professor vs. talking to a friend
• Professor: "Good morning, Professor Smith. I was wondering if you could clarify the deadline for the assignment?" (formal, respectful, grammatically precise)
• Friend: "Hey, do you know when we gotta turn in that paper?" (casual, informal, contractions)
• Media producers shape their style based on their imagined audience > Language style in movies, TV, news, and advertising often reinforces social stereotypes by linking speech patterns, accents, and linguistic choices to specific social traits such as intelligence, morality, gender, or social class

Audience Design Theory Examples

Alan Bell's Audience Design Theory (1984)

• Ernst Blofeld https://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=yBs4Uq6vXK c McGonagall https://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=zJLpssiYcqI
• Hagrid
• https://www.youtube.co m/shorts/2foAeishTnw
• Hollywood often gives villains Russian accents, reinforcing ideas of sophistication as dangerous.
• Certain dialects are associated with intelligence or ignorance in film and TV.
• Iconization (Irvine & Gal, 2000): Associating specific speech styles with social traits (e.g., gender, race, intelligence) > British RP (Received Pronunciation) is often used for characters who are sophisticated but cold or villainous (e.g., Scar in The Lion King). VS. West Country accent signals warmth and kindness but contrasts with the more intellectual RP accents of the Hogwarts professors.

Style in Design

• Style is not just linguistic-it includes visual design.
• Kress & van Leeuwen (1996): Layout as a "mode of spatial composition.“
• Spatial composition matters (Right/left; Bottom/Up; Center/margins), > A large headline with an image draws more attention than a smaller, text-heavy article.

Information Value and Visual Differences

Information value 24-HOUR LASTING MAKE-UP 1 SUITABLE FOR ALL SKIN TYPES GIVEN NEW COVERDERM PERFECT FACE - --· What are the most striking visual differences? · Which one seems more formal, and which one seems more sensationalist? Why? · Look at the size and wording of the headlines. . Does one use more dramatic or emotional language? . How do the images contribute to the overall tone?

Newspaper Styles: Broadsheet vs. Tabloid

• Broadsheet newspapers (The Times) -> small fonts, black text, minimal images -> serious tone.
• Tabloids (The Sun) -> bold headlines, large images, short sentences -> sensational tone.

THE Sün 40% Wednesday, January 20, 2016 BRITAIN'S BEST-SELLING PAPER thesun.co.uk DON'T MISS OUT! HOLS FROM £9,50 333 PARKS IN UK AND EUROPE TOKEN 12: SEE PAGE 28 STARK WARNING BY IMF Held ... Williams Sadie kill suspect irst pic By PAUL KEAVENY HIS is the first picture picture the woman suspected mum-of-two die Hartley to death. Sarah Williams, 34, Is ing held after Sadie, 60 ad in Helmshore, Lancs. Full Story - Page Five EUROPE is running out of space to absorb the huge "tide of refugees" pouring in, the IMF warned yesterday. The economic watchdog sald it is "presenting major chal- lenges to EU labour markets." As David Cameron yester- day headed for EU reform talks, it was revealed rule changes will force the UK to take more refugees. Full Story - Page 8 Criticised ... Davies Blitz on booze is lasted CRAIG WOODHOUSE O ,professors have asted Chief Medical Ticer Sally Davies over r booze limits blitz. The experts claim she storted evidence crackdown. Full Story - Page Four WE'RE By STEVE HAWKES STUFFED DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR THE Monday January 1 2024 | thetimes.co.uk | No 74293 The secret to a good night's sleep INSIDE TIMES2 Plus Your New Year's Day jumb crossword In with a bang Fireworks over Sydney Harbour and Opera House herald the arrival of 2024, but in Britain, Storm Henk dampened celebrations and hit travel. Pages 4-5 No need for a passport under new border plan Electronic gates will use facial recognition to allow passengers into UK Ben Clatworthy Transport Correspondent Passengers arriving in the UK will not need to present their passports, under plans for "frictionless" travel. New electronic gates, which will use facial recognition to process arrivals, will be installed at airports. Phil Douglas, director-general of the Border Force, told The Times that the aim was to create an "intelligent bor- der" that used "much more frictionless facial recognition than currently". The plans have been designed to bring Britain's border up to standards developed overseas. Dubai allows facial recognition for 50 nationalities, and Douglas said that he was "really impressed" by next-generation e-gates on a recent trip to Australia. He said: "I had to apply for an elec- tronic travel authorisation in advance and used my smartphone to read the chip in my passport. That sent the im- age of me in the chip to the Australian authorities. When I arrived in Austra- lia, I didn't even have to get my passport out of my bag. It is a really interesting concept. Trials of the technology are expected to begin at airports some time this year before the opening of a procurement process for the gates. Britain is already introducing elec- tronic travel authorisation (ETA) for foreign arrivals who do not need a visa. Passengers are required to download an app, answer questions, scan their passport and provide a photograph. Only those granted ETA can board flights to Britain. The scheme is being used for Qataris and will extend to citizens of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emir- ates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan next month. It costs £10 per passenger. The Home Office intends the ETA to be implemented for all visitors to the UK who do not need a visa for short stays, including European nationals, Biometric data on British and Irish travellers, obtained in the passport ap- plication process, are already held. Douglas said: "We will know a lot more information about people up front. We will know if they've been in the UK before. We'll know what their compliance with immigration laws Continued on page 2 Britons are world's best at eating their green Eleanor Hayward Health Correspo After a week of over-indulgence, of us will be under pressure to sw; Quality Street for some steamed Those dreading the prospect January health kick can take he thefact that Britons are already th in the world at eating their greer A study by the Organisation for nomic Co-operation and Develop showed that 33 per cent of those UK and Ireland ate five daily po of fruit and vegetables. This puts the two countries at tl of an international league table fi proportion of adults who ati recommended five-a-day. Acros 30 countries included in the stu average of 15 per cent of people re: this target. While Britain came out of the as a "nation of closet veggie chom in many eastern European cou less than 10 per cent of people eal five-a-day. Only 2 per cent of Rot ans met the standard, putting th the bottom of the table. The prop was 20 per cent in France and o per cent in Germany. Rob Percival, head of food pol the Soil Association, said: "This n the first time the UK has topped a pean league table for the right rea There was still room for img ment, he added, urging those w not have five portions a day to try their intake as a new year's resol "One of the best ways you can c is to sign up for an organic veg be to choose a local supplier if you then not only are you eating we you are doing your bit for the p wildlife and local sustainable gro he said. The NHS and the governmer commend eating five portions o and vegetables a day, with all frozen, fried and canned fruit and tables counting. The fibre and nut in vegetables help to maintain a h gut, boost the immune system reduce inflammation. This cuts th of chronic conditions including I diabetes and heart disease, as w helping people to stay a healthy w What to eat and when: the new mi times, Times2 IN THE NEWS Avalanche deaths A British mother and son, Kate Vokes, 54, and Archie, 22, died in an avalanche while skiing off piste in the French Alpine resort of Saint-Gervais- les-Bains. News, page 7 Income tax cut likely Rishi Sunak is said to be weighing up cuts to income tax over inheritance tax in the spring budget in an effort to boost his party's electoral fortunes. News, page 10 Crocodile rescue A safari guide clung all night to his sunken vehicle in a South African river filled with crocodiles. Michael Turner said a navigation app sent him to a flooded ford. News, page 13 Xi boots out generals President Xi's attempts to rid China's military of corruption has led to a purge of top generals as he increasingly signals the potential of conflict with Taiwan. World, page 27 A greener Airbus "Flapping wings" inspired by albatrosses, which could one day change the face of passenger aviation, will begin tests at Airbus's Filton campus near Bristol. Business, page 31 Gunners setback The Arsenal manager Mik Arteta tore into his side aft second consecutive defea 2-1 at Fulham - put their Premier League challenge in doubt. Sport, page 52 TIMES £2.80 £2.00 to subscr (based on a 7 Day Print and Digital Subsi IT'LL BE ALL WHITE ON OSCAR NIGHT Black stars boycott 'racist' awards SEE PAGES 6 & 7 STILL TIME TO JOIN IN 'Tide of refugees" filling Europe UK to take more in rule change