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verb and subject; the use of short words ('bid' instead of 'attempt'); the widespread use of puns, word play and alliteration; the importance of word order, with the most important items placed first, even, in some cases, a verb; and independent constructions not linked to a main clause.
All these aspects are evident in this study, although not to the same degree.
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serves as an example of anaphoric, since the reader has to go back to past articles to understand who the sugarcane killer is. The presupposition here is that the reader already knows the sugarcane killer.
3 arrested for killing KZN couple:
‘three what?’ is the question raised. The reader has to interpret the reference to give to the noun.
Headlines also possess pragmatic presuppositions where the reader could feel pressure to act on something as opposed to just being informed about an issue.
Two seen after train driver's murder (December 27, 20:18, 2012)
seems to serve not only as informative, but also to implore the reader to seek or watch out for 'the two'. The power of all forms of presuppositions is derived from the fact that they remove what is presupposed from direct argument. Through the journalist's 'sleight of hand' a presupposition is established as fact. Presuppositions seem to go unchallenged.
The analysed headlines also seem to create an all-round picture, an all-encompassing view of persons and locations. Phrases such as 'North West dad'; 'teens'; 'Sharpeville residences';
'Woman held'; 'Pastor', etc., seem to give a general view of things and almost paint a singular view of certain groups or people.
As already discussed, shared cultural, political and general knowledge give headlines some of their power to attract. Headlines require 'decoding' and readers receive intellectual satisfaction after successfully doing so. The sense of belonging to a community can be reinforced through this process (Devereux, Haynes, & Power, 2011). To serve their noble purpose in society, news agencies should value accuracy over stylistic or pragmatic concerns. More recommendations will be reserved for the last chapter.
5.4.1. Quoting for Authenticity
The articles studied contain vast amounts of direct and indirect speech. Articles tend to put strongly-worded statements in quotation marks and milder statements are in reported speech.
Statements said by police seem to be the ones mainly placed in quotations. Almost all the articles analysed have a police official quoted and not merely reported as in the following excerpts:
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“The suspect is presently out on bail and is expected to appear in the same court on 11 February for extradition proceedings," said Colonel Tammi Shai in a statement.
[December 21, 14:38, 2010]
"The man was arrested at his house in the Osindisweni area on Wednesday," Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Mdunge said. [December 29, 10:05, 2011]
"The MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo said on Wednesday the man should consider himself fired. We have already sent him a suspension letter." [December 29, 10:05, 2011]
"The suspects might be linked to more cases. This arrest is the culmination of extensive police work and collaboration between various units within the SAPS," said Ferreira.
[December 23, 15:57, 2011]
"The boyfriend allegedly fled, the victim was then dragged to the bushes and raped by the five suspects," he (Lieutenant Colonel Mohale Ramatseba) said. [December 27, 13:21, 2011]
"A 17-year-old became very ill and succumed to his wounds whilst the other [teenager]
was assaulted by workers at the school after attempting to escape, and died of his injuries," Sergeant Karen Tredoux said in a statement. [December 15, 14:42, 2011]
Using quotations serves two functions, firstly to create the feeling of objectivity from the reporter.
Reporters are merely reporting other people's statements and comments while seemingly with doling their own opinions. Quotations are not seen bias because reporters are 'obliged' to tell readers what has been said by officials at press conferences and interviews. The second reason is to confer legitimacy (Patriotta, Gond & Schultz, 2011). By quoting police officials and other agents of justice, the articles seem to gain more authenticity and credibility. Quoting an official figure carries more weight compared to simply reporting.
Reported speech does not use the exact words said by someone unlike quotations, but it is a reconstruction of what was said:
A policeman said to have punched a motorist for not making way for a presidential convoy had his case postpone by the Thembisa Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
[December 7, 19:03, 2011]
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In an editorial published on Wednesday, the Sowetan newspaper compared the attack to attacks on journalists during apartheid. [December 21, 14:44, 2011]
He allegedly raped the 12-year-old girl and sexually assaulted two others aged 13 and 15. The 12-year-old told her teachers at school, who alerted the police. A month earlier, she told her mother she had been raped, but her mother did not believe her. The other two girls came forward after the 12-year-old reported the matter, said Makhubela.
[December 4, 16:37, 2012]
The journalist chooses to use indirect speech instead of direct. This affords him/her an opportunity to use their own words. The choice of words can influence the reading of the article as different words carry different shades of meaning. Certain statements can be withdrawn and more coverage given to others. The use quotations or indirect speech does not prove objectivity since it is still the journalist that chooses what to quote and where and how to place it in the article. The main agenda of the journalist remains as gaining readership as discussed in the literature review section.
To truly assess whether the reporter was being objective or not, we would need to have access to the full transcripts of interviews conducted to compare what was reported and what was withheld. Alternatively a comparison can be made between other articles of the same incident and try to arrive at the full picture. That endeavour unfortunately is beyond the scope of this study.
5.4.2. The Choice of Words
The tone of an article can be changed by a simple word, ergo the choice of words is very important. By the choice of one word instead of another, a whole different connotation can be made by the reader and affects the impression the article gives the reader.
The serial killer who murdered 13 women and dumped their bodies in sugarcane fields will be sentenced in January, the KwaZulu Natal High Court heard on Wednesday.
(December 29, 14:39, 2010)
Spate of child rapes in Limpopo (December 31, 16:00, 2010)
NTV said the attackers waited outside the commercial bank, one of them holding a pram where two Kalashnikov assault rifles where hidden. When the guards got out of their armoured truck and walked toward the bank with bags full of cash, the two assailants
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sprayed them with automatic gunfire, killing both on the spot. (December, 28, 21:29, 2010)
The 62-year-old was released on bail of R6 000 and the matter was postponed, said Warrant Officer Kay… (December 4, 16:37, 2012).
I expected to find a lot of biased words or at least words that create shock and awe, but the majority of the articles were quite neutral in their reporting. The reporting verbs used were of a neutral nature. Neutral reporting verbs are neutral in meaning and usually show how indifferent the speaker is towards the reported clause (Yamashita, 1999). When using neutral reporting verbs, the reporter avoids using giving their own opinion about the matter. The reporter is detached from the report and a sort of objectivity is achieved. One could argue that this is how reporting should be done since the main objective is to convey information. I must comment that it makes for very uninteresting reading.
Evident in the articles is also the use of positive reporting verbs. These verbs reflect a positive attitude to what the speaker said and is perceived to be as true (Thompson and Ye, 1991).
When positive reporting verbs are used, it indicates that the reporter affirms the position of the speaker. This further carries the notion of authenticity (Maxwell & Clanfield, 2000).
He said the complainant initially claimed he had sexually harassed her... (December 21, 14:38, 2010).
He said they tied her up with the man they were assaulting... ( December 20, 13:02, 2010).
She said Taki took advantage of the victims by promising them jobs and then took the little that they had. ( December 29, 14:39, 2010)
He said no arrests had been made yet but police were following several leads. ( December 27, 20:18, 2012)
None of the crimes were linked but all the suspect are known to police and many arrests have been made, he said ( December 28, 11:18, 2010).
He said two men stormed out of the shop, grabbed his camera and destroyed his memory card before chasing him. He then went to a police station to open a case a case against his attackers (December 21, 14:44, 2011).
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