When the “other” runs in front of the bull: a membership categorization analysis of a television news story

Abstract

Abstract This article analyzes a television news story using a particular example. In line with the research tradition of the ethnomethodological approach of membership categorization analysis, our main analytical concerns are (i) to understand the logic of practical reasoning and intelligibility involved in the production of the news story; (ii) to examine how this intelligibility is generated and what resources – such as commonsense knowledge of the social structures – are used to make the news story communicable; and (iii) to explore how specific forms of categorization employed in the news story are used to induce certain readings or to promote certain worldviews. The news story analyzed describes the progressive increase of foreign participants at the San Fermín running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. It also highlights the still minority participation by women at this massive event. The results of the analysis show that both “foreigners” and “women” are presented as being in the wrong place. Through association with their typical predicates, both “foreigners” and “women” are construed in the news story as the “other.” A final reflection is made on the concept of identity, which is understood as a situated accomplishment.