The Rhetorical Structure of Editorials in English, Swedish and Finnish Business Newspapers Heli Katajamäki and Merja Koskela University of Vaasa Abstract In this article we will study the rhetorical structure of editorials in English, Swedish and Finnish business newspapers, Financial Times, Dagens Industri, and Taloussanomat. Our aim is to find out if there is a typical rhetorical structure for the editorials and if there are different types. Our analysis shows that the typical rhetorical structure for the editorials includes an introduction section, an intermediate section and a coda. When there is variation it concerns two stages of the rhetorical structure, i.e. the solution and the moral. Keywords: rhetorical structure, business newspapers, editorials, genre 1 Introduction Economical journalism is defined by its content. When it comes to form, however, it uses the same genres as general journalism, and according to Parsons (1989: 41), it has not introduced any genres of its own. Both newspapers for the general public and e.g. business newspapers have seemingly similar-looking editorial pages hosting a genre called the editorial. On a general level, the genre has the same communicative purpose irrespective of the type of journalism (cf. Swales 1990). However, genres are closely related to the discourses they co-occur with (Fairclough 1992), and economical orders of discourse might affect the ways editorials in business newspapers are structured rhetorically. In addition, cultural factors like the national culture of the writer and the ideology of the newspaper can cause variation within a genre. In this article we will study the rhetorical structure of editorials in English, Swedish and Finnish business newspapers, Financial Times, Dagens Industri, and Taloussanomat. We seek to answer the following questions: first, is there a typical rhetorical structure for the editorials in business newspapers irrespective of national and cultural features, secondly, if traces of such a structure can be found, are there different types and what are these, and third, what factors connected with the content of the text, language and culture seem to correlate with the different types. The results of the pilot study reported in this article will be used as a basis for the planning of a new research project on intercultural aspects of editorials in business newspapers.
2 Material and method The material of the study consists of 22 editorials from three business newspapers, Dagens Industri (DI, 7 editorials), Financial Times (FT, 7 editorials) and Taloussanomat (TS, 8 editorials). Among the editorials published in March 2006 at the top of the editorial page we have selected editorials that are not explicitly political and concern macro-economics. This means that the chosen editorials discuss economical questions from a national or international point of view rather than from the point of view of one individual, a political party or one company. The texts are descriptions of economical issues as processes concerned with the ups and downs of the economy. Despite our efforts to restrict the material to purely economical topics, the issues discussed sometimes have a political undercurrent, but in any case, the economical aspects prevail. Our method is based on argumentation analysis. Although the starting point is in the content, we are focusing on the rhetorical structure of whole texts. The analysis of argumentation starts with the interpretation of the primary thesis of the editorial. The interpretation is based on a pragmatic view supported by the reading of the whole text. This pragmatic view is a necessity, as the primary thesis cannot be found on the basis of semantic reasoning alone (Tirkkonen-Condit 1986: 375). We expect that there is a thesis in all the editorials studied, because editorials in business newspapers are realisations of instrumental discourse (cf. e.g. Tirkkonen-Condit 1986: 377). Editorials are used to influence an audience towards some end. In short, they are rhetorical by nature, and the argumentation in them is intended to resolve some difference of opinion (van Eemeren & Grootendorst 1984, van Eemeren et al. 1997: 218; see also Gill & Whedbee 1997: 157). As a starting point for our analysis we use a modification of van Dijk s view of the rhetorical structure of editorials. Van Dijk (1993: 265 266) divides editorials into three sections, which contain arguments (see also Nanri 2004: 13). These sections may contain several stages, which each have their own function (see Eggins & Martin 1997). Our model consists of the following sections and stages: 1) The introduction section, which describes an event or a critical state of affairs; 2) The intermediate section, where the text moves to the consequences of the event, and analyses them. The section can be divided into two stages, 2.1) intermediate stage which can include reasons, evidence or examples, and 2.2) solution; 3) Coda, which consists of 3.1) a conclusion, which closes the text. Sometimes the closing also contains 3.2) a moral, which we consider a stage of its own.
3 Results Most of the editorials in our material employ the structure composed of the sections and stages mentioned in our model. In this respect our material reminds closely of editorials in general newspapers (cf. van Dijk 1993; Nanri 2004), and proves right the conclusion that the editorial is a rather unified genre irrespective of the type of journalism it occurs in. The length of the editorials, however, varies depending on the newspaper. Notably, Dagens Industri has the longest, and therefore the most detailed editorials (up to 12 paragraphs), whereas the two other newspapers have editorials that have 5 8 paragraphs. As Table 1 shows, the rhetorical structure of our material shows little variation in spite of the fact that the texts represent three countries and three languages. The only noticeable exceptions to the rhetorical structure concern the solution stage (2.2) and the moral (3.2). CLASSES/ NEWSPAPERS DAGENS INDUSTRI (7) FINANCIAL TIMES (7) TALOUS- SANOMAT (8) ALL (22) 1. Introduction 7 7 8 22 section 2 Intermediate section 2.1 Intermediate stage 7 7 8 22 2.2 Solution stage 4 3 1 8 3 Coda 3.1 Conclusion 7 7 8 22 3.2 Moral 3 2 2 7 Table 1. The rhetorical structure in Dagens Industri, Financial Times and Taloussanomat. As shown in Table 1, the solution stage is fairly rare in Taloussanomat, but occurs in more than a half of the editorials in Dagens Industri. Our interpretation of what a solution is might differ from e.g. Nanri s (2004: 6). In his study of Japanese editorials, the last section of the rhetorical structure is a conclusion that provides the text-initial event with a solution. In our material, however, a solution, if there is any, seems to be a part of the intermediate section, and conclusions very seldom include solutions. The fact that the solution stage is more common in Dagens Industri than in the other two newspapers studied can be related to the length of the text, but this is not the only
explanation. Another explanation is that the topics discussed are such that a solution, as well as someone responsible for carrying it out, is possible to identify, which is not always the case when abstract macro-economical issues are discussed. According to van Dijk (1993: 265) the moral is an optional element in the rhetorical structure of editorials. In our material, a moral can be found in 7 texts of 22, again most often in Dagens Industri. Below Text 1 represents an editorial that has both a solution and a moral. Text 1. Bank of Japan starts the return to normal (FT10032006). 1) Introductory section Ending quantitative easing could prove perilously premature. (Headline, subheading, paragraph 1) 2) Intermediate section: 2.1) Intermediate stage: Quantitative easing has been above a necessary level, and the bank believed it was time to end it. Exceptional measures are justified by exceptional conditions. (Paragraphs 2 4) 2.2) Solution and supporting solution: The bank of Japan should attempt to target a rate of inflation of 2 per cent, at least. (Paragraphs 5 6) 3) Coda: 3.1) Moral: The Japanese experience of the past 15 years has had one clear and overriding lesson: in an exceptional situation, orthodoxy is far more dangerous than its opposite. (Paragraph 7) 3.2) Conclusion: The Bank of Japan has now taken a step towards the orthodox and is taking a risk in doing so. Let us hope that it will not, as a result, damage the recovery now under way. (Paragraph 7) The thesis of Text 1, that the Bank of Japan might have ended quantitative easing too early, is stated explicitly in the subheading in the form of a warning. In paragraph 1 a critical issue is introduced, i.e. that the Bank of Japan announced the end of quantitative easing and that this is a return to a normal situation. The following two paragraphs provide a background and reasons for the issue at stake. These two paragraphs (2 3) can be interpreted either as belonging to the introduction section or as a part of the intermediate section. We have categorized them as a part of the intermediate section together with paragraph 4, because even though the paragraphs describe past events they also support the thesis by providing reasons and evidence in the form of statistical information. The solution presented in stage 2.2 tells the Bank of Japan what it should do with respect to the rate of inflation if Japan is to be a normal country with a normal central bank. Evidently, the solution does not cover the whole problem, but only one part of it. This is typical of other texts with solutions in our material as well. Solutions are presented for such aspects of the issue where an agent who is able to solve the issue can be identified.
The Coda section in Text 1 consists of both a moral and a conclusion in this order. This text is exceptional in that the moral is presented before the conclusion. As van Dijk (1993) has observed, the moral is an optional element. In Text 1 it is explicitly signaled ( has had one clear and overriding lesson). This seems to be the case especially in the editorials in Financial Times. 4 Conclusions In our analysis we set out to answer the question if there is a typical rhetorical structure for the editorials in business newspapers irrespective of national and cultural features. This seems to be the case, at least when it comes to the texts in our material. We also wanted to find out if there is variation between the editorials and if specific types of rhetorical structure can be identified. Based on our results we can conclude that when there is variation it concerns two stages of the rhetorical structure, i.e. the solution and the moral. The Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri having the longest editorials also has a solution and a moral slightly more often than the other two newspapers. Otherwise, the cultural factors seem to be more connected with the field of economics and its prevailing ideologies than with national features, at least on the level of rhetorical structure. The results of our study indicate that editorials in business newspapers seldom present any direct solutions for the critical issues discussed. Several reasons for this can be identified. First, the topic of the text might be so abstract that any agent simply cannot be identified who would have it in his power to carry out the solution. This idea can be connected with the Neoliberalist view of the economy that many business newspapers seem to agree with, i.e. the economy is an independent system having its own logic, meaning e.g. that government intervention in the domestic economy should be minimized (Chomsky 2000: 8). Second, a solution might be so obvious that it does not need to be stated explicitly for an expert readership that understands and probably also shares the ideology of the newspaper. For example, if the thesis states that protectionism is rising in USA, the writer takes it for granted that protectionism is something negative and that the US government knows what should be done to turn the development, if they were willing. However, the solution might not be obvious for all the readers. Third, our choice of material for this study might at least in part explain the low number of solutions presented in the intermediate section. We have limited our material to editorials dealing with economical questions and left out political texts in which politicians would form a natural target for a suggested solution. Our study also indicates that there might be a connection between solution and moral. They tend to appear in the same editorials, but with our limited material this result cannot be verified. The relationships between the thesis, the solution and the moral respectively form an interesting question for further research.
Proposing solutions for economical issues concerning the future is not an easy task for the writer of an editorial. This might explain why moral occur in our material almost as often as solution does. The development of economy takes place in periods, and every period is connected with a lesson. Therefore morals are far easier and less risky to express than predictions of the future. References Chomsky, N. (2000). Hinnalla millä hyvänsä. Uusliberalismi ja globaali järjestys. [Profit over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order] Transl. Juha Ahokas & Juhani Yli-Vakkuri. 2nd edition. Helsinki: Like. van Dijk, T. A. (1993). Elite Discourse and Racism. Sage Series on Race and Ethnic Relations, Volume 6. Newbury Park: Sage Publications. van Eemeren, F. H. & R. Grootendorst (1984). Speech Acts in Argumentative Discussions. A Theoretical Model for the Analysis of Discussions Directed Towards Solving Conflicts of Opinion. Dordrecht: Foris Publications. van Eemeren, F. H., R. Grootendorst, S. Jackson & S. Jacobs (1997). Argumentation in van Dijk, T. A. (ed.), Discourse as Structure and Process, 208 229. London, Thousand Oaks & New Delhi. Eggins, S. & J. R. Martin (1997). Genres and Registers of Discourse in Discourse as Structure and Process. T. A. van Dijk (ed.), Discourse Studies 1. A multidisciplinary introduction, 230 256. London, Thousand Oaks & New Delhi: Sage Publications. Fairclough, Norman (1992). Disourse and Social Change. Cambridge: Polity Press. Gill, A. M. & K. Whedbee (1997). Rhetoric in T. A. van Dijk (ed.), Discourse as Structure and Process, 157 184. London, Thousand Oaks & New Delhi. Nanri, K. (2004). An Anatomy of the Homogeneity and Innocousness of Japapnese Editorials in Proceedings of the 15 th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia. Canberra 29 th June to 2 nd July 2004. URL: http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asaa/conference/ proceedings/ Nanri-K-ASAA2004.pdf
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