METHODS OF MEDIA RESEARCHMICHAEL MICHAEL (363916)SEBASTIAN HOFMANN (361958)

A Critical Discourse Analysis of two American newspapers’ articles about Occupy Wall Street demonstrations.

1. Introduction

To begin with, the theme of this study revolves around a topical issue, that is the ongoing

demonstrations of the Occupy Wall Street movement in the USA, which consists of an aggregate of

citizens protesting against social and economical inequality as well as the influential power of

corporations over politics and most importantly democracy. The battle is then taking place between

citizens, lobbyists or lay people who criticize the current status quo and claim their self as the have

nots vis-à-vis the haves (i.e.: government and corporations who possess the wealth). The common

denominator of this grassroots movement is its left-oriented origins which contrasts the neo-liberal

principles of Republicans.

Two articles were drawn from news outlets that have an oppositional ideological stance. On the one

hand, “Government Holiday a Boon for Occupy Wall Street Protesters” was extracted from Fox News

(www.foxnews.com) which represents and serves Republican ideals. On the other hand, the latter

article was traced from The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com) which serves

predominantly liberal interests.

Fox News, known to be more supportive of neo-liberal politics, reports about the expected increase in

protesters due to a national holiday, and the way their article presents this correlation is very

interesting for Critical Discourse Analysis: The seemingly unbiased assumption that due to a national

holiday the numbers of protesters may temporarily increase is formulated in a way that provides the

reader not only with the information, but with implicit (and yet at times very explicit) commentary

about the situation, as well as the “Occupy Wall Street” movement as a whole. The analysis therefore

might be able to illuminate the way objective facts are spun in favor of a single point of view, and how

this perspective is (blatantly as well as implicitly) transported in the text.

On the other hand, the latter article, although its title suggests an unbiased and balanced stance, it does

safeguard the interests of demonstrators by representing actively their voice through a series of

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testimonials (verbal reaction) and other schemas (lexical cohesion). However, the findings ultimately

reveal that the article implicitly and tactically strives to undermine Obama’s political role.

A meaningful objective of this research is to define how protesters and politicians are portrayed in

each newspaper and determine which group is depicted as the powerful and powerless in each case.

Since protestors are self-conceived as the 99% which in turn signifies a gap in wealth in comparison

with the top 1% (i.e.: the wealthy elite), the theme of both articles underline such concepts as power,

inequality and struggle which are epitomized by Marx’s Conflict theory. Giddens (2009) argues that

conflict perspectives tend to regard society as an organism composed of different groups pursuing their

own interests. The existence of separate interests entails the potential of conflict and means that some

groups will benefit more than others.

Hence, the employment of critical discourse analysis is paramount in “uncovering the representational

properties of discourse as a vehicle for the exercise of power, an approach exemplifying Foucault”

(Bryman, 2008: 508). In doing so, the study employs four types of analysis (i.e.: transitivity, thematic,

lexical cohesion and macro-structure) to appropriately meet the methodological standards of Critical

discourse analysis as a scientific research tool.

2. A comparative analysis of the two sample texts

The transitivity analysis in Text 1 (see Table 1) revealed a great inequality regarding the centre of

attention between protesters and political parties/politicians/large organizations within the article.

Protesters are the textual participant in only four out of 17 cases, while the majority of textual actors

consist out of unions and political parties. This gives an idea about the point of view taken by the

author, portraying the protests as negatively affecting bigger (and thereby implicitly implied; more

important) organizations. The thematic analysis (see Table 2) supports this argument. On the contrary,

in the latter text, there is a profound representation of demonstrators and activists as the main actors or

sayers against those in power (e.g.: American government). For instance, a glance at table 5 reveals

that demonstrators are frequently established as the main participants and the verbs that follow in the

process column have a rather negative connotation (e.g.: disgusted, is a lot worse, are cutting, accuse,

blamed, etc) in relation to the participants that are receiving the attribution or action. Transitivity

analysis for Text 2 implies the agency of demonstrators and their active role (either as actors or sayers)

in criticizing politicians and corporations for their capitalistic greed. Similarly, thematic analysis (see

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table 6) foregrounds the collective political mobilization of citizens regardless ideology (Wall Street

protesters, Tea Party activists, Republicans, etc) as unified front against Obama.

Taking a closer look at the lexical cohesion of Text 1 (see Table 3) article brought an interesting

connection to light: By constantly putting the holiday in strong context with any increase in numbers

of protesters, the article implies that without the aforementioned holiday, the amount of protesters

would at best stagnate. The implicit meaning of this is that people only turn to protesters when they

have nothing more important (like going to work), or “better” to do, portraying protesting as a sort of

free time activity by people with too much time on their hands (see Table 3i). Nonetheless, in Text 2,

lexical cohesion analysis underlines an anti-Obama motif, and it may be interpreted as a continuum of

the overall effort – as presented in the previous cases – to blame the government for the whole

situation and ultimately construct this fact as a reality. ‘Obama’ as seen in Table 7i, is multiply used in

many clauses. Conversely, Table 7 ii exhibits an attempt to emphasize on the one hand the adverse

situation that middle class confronts, and on the other hand the intense mobilization on behalf of

ordinary people against the dominant elites. Therefore, lexical choices generally allude to

everydayness and lay people. These recurrent patterns are very meaningful and vital for the purpose of

our study given that by directing people’s attention to certain ideas, and repeating the key information,

especially if this well crafted, the potential for creating the desired awareness is developed. (Lull,

2000).

Moreover, the protestors in Text 1 are further discredited by connecting them to a well-known,

comedian turned reality TV show star, Roseanne Bar, who is supporting the movement. The

commentary is expressed by the use of an exclamation mark in brackets, (“(!)”), blatantly suggesting

an inherent ridiculousness to this fact. (This ridiculousness is further enhanced be calling the protesters

“purported Robespierres”, ironically connecting them to one of the best-known and most influential

figures of the French Revolution.) The aim of the protesters is furthermore portrayed as “dangerous”,

connecting the protests to a “revolution”, implying major societal change, massive civil unrest, chaos,

anarchy and violence as part of the movement’s goals, thereby potentially scaring the reader about the

potential consequences of “Occupy Wall Street” (see Table 3ii).

The macro-structure analysis helped in determining the ratio between implicit and explicit commentary

(see Table 4). The times (indirect) speech is used consist of one statement in favour of the protesters

(“an expression of anxiety and frustration among the unemployed.”, Sentence 5) and two statements

supporting an anti-protest position (are dangerous anti-capitalists / Majority Leader Eric Cantor called

them “mobs”, Sentence 6). Three out of the eleven sentences contain explicit commentary, while three

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different sentences implicitly portray the connection between the national holiday and an expected

increase in protester numbers as described above, bringing the combined number of “non-neutral”

sentences to six out of eleven.

On the other hand, the macro-structure patterns in Text 2 (see Table 8) demonstrate an endevour to

blame the political factor, specifically President Obama - apart from the corporate factor - for the

adverse status quo. Although, textually the article contains elements of a news report as it exhibits

factual events at intervals (Paragraphs 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14) nevertheless, the verbal reactions

incorporated come to reinforce what the commentary or event previously stated aimed at

communicating. Apparently, this is strategically conducted to attribute more credibility to the action of

blaming Obama. Take for instance paragraph one. The columnist suggests that protesters are not

merely condemning Wall Street but also the Government, and then what follows in paragraph two is a

testimonial from an ordinary person – apparently a victim of this situation as he is stated as

‘unemployed’- who expresses that his social class is in a less advantageous position than when Obama

was elected. Besides, we can identify a pastiche of news reports and stories. In some cases, while some

parts of the text could be classified as facts, nonetheless, certain words communicated a sense of

dramatic dialogue, hence communicating bias. Examples of these are highlighted in the second line of

paragraph one, first line of paragraph 4, second line of paragraph 5.

3. Conclusion – Response to the Research Question

Content Discourse Analysis was in conclusion a very efficient method of illustrating how Fox News

warrants and (explicitly as well as implicitly) delivers its anti “Occupy Wall Street” position to its

readers. The analysis revealed how the argument against the “Occupy Wall Street” movement is

constructed from a conservative, right-wing, point of view. The agenda of the protesters, namely to

bring attention to the inequalities in distribution of wealth, are discredited by simultaneously ridiculing

and exaggerating their actions. The portrayal of protesters as “would-be Robbespierres” and

“dangerous anti-capitalists” could be considered as contradictory, but in the end follows the same

agenda, namely to convince the reader to not sympathize with “Occupy Wall Street”. Therefore my

findings can be considered to represent one side of the current political and social discourse regarding

the regulation of financial markets, supporting the position of Republicans, who favour less

government interference and free markets. On the contrary, Text 2 vividly mirrors the current inflamed

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social status quo in America but also in other international locales whereby similar versions of

‘Occupy’ uprisings take place against those who undermine social equality. The fact that grassroots is

frequently given voice reveals the empowerment that citizens currently possess but also their

indignation towards the Government which is represented as passive and impotent. Transitivity,

thematic and lexical cohesion analyses also demonstrate that the exploitation of the powerless by the

powerful concerns citizens holistically.

References:

Bryman, A. (2008). Social Research Methods (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Giddens, A. (2009). Sociology (6th ed.). Cambridge: Polity.

Lull, J. (2000). Media, Communication, Culture: A Global Approach. Cambridge: Polity.

Noveck, J. (2011, October). Protesters Want World to Know They’re Just Like Us. Long Island Press. Retrieved from http://www.longislandpress.com/2011/10/10/protesters-want-world-to-know-theyre-just-like-us-2/Appendices:

Table 1: Transitivity analysis of Text 1S/N PARTICIPANT PROCESS PARTICIPANT

1 Organizors [Demonstrators] {Actor}

are looking to capitalize on {Verbal}

Mainstream Democratic political leaders

2 private-sector employers {Senser}

observe {Mental: Perception}

Columbus Day

3 federal, state and local governments as well as many school districts {Behaver}

are {Relational: attribution}

closed

4 government-worker unions {Carrier}

are {Relational: attribution}

the backbone of the protests

5 the holiday{Actor} could provide a major boost {Material: action}

to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

6 Large unions {Carrier} are dominated {Relational: attribution}

by government employees

7 Large unions {Actor} have been increasingly driving (Material: action}

the protests and their messages

8 organizers and their political supporters {Sayer}

believe {Mental: Cognition}

counterweight to the [...] energy of the Tea Party movement.

9 Democrats {Sayer} have been suggesting the unemployed

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{Verbal}10 Republicans {Sayer} Have

suggested {Verbal}dangerous anti-capitalists

11 Majority Leader Eric Cantor {Sayer}

Called them {Verbal} mobs

12 would-be movement leaders {Sayer}

have been calling {Verbal}

for revolution

13 Power Play {Actor} has interacted {Material: action}

with some of these purported Robespierres

14 Power Play {Actor} observed {Mental: Cognition}

most were similar to the government-union sympathy protesters

15 they [activists] {Behaver} fear (Mental: affection} Republican government cutters

16 Government unions {Carrier} are being squeezed {Relational: attributive}

on all levels

17 President Obama and his allies {Actor}

try to gird themselves {Relational: attribution}

for next year’s conflicts

Table 2: Thematic Analysis of Text 1

S/N

Textual

Interpersonal

Topical Rheme

1 Organizers of anti-corporate protests

are looking to capitalize on growing support

2 today’s federal holiday

could be just the boost they need.

3 While far fewer private-sector employers

observe Columbus Day as a paid holiday

4 federal, state and local governments

are closed today

5 Since government-worker unions

are now the backbone of the protests

6 the holiday Could provide a major boost to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

7 Large unions like the SEIU and AFL-CIO

are dominated by government employees

8 have been increasingly driving the protests

9 so today’s holiday Could be key in getting the kind of attention

10 Democrats have been suggesting that the protests are an expression of anxiety and frustration among the unemployed.

11 Meanwhile Republicans have suggested that the protesters are dangerous anti-capitalists

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12 Majority Leader Eric Cantor

called them “mobs”

13 would-be movement leaders like Van Jones and Roseanne Barr (!)

have been calling for revolution

14 Power Play has interacted with some of these purported Robespierres

15 Government unions

are being squeezed on all levels

16 Others singled out Obama17 As President Obama

and his alliestry to gird themselves for next year’s conflicts

18 it will be important to cultivate this kind of negative enthusiasm in advance of the next election.

Table 3: Lexical Cohesion of Text 1

i) Holiday motif :

Organizers of anti-corporate protests around the country are looking to capitalize on growing support from mainstream Democratic political leaders and today’s federal holiday could be just the boost they need.

While far fewer private-sector employers observe Columbus Day as a paid holiday, federal, state and local governments as well as many school districts are closed today

Since government-worker unions are now the backbone of the protests, the holiday could provide a major boost to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Large unions like the SEIU and AFL-CIO, which are dominated by government employees, have been increasingly driving the protests and their messages, so today’s holiday could be key in getting the kind of attention organizers and their political supporters believe could provide a counterweight to the anti-government energy of the Tea Party movement.

ii) Occupy Wall Street is not a legitimate movement :

Republicans, meanwhile, have suggested that the protesters are dangerous anti-capitalists (Majority Leader Eric Cantor called them “mobs”), giving credence to the claims of would-be movement

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leaders like Van Jones and Roseanne Barr (!) who have been calling for revolution.

Power Play has interacted with some of these purported Robespierres over the past week in Washington and observed that while some were freelancers (like the guy with the sign deploring the high price and low quality of current movie-theater offerings), most were similar to the government-union sympathy protesters who demonstrated in Washington during the fight over Wisconsin’s collective bargaining law at the beginning of the year.

Table 4: Macro-structure Analysis of Text 1 (including numbering of sentences)

Government Holiday a Boon for “Occupy Wall Street” Protesters [HEADLINE]

By Chris Stirewalt [BYLINE]

(1) Organizers of anti-corporate protests around the country are looking to capitalize on growing support from mainstream Democratic political leaders and today’s federal holiday could be just the boost they need. [LEAD](2) While far fewer private-sector employers observe Columbus Day as a paid holiday, federal, state and local governments as well as many school districts are closed today. [BACKGROUND](3) Since government-worker unions are now the backbone of the protests, the holiday could provide a major boost to the Occupy Wall Street movement. [BACKGROUND](4) Large unions like the SEIU and AFL-CIO, which are dominated by government employees, have been increasingly driving the protests and their messages, so today’s holiday could be key in getting the kind of attention organizers and their political supporters believe could provide a counterweight to the anti-government energy of the Tea Party movement. [MAIN EVENT](5) Democrats have been suggesting that the protests are an expression of anxiety and frustration among the unemployed. [DD/EXPLANATION](6) Republicans, meanwhile, have suggested that the protesters are dangerous anti-capitalists (Majority Leader Eric Cantor called them “mobs”), giving credence to the claims of would-be movement leaders like Van Jones and Roseanne Barr (!) who have been calling for revolution.[DD/EXPLANATION/COMMENTARY](7) Power Play has interacted with some of these purported Robespierres over the past week in Washington and observed that while some were freelancers (like the guy with the sign deploring the high price and low quality of current movie-theater offerings), most were similar to the government-union sympathy protesters who demonstrated in Washington during the fight over Wisconsin’s collective bargaining law at the beginning of the year.[BACKGROUND/COMMENTARY](8) It’s not that they’re unemployed, it’s that they fear they will be if Republican government cutters get their way. [EVALUATIVE EVENT](9) Government unions are being squeezed on all levels after decades of boom times. [BACKGROUND](10) They are also the most important part of the Democratic base. [EXPLANATION](11) As President Obama and his allies try to gird themselves for next year’s conflicts, it will be important to cultivate this kind of negative enthusiasm in advance of the next election. [COMMENTARY/ EVALUATIVE EVENT]

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Table 5

Transitivity analysis of Text 2S/N PARTICIPANT PROCESS

1 Their chief target [Demonstrators] {Actor} is {Relational: identification}2 Demonstrators in New York and across the U.S. {Actor} thoroughly disgusted with {Mental: affection}3 The middle class {Sayer} is a lot worse {attribution}4 The Occupy Wall street movement […] {Actor} has drawn {verbal}5 Demonstrators {Actor} marched {Material: action}6 Tea Party activists { } became {Existential}7 Occupy Wall Street protesters {Actor} are cutting {Material: action}8 Obama on Thursday {Senser} acknowledged {Mental: perception}9 He (Obama) {Sayer} pinned {Verbal}

10 The protesters {Actor} are giving {Relational: attribution}11 Republicans {Actor} have resisted {Material: action}12 Mitt Romney and Herman Cain {Sayer} have criticized {Verbal}13 All the Republican contenders {Actor} have pushed back {Material: action}14 They [Republican contenders ] {Sayer} accuse {Verbal}15 Some [activists] {Sayer} blamed {Verbal}16 Others [activists] {Sayer} singled out {Verbal}17 He [President Obama] {Actor} has been overlooking {Verbal}

Table 6

Thematic analysis of Text 2S/N

Textual Interpersonal

Topical Rheme

1 Chief target is Wall Street2 Demonstrato

rsalso are thoroughly disgusted with Washington, blaming politicians of both major parties

3 The middle class

is a lot worse than when Obama was elected," said John Penley, an unemployed legal worker from Brooklyn.

4 The Occupy Wall Street movement

drawn a wide variety of activists, including union members and

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laid-off workers5 Demonstrato

rsmarched Thursday in Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and Anchorage, Alaska, carrying signs with slogans such as "Get money out of politics" and "I can't afford a lobbyist."

6 But while

Tea party activists

eventually became a crucial part of the Republican coalition, the Occupy Wall Street protesters are cutting President Barack Obama little slack

7 Occupy Wall Street protesters

are cutting President Barack Obama little slack. They say Obama failed to crack down on the banks after the 2008 mortgage meltdown and financial crisis

8 Obama acknowledged the economic insecurities fueling the nearly 3-week-old Wall Street protests

9 He pinned responsibility on the financial industry and on congressional Republicans he says have blocked his efforts to kick-start job growth

10 Protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works

11 Republicans have resisted such tax increases

12 GOP presidential candidates

have criticized the anti-Wall Street protests

13 All the Republican contenders

also pushed back against the demonization of Wall Street

14 They accuse the Obama administration of setting regulatory policies that have stifled job creation

15 While some blamed Republicans

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for blocking reform

16 Others singled out Obama

17 But He he has been overlooking jobs and not putting much effort into

Table 7: Lexical Cohesion of Text 2

i) Anti-Obama motif :

Also are thoroughly disgusted with Washington.

“At this point I don’t see any difference between George Bush and Obama, The middle class is a lot worse than when Obama was elected”.

The Occupy Wall Street protesters are cutting President Barack Obama little slack.

They say Obama failed to crack down on the banks.

They accuse the Obama administration of setting regulatory policies that have stifled job creation.

Activists expressed deep frustration with the political gridlock in Washington.

While some others blamed Republicans for blocking reform, others singled out Obama.

Quacy Cayasso, a Web designer, didn’t watch Obama’s news conference

ii) Pro-activists and working class people motif :

For policies they say protect corporate America at the expense of the middle class.

The middle class is a lot worse than when Obama was elected," said John Penley, an unemployed legal worker from Brooklyn.

Drawn a wide variety of activists, including union members and laid-off workers.

In a populist reaction against the bank and auto bailouts.

But while tea party activists eventually became a crucial part of the Republican coalition.

Thorin Caristo, an antiques store owner from Plainfield, Conn.

Robert Arnow, a retired real estate worker.

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Quacy Cayasso, a Web designer.

Table 8: Macro-structure Analysis of Text 2

Occupy Wall Street Protesters Fed Up With Both Parties [HEADLINE]

[1] NEW YORK -- Their chief target is Wall Street, but many of the demonstrators in New York and across the U.S. also are thoroughly disgusted with Washington, blaming politicians of both major parties for policies they say protect corporate America at the expense of the middle class. [EVALUATIVE EVENT/DD]

[2] "At this point I don't see any difference between George Bush and Obama. The middle class is a lot worse than when Obama was elected," said John Penley, an unemployed legal worker from Brooklyn. [VERBAL REACTION]

[3] The Occupy Wall Street movement, which began last month with a small number of young people pitching a tent in front of the New York Stock Exchange, has expanded nationally and drawn a wide variety of activists, including union members and laid-off workers. [BACKGROUND/EVENT]

[4] Demonstrators marched Thursday in Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and Anchorage, Alaska, carrying signs with slogans such as "Get money out of politics" and "I can't afford a lobbyist." [EVENT/ORIENTATION/DD]

[5] The protests are in some ways the liberal flip side of the tea party movement, which was launched in 2009 in a populist reaction against the bank and auto bailouts and the $787 billion economic stimulus plan. [COMMENTARY]

[6] But while tea party activists eventually became a crucial part of the Republican coalition, the Occupy Wall Street protesters are cutting President Barack Obama little slack. They say Obama failed to crack down on the banks after the 2008 mortgage meltdown and financial crisis. [COMMENTARY]

[7] "He could have taken a much more populist, aggressive stance at the beginning against Wall Street bonuses, and exacting certain change from bailing out the banks," said Michael Kazin, a Georgetown University history professor and author of "American Dreamers," a history of the left. "But ultimately, the economy has not gotten much better, and that's underscored the frustration on both the right and the left." [VERBAL REACTION]

[8] Obama on Thursday acknowledged the economic insecurities fueling the nearly 3-week-old Wall Street protests. But he pinned responsibility on the financial industry and on congressional Republicans he says have blocked his efforts to kick-start job growth. [EVENT/DD]

[9] "I think people are frustrated and the protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works," he said at a nationally televised news conference. "The American people understand that not everybody has been following the rules, that Wall Street is an example of that ... and that's going to express itself politically in 2012 and beyond." [VERBAL REACTION]

[10] The president has been pushing for a $443 billion jobs plan to be paid for in part through a tax on the wealthy. Republicans have resisted such tax increases. [EVENT]

[11] GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Herman Cain have criticized the anti-Wall Street protests. [EVENT]

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[12]All the Republican contenders have also pushed back against the demonization of Wall Street. They accuse the Obama administration of setting regulatory policies that have stifled job creation and say his health care overhaul will prevent many businesses from hiring new workers. [EVENT]

[13] In Zuccotti Park, the center of the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York [ORIENTATION]

[14] Activists expressed deep frustration with the political gridlock in Washington. [EVENT/DD]

[15] While some blamed Republicans for blocking reform, others singled out Obama. [EVENT]

[16] "His message is that he's sticking to the party line, which is `we are taking care of the situation.' But he's not proposing any solutions," said Thorin Caristo, an antiques store owner from Plainfield, Conn. [VERBAL REACTION]

[17] But Robert Arnow, a retired real estate worker, said the Republicans need to tell their congressional leaders, "You're standing in the way of change." [VERBAL REACTION]

[18] Quacy Cayasso, a Web designer, didn't watch Obama's news conference even though it was broadcast on TV monitors at the protest site in New York. [EVALUATIVE EVENT]

[19] "He's a cool president, but he was given a hard task," Cayasso said. "He should get some gratitude for what he's done so far, but he's been overlooking jobs and not putting much effort into that until now." [VERBAL REACTION]

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