Online Newspapers Research Articles

Pragmatic Perception of Sensationalism: A Comparison of British and Malaysian Online Newspapers Headline Constructions

This study examines the pragmatic features of sensationalist headlines in online newspapers, comparing The Times (UK) and The Star (Malaysia) in 2024. Using discourse analysis on 60 headlines, we investigate how sensationalism shapes public opinion in the digital age. The research addresses a gap in cross-cultural analysis of media influence and aims to enhance media literacy. Results indicate that headline writers employ various pragmatic elements, with speech acts being the most prevalent, to convey intended messages and engage readers. Both overt and implicit use of pragmatic features effectively express themes of victory and liberation across both publications. While the study provides insights into pragma-linguistic strategies in sensational headline construction, its limited sample size suggests the need for broader future research. The findings offer valuable insights for media practitioners, researchers, and consumers, highlighting the importance of critical media consumption in an era of increasing sensationalism.

Public debate about the model change in Hungarian higher education: The representation of radical changes in university governance in Hungary in politically opposing online newspapers between 2019 and 2021

The Hungarian higher education (HE) system went through a transformation, the so-called “model change” in the last years. During this process, the majority of public HE institutions were transformed into institutions maintained by private foundations. This paper focuses on the media representation of this transformation by analysing all relevant articles about the transformation (169 in total), published between 2019 and 2021 from two of the most active online journals on the topic representing the main opposite political sides (mno.hu and hvg.hu). Our analysis reveals the main actors as well as the arguments for and against the model change. The media representation in the Hungarian context is particularly important because there was not any governmental White Paper about the process. Therefore, Hungarian media served as the primary source of information to the public about the goals (and later the critiques) of the model change. However, the inner structures of the pros and cons expose how the two sides talk at cross-purposes, with minimal reactions to the arguments of the ‘other side’. This resulted in „monologizing” instead of any real dialogue.

The Controversy of Social Forestry Policy: Public Reaction on the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Decree No. 287/2022/KHDPK in Java, Indonesia

Social forestry in Java, Indonesia, refers to policies and practices aimed at involving local communities in management and protection of forest areas. The study focuses on the controversy surrounding Decree No. 287/2022/KHDPK of the social forest policy which was rejected by local forest communities and public. The primary contribution of this research is to investigate the reasons behind the rejection on the Ministry of Environment and Forestry regarding Forest Areas with Special Management (KHDPK) policy, particularly the reduction in the forest area it entails. The main stakeholder involved in this controversy include Perum Perhutani, which has a vested interest in maintaining control of 2.4-million-hectare of forest land in Java. A qualitative research method was employed, using a case study approach applied for content analysis. Data were gathered from online newspapers and social media reports published between April 2022 and October 2022. The results indicates that the ongoing controversy reflects a disharmonious relationship between regulators and operators in implementing Agrarian Reform and Social Forestry policies on Java Island. The data suggest that the failure to manage the dialogue between stakeholders can create a challenging environment for the sustainability of both people and forests. Furthermore, involvement of stakeholders in the formulation and implementation of new environmental policies can foster better relationships. This study also highlights the critical role of dialogue and collaboration among regulators, operators, local communities, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders.

Small data in der linguistischen Diskursanalyse?

Quantitative approaches and big data analyses are widespread in current discourse linguistic studies and have influenced the field considerably. However, building on Fix’ ONE-text-discourse-analysis (2015) and using the example of discourses around multilingualism, this paper will try and attempt an exemplary small data analysis, using a very small corpus of just three very different data samples in order to see what kind of insights can be gained with a strictly qualitative approach. The texts that were chosen deal with discourses around multilingualism in very different ways. They include an online newspaper article, language portraits by multilingual school children and a language learning video on methods how to study a language such as German. After analysing all three artefacts and their particular value and insights when it comes to research on discursive attitudes towards multilingualism in Germany, it shall be discussed whether and how this small data approach could generally be useful in combination with other discourse linguistic methods.

Online news coverage of migrants’ grief at a distance during COVID-19: A qualitative framing analysis

Grieving at a distance is a common and often challenging experience for migrants. As a result of travel restrictions and border closures, grieving at a distance became a focus of media reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper aimed to examine the representation of migrants’ grief at a distance during the pandemic in online newspaper articles. We used a qualitative framing analysis to analyze nine articles published in online international newspapers. Three frames were identified: Grief as an impossible situation, migrants left with impossible choices, and grief as culturally mediated. These frames focused on how the psychological experience of grief was intertwined with migrants’ broader societal and cultural contexts. They emphasized the complex choices migrants faced due to their personal situations and cross-cultural experiences. Findings offer insights into how the media depicts migrant experiences, thus shaping public perceptions of their grief and bereavement. They reveal the difficulties of transnational grief migrants experienced.

Radio Okapi online newspapers: Between media framing, conflict and peacebuilding

United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKOs) have incorporated a Public Information (PI) component to communicate with the public. This component has shifted from public outreach towards media reports on current events, including violent incidents. Few studies have assessed the contribution of the PI components of UN-led media. This article assesses the framing of Radio Okapi (RO) online newspaper articles to understand RO’s contribution to peacebuilding processes in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an ethnically highly polarized region where many sites are difficult to access. By analysing how RO reports on violent incidents in this region, the study identifies some shortfalls in RO’s PI role. Its framing of reporting can obscure the causes of conflict, for example, by equating ethnic communities with their armed actors and giving secondary importance to the direct victims of armed violence. Moreover, much RO reporting relies on uncorroborated and questionable sources of information, mostly provided by security services. Its framing is unlikely to contribute to sustainable peacebuilding processes and thus does not meet the PI aspirations of UNPKOs. This article suggests that journalists should be empowered with background skills and knowledge relevant to peace journalism, framing news reports in ways that help tackle the root causes and drivers of violent conflict.

Markaðsvæðing frétta: Greining á innihaldi frétta í tveimur dagblöðum og tveimur vefmiðlum fyrir og eftir hrun

Miklar breytingar hafa orðið í fjölmiðlun undanfarna áratugi. Breytingarnar eiga sér pólitískar, efnahagslegar og ekki síst tæknilegar rætur og hafa m.a lýst sér í samþjöppun eignarhalds, aukinni markaðsvæðingu og harðnandi samkeppni. Erlendar rannsóknir benda margar til þess að þessi þróun hafi haft veruleg áhrif á blaða- og fréttamennsku og fjölmiðlar leggi aukna áherslu á fréttir af glæpum, íþróttum og frægu fólki, en minni á fréttir af stjórnmálum, efnahagsmálum eða alþjóðamálum. Ýmsir fræðimenn hafa einnig haldið því fram að þessa sjái stað í netmiðlum í ríkari mæli en hefðbundnum miðlum á borð við dagblöð, þar sem eiginleikar netsins og stafrænnar miðlunar ýti undir slíkt. Ísland hefur ekki farið varhluta af þessum breytingum, en lítið er vitað um áhrif þeirra á efnið sem fjölmiðlar framleiða. Í þessari grein er gerð grein fyrir niðurstöðum rannsóknar á innihaldi frétta í stærstu dagblöðum og veffréttamiðlum hér á landi árin 2005 og 2013, eða fyrir og eftir efnahagshrunið 2008. Þær benda til þess að umfang frétta af pólitík og efnahagsmálum sé hlutfallslega minna nú en var fyrir hrun, en svokallaðar mjúkar fréttir, af íþróttum, afþreyingu og frægu fólki séu að sama skapi hlutfallslega fleiri. Það á einkum við um vefmiðlana en síður um dagblöðin.

A Relational Approach to Event Sustainability: Applying Actor‐Network Theory and Foucauldian Discourse Analysis to a Music Event

The framing of event sustainability should go beyond the greening of specific events and the event sector. Based on a relational approach, we used actor‐network theory and Foucauldian discourse analysis to investigate the debate on a music event sustainability. We collected and discursively analyzed online newspapers and social media data regarding this event’s sustainability. The findings showed a polarized discourse characterized by conflicting views on, for example, nature, and three missing discourses–academic, local community, nonhuman–which we identified as alternative discourses and leverage points for greater sustainability. These findings allowed us to conceptualize event sustainability as a catalyzing network of actors, ideas, and relationships attracted to magnetic poles powered by different understandings of central concepts. This study proposes an understanding of event sustainability in relational terms and its contribution resides in the combination of actor‐network theory and Foucauldian discourse analysis as a possible approach to such understanding.

PANDANGAN TENTANG PRAKTIK BEDAH PLASTIK DALAM ARTIKEL OPINI DI SURAT KABAR KOREA TAHUN 2010–2019

This research aims to reveal Korean’s perspectives on plastic surgery practices through a corpus-based text analysis of Korean online newspapers. The research used quantitative and qualitative methods to observe keywords, significant collocates, and semantic preference. The data used were 106 opinion articles about plastic surgery in Chosun Ilbo and Donga Ilbo (2010–2019). Keyword analysis shows that the most frequently used keywords are seonghyeong (189 times) and seonghyeongsusul (116 times). Analysis of significant collocates and semantic preferences revealed that plastic surgery was frequently discussed in relation to body parts, people (collocate yeoseong (women), junggukin (Chinese), hwanja (patient), gwangganggek (tourist)), country (collocate jungguk (China), hangguk (Korea)), intensity (gwadohan (excessive)), and effect (phihae (loss)), and others. Plastic surgery clinics are frequently addressed in terms of location (collocate Gangnam, Seoul), intensity (collocate daehyong (big scale)), and others. Based on the findings of this study, plastic surgery is primarily performed on local women and international patients, particularly Chinese tourists. Plastic surgery is also perceived as having a negative impact, being overdone, and causing numerous difficulties. Plastic surgery performed on foreign patients is considered as beneficial to Korean economic progress, but it should not be performed on Koreans.

Ideological Representations of People with Mental Illness in Malaysian Online Newspapers: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Ideological Representations of People with Mental Illness in Malaysian Online Newspapers: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Governance and Development of Tourism in Rural Areas through the Lens of Media in South Bukovina (Romania)

Agritourism and rural tourism represent an essential growing sector in certain EU regions, particularly in restructured and rebranded Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) like Romania that display important rural areas and face important societal and economic changes. The rapid growth of rural tourism activities in the South Bukovina region (historically overlapping most of Suceava County) led, in the new legislative frame, to the establishment of the first regional Destination Management Organization (DMO) in Romania. By an exploratory qualitative, mixed-method case study approach, this study underscores important factors for tourism development in the region, outlining rural and agritourism variables integrated into the public authorities’ discourse. The paper innovatively focuses on the semantic analysis of online newspaper media texts and videos, complementarily analyzed by appropriate software solutions. The main results emphasize the factors for tourism development in the area through a dual cluster centered around the multilevel governance and tourism management structures represented by public authorities on the one hand and the projects, investments, and EU funding on the other. Key stakeholders’ opinion underscored public–private partnerships, supportive administrative structures, tourism events and various natural and cultural resources as sustainable elements that contribute to the successful development of tourism in the region.

Conceptual Metaphor “MEDIA AS A TRAP” in Vietnamese and English online Newspapers

The study explores the conceptual metaphor of "MEDIA AS A TRAP" in Vietnamese and English, aiming to understand perceptions of media in these linguistic contexts. Using the theory of conceptual metaphor in cognitive linguistics, alongside descriptive and semantic analysis methods, the research establishes and analyzes the mapping from the source domain of "TRAP" to the target domain of "MEDIA." By examining metaphorical expressions in press texts, the study uncovers underlying cognitive models, including media as trickery and media as a scam. Survey data reveals similar frequencies of metaphorical expressions in both languages, with 110 instances in Vietnamese and 90 in English, indicating a shared understanding of the metaphor. The analysis highlights significant parallels and distinctions in the conceptual metaphor "MEDIA IS A TRAP" between Vietnamese and English, underscoring its universal cognitive and linguistic significance. Both languages employ similar conceptual metaphorical expressions, yet exhibit subtle differences reflecting distinct cultural perspectives.

Exploring climate change discourses on the internet: a topic modeling study across ten years

This study examines online discourses about climate change using automated text analysis. Samples of web contributions from various sources, such as blogs, online newspaper articles, readers’ comments, tweets, and others, were collected in 2013, 2019, and 2023. The major themes people talk about when discussing climate change on the internet were identified using structural topic modeling. The study also explored how people discuss climate change differently when using different types of media channels and how the main themes change over time. Six major topics were identified for each point in time; associations between topics and media types were examined. Three topics emerged repeatedly: Dispute over the reality and the implications of climate change, discussions about aspects of the science of climate change, and discussions about causes and consequences of global warming such as sea level rise. In 2019 and 2023, the topic of action (what to do) and the topic of looming disaster showed up repeatedly. Topics limited to one specific corpus were policy discussions, debates about emissions, about renewable energies, about agricultural implications, and expressions of despair. The topical structure could be organized in two general groups, one group containing more science-related topics, and another group containing expressions of dispute, disagreement, and affect. A significant correspondence between media type and prevalent topic could be detected. Media such as Twitter/X and comments are dominated by dispute and despair expressions, whereas media such as blogs and journalistic online articles are primarily concerned with scientific topics in general, as well as with specific topics concerning global warming or renewable energies. In sum, we found noteworthy topical invariances across ten years, and systematic correspondences between topics and media types. The study contributes to the understanding of online discourses about climate change and highlights the role of media type in shaping these discourses.

DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTION OF NEWS REPORTS ON PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS IN MALAYSIAN ONLINE NEWSPAPERS

Background and Purpose: As one of the most common trustworthy sources, online newspapers have been regarded as the primary source of knowledge among the public to obtain reliable and unbiased information. However, in the context of media coverage of people with mental illness, they are often portrayed negatively and regarded as unpredictable and dangerous, resulting in increased stigma and misunderstanding among the public at large. This study examines the discursive strategies used in Malaysian news articles in portraying mental illness and the linguistic devices used to successfully implement these strategies. Methodology: This study investigated 43 news articles published in popular Malaysian online newspapers to examine how issues related to mental health-related illnesses are discursively constructed and the linguistic elements that were employed to represent the complexities of the cases from a discourse analysis perspective. Findings: The results show that the local media use nomination, predication and argumentation strategies to legitimise people with mental illness. They are portrayed negatively and through various linguistic elements, primarily as perpetrators and offenders. Contributions: The study provides media professionals with nuanced information on responsible reporting of mental health issues and uses the media as a platform to destigmatise mental illness among the general public. Keywords: Discourse analysis, online newspapers, mental illness, media practice, stigma. Cite as: Mohd Ali, S. M., Wan Fakhruddin, W. F. W., Wan Adnan, W. N. A., & Azizan, E. A. (2024). Discursive construction of news reports on people with mental illness in Malaysian online newspapers. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 9(2), 371-401. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol9iss2pp371-401

The Role and Challenges of Women in Realizing Harmonious Families Towards Society Era 5.0 from an Islamic Law Perspective

This study aims to determine the Role and Challenges of Women in Realizing a Harmonious Family towards Society era 5.0. This research is descriptive qualitative research with the type or nature of literature research or literature research, as for the technique used, namely, researchers collect data related to research in the form of books, manuscripts, articles, previous research reports, and newspapers both online and offline and so on. The research results showed that women are creatures created by God (Allah) who have the nature of menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, and adjustment. Society 5.0 is a concept of changing social, economic, and educational life in the digital era, where almost all human work will be replaced by machines. The roles and challenges of women in realizing a harmonious family towards Society 5.0 are life changes, managing households, educating children, supporting husbands' work, and fighting for gender equality. The challenge is the role—double, gender inequality, work-family balance, unfettered internet access, and changing values and morals.

Discourses of Aging in a Malaysian Online Newspaper: Shaping of the Perceptions of Society

Media representations of aging and older adults is an influential platform for shaping public discourse about aging related matters. Previous research has highlighted that the media’s depictions of older adults are often limited and biased. Such representations significantly influence society’s perceptions of the aging population. With population aging being currently a global social concern, such negative representations raise critical questions about media’s portrayal of aging related matters. Taking on the view that aging is a socially constructed phenomenon, we undertake a Discourse Analysis of 83 online news reports on aging from May 2022 to May 2023, from Malaysia’s high readership online newspaper, The Star. The results unveil several dominant discourses associated with aging, such as discourse of implications, positive aging and negative aging. The study provides valuable insights into the language used and the portrayal of aging populations in newspapers which play a vital role in shaping societal perceptions of aging, which can be either favourable or detrimental for the aging population’s self-worth and dignity. We advocate for more positive portrayals using inclusive language that is crucial for developing a cultural mindset that appreciates and honours the dignity of older members of society.

‘Cheap, Scientific and Free From Danger’: Accounting for the Development of Field Hockey in Aotearoa New Zealand

Hockey’s emergence as an organized sport in New Zealand is typically regarded as having occurred during the 1890s. Reverend Henry Mathias, who formed the Kaiapoi Hockey Club in 1895, has been credited with a particularly influential part in the game’s development. Indeed, there is considerable truth to this foundation story in that the formation of clubs in Christchurch was the catalyst for the adoption of the 11-a-side form of the game played under the rules of the Hockey Association of England. Arguably, however, these 1890s developments represent a reformatory phase rather than an origin story in and of themselves. The analysis of online newspaper records contained in this paper suggests a widespread presence of informal games from at least as early as the 1860s, through to the formation of the Dunedin Hockey Club in 1876. Hockey also appears to have been played in schools from at least as early as the 1870s and, outside of school, was sometimes associated with ‘larrikinism’. By the 1890s, though, it was perceived to be a respectable game, supported by dedicated patrons and a much more developed sporting infrastructure in New Zealand.

Data Visualization in the Online Newspaper: Efficacy and Multidimensionalities

Data Visualization in the Online Newspaper: Efficacy and Multidimensionalities

Discourses on sexual harassment against women: knowledge shared in news from the online newspaper A Gazeta

Este artigo tem por objetivo analisar o conhecimento do jornal/jornalistas acerca do assédio sexual contra mulheres, bem como verificar se as notícias reforçam estereótipos. Este trabalho está fundamentado, principalmente, na perspectiva teórico-metodológica Sociocognitiva de Análise Crítica do Discurso (ACD), além de abordar relações de gênero; o papel da mulher e do homem nos espaços sociais; e dados de pesquisas sobre crimes de assédio sexual no Espírito Santo. A análise indica aspectos negativos que podem influenciar na construção, manutenção e reprodução de ideologias machistas e de nenhuma contribuição para acabar com a violência de gênero.

Genre Analysis of Movie Reviews in Malaysian Online Newspapers: Uncovering Structural Patterns

Genre Analysis of Movie Reviews in Malaysian Online Newspapers: Uncovering Structural Patterns