VEIW POINTS AND FACTS IN AMERICAN NEWSPAPER EDITORIALS | ||
| Journal Of AL-Turath University College | ||
| Article 1, Volume 0, Issue 11, May 2017, Pages 274-291 | ||
| Author | ||
| Firas Awad Marouf | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Many discourse analysts of argumentative texts in general and newspaper editorials in particular claim that writers in the West generally abide by the rules of writing such texts, i.e. following a balanced and logical presentation of facts and opinions, being unbiased and showing genuine interest in the welfare of peoples. The present study attempts to find whether these claims are true or not, first by surveying the findings of some well-known linguists like Noam Chomsky, George Lakoff , Teun van Dijk and others, who have studied the traditions of writing argumentative texts in Britain and the United States; and second, by subjecting a typical editorial, published in an American newspaper to a thorough discourse analysis. The conclusions of the theoretical and applied parts of the study clearly indicate that the description and interpretation of political events and issues in the editorials is usually consistent with the writers' evaluations, i.e. either they present their viewpoints as if they were facts and common knowledge or they distort the facts they use in support of their arguments. Their ultimate objective is to give boost to opinions and ideologies that serve the interests of the parties, governments or institutions which finance them rather than serve the causes of justice and freedom. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| point; FACTS | ||
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