Discourse and Narrative Issues of News Analysis - Essay Example

?RUNNING HEAD: News Analysis News Analysis ID Teacher’s Dis and narrative analysis are the fundamental techniques of critically analyzing the story presented in television and print media. In a literal sense, discourse can be explained as the usage of language for the purpose of delivering meanings during the discussion. Discourse itself is affected by the social context in which it is used and also by the source and the conditions in which it is delivered. Discourse analysis helps in understanding how language provides meaning to a certain discussion or debate. With the help of this conception, several themes emerge during discourse analysis. For the purpose of understanding discourse and its types, a rigorous narrative analysis of news stories retrieved from the newspaper The Globe and Mail and CBC Network’s broadcast are used. The news story itself is related to Pope Benedict’s resignation that was announced on 11th February, 2013. Critical analysis of the story helped in understanding how the dominant discourses construct a story for the audience with structure of roles and point of views being the important factors, and helps them derive meaning out of it,. In the given story, moral, religious and legal discourses are apparent in the language used in the news paper article published in The Globe and Mail. The headline stated, “Pope Benedict’s sudden resignation reveals an independent mind” followed by a great deal of explanation about his modesty and him being knowledgeable of limits imposed on him by the moral obligations toward Church. The figure speech illustrates how the newspaper has declared Pope to have complete command over his decisions and who cannot be suppressed by external social variables. This is where the speech recognizes his legal right of being independent. Legal discourse is also apparent in the news article due to phrases like reasonably solid reforms, good CEO, holding individuals accountable. Furthermore, it can be observed that where sudden resignation is attempting to add anxiety in the minds of readers, it is equally attempting to portray Pope as a dominant and sovereign figure. Following discussion about his modesty illustrates how moral discourse is being used for the purpose of defining him to be a man of high morality. Where sexual abuse of children by priests has made headlines of news worldwide, stirring major controversy about Church and Pope Benedict himself, this article is developing a persona of a just man who has undertaken his responsibility of avoiding future abuse. On the other hand, exploratory analysis of discourse used in CBC news broadcast regarding Pope’s resignation showed medical, legal and moral discourses. It was observed that a huge part of speech was attempting to define the repercussions of diminishing health conditions on Pope’s ability to pursue as the leader of the Church. His condition has been described as being feeble, weak and tired with frequent absences from the office of Pope. Special emphasis on Pope’s brother’s statement illustrate how the news reader is trying to provide medical justification to Pope’s actions by stressing on specific words that had medical value attached to them. Another major theme emerging is legal discourse when the news reader attempts to describe Pope’s action as an obligation towards church i.e. if he cannot perform well, he should leave, providing legal justification to the resignation. The words used to elaborate the surprised responses of Vatican Cardinal and Christians all around the world however demean the moral statue of his action. Phrases like “the Pope took them by surprise” or “gravity of this gesture” illustrates how the news reader is questioning the morality behind his actions. Discussion about Pope Benedict not being part of new selection process defines that there is a moral and legal discourse visible illustrating that Pope will not add bias to the selection process or conclave. Second part of news coverage uses legal and religious discourse explicitly. The second part is concerned with coverage of the world’s reaction about Pope’s resignation. Phrases like ‘religious leaders and statement of Jew Rabbis’ also added religious meaning to the discourse while defining moral support for the Pope. Another important part of the discussion entails questioning about legal proceeding of the Vatican. News reader appears to be concerned about the legality of the selection, credibility of the front runners and also repercussions of this resignation in the Church. Legality and morality of the whole issue is being questioned time and again when the possibility of new Pope being from developing parts of the world is discussed. Narrative analysis of these two news stories will help us identify how the characters in these two different mediums are structurally positioned giving meaning to the story. Beginning with what makes things happen, it can be seen that Pope Benedict’s health is a major determinant which has given rise to a situation that has never taken place in past several centuries. Second part of narrative analysis is related to evaluation of the point of views presented in these two news stories whereas the sequential order helps in defining meanings presented through these points of view. In CBC’s story coverage, the news readers were often found referring to the responses of the Vatican Cardinal and Christians around the world. Where the story was about Pope Benedict’s resignation and was ought to present the possible reasons behind it, it was found that story presented Vatican’s’ point of view i.e. possible causes and repercussions, questions about selection of new Pope, position of Pope Benedict and Christian PR machinery. The story began with the news of Pope Benedict’s resignation, used statements of Pope’s brother to add weight into claims about his health and then progressed with discussion of Pope’s rights and obligations towards Church when he is not in a capacity of leading the Church. In the later part of the story, legal discourse about selection of new Pope and efficiency of Christian Public Relations Body is dominant. Such sequence of events forces the viewer to observe it as a controversial course of events. On the other hand, The Globe and Mail have presented their point of view without any reference to external variables. The story begins with the statement about honorability and self-righteousness of Pope Benedict’s decision and moves on with only discussing his life and achievements as a church leader. There is a little discussion about Pope’s approach towards priests involved in Child abuse but this part is well-undermined with discussing his success stories in the first and last section of the story leaving reader to perceive only writer’s or newspaper’s point of view. As far as structural roles in the given narratives are concerned, CBC’s coverage is more interested in presenting the views of Church and its governing body. Where there are no references to gender-based issues, the persona of a Pope in Christianity is delivered as a role that finishes only with death. Furthermore, the discussion by two female news readers and a male news reader adds a neutral tone with no gender bias and personal objectivity. On the other hand, the news itself is more oriented towards coverage of the reactions shown by the Vatican Cardinal and effects of a decision taken by Pope with a constant reminder that such decisions has not been taken in hundreds of years. Hence, Pope Benedict’s brother’s structural role is pre-dominated by Vatican’s incredulous reaction. On the other hand, The Globe and Mail has Pope’s role dominating the whole story. With no references to external integers, the news paper has presented an idea that Pope was righteous to resign due to his health issues and during his tenure, he has been an effective leader. Print and television media utilize binary opposition to develop more appeal in a certain piece of news along with providing it a distinguished meaning and helping in organization and categorization of knowledge. Binary oppositions and conflicts help on providing initial order to complex issues present in news. Like other news, information about Pope Benedict provided by The Globe and Mail and CBC news was made more powerful by using binary opposition in discourse. In the broadcast by CBC news, the news anchors were often found using word incredulous for the aides of Pope giving more conflicting image to the matter. Furthermore, reference to Pope Benedict’s book simultaneously made Pope righteous of using his fundamental right along with making it his obligation to step down. Similarly, expressions like ‘first time in hundreds of years’ and ‘No one is sitting in Church’s top most hierarchy’ stirred more heat in the whole piece of news. Another interesting use of binary opposition was performed for the Vatican Cardinal and Christian public relations machine to be well-aware and incredulous at the same time. Similar use of binary opposition and conflicts was observed in The Globe and Mail article when they described Pope to be of independent mind and aware of his limits. This comparison illustrates how Pope has made a right decision after considering his authority and obligation simultaneously. Conflicting nature of authority and responsibility that is pre-established and defined, helps the reader to develop a perception of how Pope has made a right yet difficult decision. Furthermore, comparison of Pope Benedict and his predecessor’s writing styles is illustrated with the help of words ‘clarity’ and ‘dense’ respectively. Other expressions of opposition include words like flat against mystery and self-aware against independent. While discussing the hierarchy of discourses, it is visible that moral, religious and legal discourses are eminent in the news coverage by CBC network with legal discourse being the dominant one. On the other hand, the news paper coverage follows a hierarchy of discourses with moral discourse being more persuasive, followed by a legal discourse. As far as gender positioning is concerned, both the stories are quite neutral in their approach. No indication to male/ female issues and use of mixed news readers illustrates this positioning. Coming over to the ending, it can be seen that CBC’s news coverage was rather open-ended leaving viewer to expect more and think more about the event. The story has many areas that require further continuity and inflow of more information i.e. date of resignation, division in church, selection of new Pope, Pope Benedict’s new role, statements of PR machinery etc. Whereas, the newspaper article is fairly close-ended leaving no room for new arguments as it states that Pope’s decisions reflects complete awareness of his responsibility and authority, leaving reader to not anticipate anything further. Dominant discourses in the news coverage and newspaper article have constructed the story in a certain fashion. The story in CBC’s news coverage has legal discourse as a dominant discourse, followed by moral and medical discourse which has allowed audience to view the natural environment in which the Church operates along with certain indication to identity of the central characters. These discourses allow the viewers to understand the effects of old age and disability on the functionality of Pope along with moral stature and identity of his decision. On the other hand, the discussion about new Pope being from developing parts of the world has allowed readers to view and understand the racial and economic attributes of the Church and its proceedings. On the other hand, the news paper article is dominated with moral and legal discourses while focusing on the identity of Pope Benedict. Narrative and discourse analysis of Pope Benedict’s resignation coverage by CBC network and The Globe and Mail has helped in understanding how the dominant discourses construct the story for the audience. The two stories had different discourses with legal discourse being the dominant one in CBC’s coverage and moral discourse being the eminent one in the news article. These differences mainly exist because of the manner in which point of views are presented and roles are structured in these two mediums with CBC’s approach being of exploratory nature giving more attention to different aspects of the issues whereas news article being dominated with discussion of Pope’s effectiveness only. This examination of two stories from different mediums helped in understanding that narrative and dominant discourse in Canadian society are the fundamental factors giving shape to a certain story reflecting the social norms and ideology of the story tellers. References (2013, February, 11). Pope Benedict to Resign. CBC News. Podcast retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/02/11/bc-pope-resigns-vancouver-reaction.html (2013, February, 11). Pope Benedict’s Sudden Resignation Reveals an Independent Mind. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/editorials/pope-benedicts-sudden-resignation-reveals-an-independent-mind/article8467574/?service=mobile Television News Summary Date of Original Broadcast: 11th February, 2013 National Network source: CBC The National: v Length of news report: 7-8 minutes Issue or event reported: Resignation of Pope Benedict National or international location: Vatican, Rome Anchor(s): Unknown Reporter(s): Ann McMillan, John (Last name could not be understood) Interview Subject(s): Reasons for Pope’s resignation and its repercussions on Church, Reactions of Vatican Cardinal, selection of New Pope Location(s) of live or taped footage: Vatican Rome Briefly describe the sequence and types of content included in this news report (anchor comments/questions, reporter comments/questions, interview subject comments/statements, live/taped footage, still shots, tables/graphs, voice-over, etc): The story began with news about Pope Benedict’s resignation. The anchor asked questions about the reasons of the resignation, statement of Pope’s brother regarding his decision and reaction of Vatican Cardinals. Further questions were asked about the process of new Pope’s selection and possible effects on Church and Christians all across the world. All these questions were answered accordingly by the reporters. One of the reporters shared information about new Pope being from developing parts of the world. Live footage has been shared about resignation of Pope addressing Vatican cardinal and the press conference of Vatican representative about the subject matter. Voice over was observed during parts of these footages. Read More