Pragma-Stylistic Features of Persecution in CNN and BBC Coverage of the Gaza Crisis

Abstract

This study investigates the pragma-stylistic representation of persecution in selected CNN and BBC news reports on the Gaza Crisis. Employing an eclectic analytical framework, it integrates Searle and Vanderveken’s (1985) classification of speech acts, Grice’s Cooperative Principle (1975), and Leech and Short’s (2007) stylistic model. The objective is to look into how realistic and stylistic choices are made to show or hide acts of abuse in conflict reporting. The data set is made up of reports that came out during the most catastrophic phase of the Gaza war. A mixed-method approach is used, which includes both qualitative speech analysis and measurement data. The results show that assertive speech acts are most common, that the rules of both quantity and quality are often broken, and that implicature is often used to hide ideological bias. Many times, stylistic devices like passive voice, lexical choice, phrasing, quote patterns, and nominalisation are used to make something seem neutral while actually implying a moral or political position. The study's conclusion is that CNN and BBC use subtle language methods that change how people think about being persecuted in the Gaza war, even though they seem objective. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on media discourse and highlights the ethical implications of language use in conflict reporting.