The Litvinenko case and its reflection in The Daily Telegraph

Abstract

This bachelor thesis studies the manner in which the case of the former Russian spy Alexander Litviněnko's poisoning was handled in 2006 by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses have been used for that purpose. The theoretical part of the thesis explains the factors influencing the process of encoding of the meanings into mediated contents, and the process of their subsequent decoding by the public. The analytical part presents a detailed description of how the concrete news texts on the Litvinenko case published by The Daily Telegraph could have been perceived by their recipient. Hypotheses have been set for the analysis; the confirmation or denial of their validity outlines The Daily Telegraph's methods of news reporting production and the terms in which the news texts are conceived in this newspaper