A Pragma-Dialectical Approach to Critical Media Discourse Analysis: A Case Study of an Editorial in The Washington Post

Abstract

Based on the research framework ofPragma-Dialectics, the study analyses andevaluates an editorial about Alibaba’s InitialPublic Offering (IPO) in The Washington Post todevelop a pragma-dialectical approach to criticalmedia discourse analysis. The approach consistsof four interrelated parts: reconstruction ofargumentation, analysis of strategic maneuvering,evaluation of reasonableness and social criticismon the basis of specific social reality. Theresearch results show that The Washington Postexerts different strategic maneuvering in thewhole argumentation process to convince itsaudience, which mainly reflected in themanipulation of potential topic, audience demandand presentation means. In the case study,strategic maneuvering is specifically supportedby the choice of starting points in the openingstage and the design of argumentation structurein the argumentation stage. Owing to theinfluence from the editorial board’s politicalstand and self-interest, it doesn’t balance thereasonableness and effectiveness and thereforesome manipulations contain fallacious moves.In order to prevent American investors to investAlibaba’s IPO, when using strategic maneuveringThe Washington Post violates freedom rule,standpoint rule and argument scheme rule,especially the application of argumentationscheme for the relation of analogy andargumentation scheme for a causal relation.