Week 5 - "Approaches to Media Analysis"

Week 5 continues, "Approaches to Media Analysis", which delves into the Analytical side of media. 3 topics discussed:

1. Linguistic and Socio-Linguistic Analysis.
2. Conversational Analysis.
3. Semiotic Analysis.

Linguistic Analysis:

Ways of looking at how language, used within the media, can be of interest to linguists for their own purpose. Eg, Newspaper Headlines. We I mean is, The way in which a newspaper uses the front page, and what words go onto the front page are all selected with good reason, and there are many factors that are dependant on how a headline is worded. Even something as arbitrary as spacing on the front page is important as to what wording can be used.

The choice of language is dependent on the audience that the text is aimed at. Such as, skilled workers, professionals, office workers, manual labourers etc. This effects the type of language used, as in the words that the person uses, but also, the accent plays a key role in how the piece of media is presented. Eg, Dundalk FM being delivered by a person with a Cork or strong inner Dublin city accent would not have the same affect, because of the area of the radio station.

Conversational Analysis:

Ethnomethodology, an interpretive approach to sociology which focus upon everyday life as a skilled accomplishments and upon methods people use to produce it.

Formulation: A widely used device interviewers use to summarize what interviewee's have said.

John Heritage (1985), sees Formulation as a technical device which interviewers use to manage interviewers within constraints under which they are forced to operate.

• One constraint is the presence of a listening audience. The need to keep an audience interested, by drawing out/clarifying what the interviewee says.
• Another constraint is the requirement on interviewers to maintain a stance of formal neutrality. Gearing an interview one way rather than another.

Interviewees don't always answer the question, a case more commonly associated with politicians. Sometimes they answer the question by introducing topics of their own. As we discussed in class, politics is a hard area for an interviewer, you need to be stern, but without startling the interviewee away from answering more in-depth questions, and if something comes their way that they do not like the sound of, then they will divert the question and word it in a way that doesn't answer it, but introduces another question which they then answer themselves. Evading they critical questions, for what reason, probably to save their own skin, or that of a party or party member. No other thought comes to mind than that of Irish presidential candidate, Sean Gallagher. Just watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOAHJ6y94DY

Semiotic Analysis:

John Hartley conducted an important study of news in 1978 and focused upon the semiotic codes and conventions which underlie both linguistic and visual aspects of news stories.

-Categorization of stories into smaller number of major topics.

-The effect of news values on the treatment of topics (is it news worthy? Valuable?)

-Audience address, The operation of broadcasters as "mediators" who translate news into common sense terms of audience.

-Use of conventional communication style.

-The Structuring of the news stories.