Linguistic Investigation of (De)Legitimization Strategies Used in News Topics

Abstract

Media is an important part of our daily lives, and it has many elements, such as cinema, news, etc. The goal of news agencies is to provide news to fulfill public needs in various fields, such as political ones. Political news should be based on a comprehensive analysis of facts, historical context, and the potential implications for different stakeholders. Understanding political news requires critical thinking and awareness of various perspectives. The data are eight selected topics from two news agencies (CNN and INA). Based on the qualitative approach, the study is conducted through the critical discourse analysis approach (CDA), in which the model is Van Leeuwen's legitimization strategy (2007). The article aims to identify the legitimization strategies used in the topics by investigating: a- which strategy is used mainly? What does it refer to? b- can ideologies/biases/power be revealed through topics only without the whole article? The article concludes that the authorization strategy is used more than rationalization. Authorization is connected to the political figures, and rationalization is connected more to the way the topics are formed. The article shows that power can be revealed mostly in the topics more than ideology or bias, as the last two need more information to be shaped.