Media Coverage of the Baltimore Unrest in the Op-Ed of “The New York Times”: A Case Study

Authors

  • Nashwa Elyamany Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), Smart Village, Egypt

Abstract

Newspaper Op-Ed articles are an important form of intellectual debate that communicate views on public policy matters and help shape public opinion. They are challenging, information-rich and persuasive short media texts imbued with worldviews, arguments, sarcasms and biases, hence providing salience cues regarding key national and international affairs. Recent police killings of citizens in the US have attracted mass coverage in the media, predominantly in the Op-Ed section of The New York Times in 2015. Informed by Critical Discourse Analysis, this case study is a multi-layered qualitative analysis of the Baltimore unrest media coverage, particularly in one article authored by a guest contributor in The New York Times. To identify how the nation-wide case of the Baltimore unrest is rhetorically represented in media discourse, the study is premised on Appraisal Theory and Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The paper aims to: first, pinpoint the inherent appraisal resources used by the author to frame his argument and dialogically position the intended audiences in (dis)alignment with his worldviews; second, showcase the metaphoric repertoire that serves his ideological stance.

Keywords

appraisal, attitude, conceptual metaphor, engagement, graduation

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Author Biography

Nashwa Elyamany, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), Smart Village, Egypt

An experienced assistant professor in EFL/ESP instruction/program coordination and a certified IELTS speaking examiner with a proven track record of academic achievements, professional development, leadership, intercultural communication skills and work proficiency. Interested in interdisciplinary research in culture studies, gender studies, new media, pragmatics, stylistics, cognitive linguistics, multimodal discourse analysis, language assessment, teacher training, Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Mobile Learning and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in light of solid background, extensive coursework and specialization in TEFL/TESOL and applied linguistics.

Published

23-10-2020

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