Journalistic practices of science popularization in the context of users’ agenda: A case study of „New Scientist”

The article includes a discussion of two models which describe contemporary communication processes in journalism: agenda-setting and news value, indicating the need to expand their research tools to include qualitative methods, and merging the analyses of the reception and the message. It also includes indications as to the possibility, or even the social relevance, of the methods for applying those research perspectives to analysing journalism popularising science. Later, I present the results of an analysis of the content of a sample of 500 most read popular science texts available on the New Scientist website. I demonstrate which thematic areas were valued by the readers, and what values are most commonly applied. Further, upon applying a filter in the form of surveys regarding reader preferences, I discuss the main linguistic devices utilised for controlling readers’ attention. The shaping of the hierarchy of importance of items of news is the result of a dynamic interaction between (1) the thematic priorities and discursive strategies of imposing elite representations of science within media agenda, and (2) the means of negotiating order and values of specific content, which are correlated with readers’ preferences, both in terms of the content and the form of providing popular scientific information

Rhetorical Styles in Internet-Mediated Political Discourse Concerning Polish Gender Parity Debate 2009/2010

The aim of this study is to describe the stylistic features of Internet-mediated political discourse, basing on two samples of hypertextual materials authored by organizations promoting (Kongres Kobiet the Congres of Women, abbr. KK) and criticizing (Antyparytety - Antiparity, abbr. AP) the Polish gender parity initiative of 2009/2010. Firstly, the notion of rhetorical style is introduced in the context of political discourse analysis. Accordingly, rhetorical styles are understood here broadly as emergent properties of texts characterized by clusters of linguistic devices used strategically for persuasive purposes. Next, the methodological framework for the ensuing stylistic analysis is delineated and the “critical” angle of the present study is elucidated. In the course of analysis of two samples of texts (KK - approx. 2080 words; AP approx 1930 words) representing antagonistic positions in the gender parity debate, it is demonstrated that there are more similarities than differences between their rhetorical styles. By focusing on the interrogation of such categories as generic frames, strategies of addressing the reader and pervasive rhetorical figures, it has been shown that both styles exemplify a high degree of saturation with persuasion-oriented linguistic devices. This makes both analyzed styles to some extent manipulative, since they tend to efface rational argumentation for the sake of appeals to emotions and employ some classic propagandists tricks (e.g. glittering generalities, stereotyping, simplification or testimonials). Yet, it seems that the opponents of the gender parity initiative (AP) rely on such devices more heavily, as their texts are mainly oriented towards discrediting the project by arising readers’ doubt and anxiety. The proponents (KK), after all, must also inform the readers about the details of their initiative and present sound reasons why it should be embraced. That is why the rhetorical style emerging in AP corpus seems to be shaped primarily by linguistic devices of pathos, while the rhetorical style of KK’s texts relies on logos and ethos

Visual culture and the style of college textbooks: a critical study

This article aims at exploring and problematizing the role of visual designs, as applied in a selection of five popular recent college textbooks that introduce students to Cultural and Media Studies. It can be observed that academic textbooks are increasingly produced in alignment with the properties of contemporary visual culture. The article reviews some of these properties, focusing on the growing need for enhancing visual literacy. It presents the framework of multimodal analysis, as the textbook is co-constituted by verbal and visual modes, which are integrated through a common design. The analytic categories of multimodal analysis allow for a qualitative, yet systematic, examination of some compositional and semiotic resources that have been applied in textbooks. The analysis focuses on textbook typography, supra-textual organization, the number and choice of figures/tables/lists, the layout of pages, structure of chapter/section, and type and framing of visuals. This is followed by a function-oriented critical discussion of these stylistic properties and of the implications of certain compositional preferences for teaching/learning. The study identifies designs that result in diversifying and aestheticizing textbooks visually, as well as hierarchizing and objectivizing knowledge. While both advantages and disadvantages of currently popular designs can be found, attention is drawn to the fact that visually-enhanced designs might fail to engage students in critical reflection, simplify the issues, and divert attention from the merits of exposition/argument, particularly if students lack skills in visual literacy

The style of EU directives and the discourse of expert rationality

This article is devoted to the notion of expert rationality, understood as one of the central epistemic regimes of the discourse of the European Union. Expert rationality is instrumenlal to the legitimization of EU directivity and control of centrally designed political, economic, and sociál Solutions for an integrating Europę. From a philological perspective, however, it is worth investigaling how expert rationality tends to be textually realized. Therefore, this article discusses the stylistic properties of the genre of the directive based on Directive 98/79/EC of 27 October 27 1998 on in vitro diagnostic medical devices. The analysis focuses on the identification of such stylistic resources and the strategie applications that underpin the ideology of expert rationality

Constructing a “breakthrough”: News values in Science Magazine’s 2017 ranking of most important discoveries

The objective of this study is to conduct a stylistic analysis of the synopses publicized in the end-of-the-year ranking list of 2017 scientific “breakthroughs” from Science Magazine. The article provides a review of literature on science popularization (also known as science accommodation) and presents the typology of news values and rationalization cues that are used by editors to make science-related coverage both newsworthy and credible at the same time. The article lists the possible ways in which scientific findings can be stylistically constructed as “breakthroughs”. The analysis consists in quantifying and illustrating the typical stylistic maneuvers for framing selected science-related issues as “breakthroughs.” The article concludes with the implications of such constructions for the public understanding of science

Creative reconstructions of political imagery in an Instagram-based election campaign: implications for visual rhetorical literacy

This article reviews literature on visual rhetoric in political campaigning and synthesizes several strands of current research devoted to the rhetorical potential of communicating with visuals in online environments. It uses rhetorical concepts of identification and manoeuvring, as well as the category of topos, to discuss the implications of an abductive analysis of a coded corpus of 1976 Instagram images posted during 2019 election to the European Parliament campaign in Poland. On this basis, the article offers recommendations related to the awareness of topoi in visual rhetoric to foster users’ creative inventory. In the context of increasingly strategically designed and creative online political communications, scholarship should offer guidance on how to parse images according to how they (mis)represent political reality to fit the purposes of elite communicators, and how to challenge them