Why news is written the way it is

What is it about?

Argumentation is normally seen as what two or more people do when trying to convince each other. However, argumentation can also happen within one person, as intrapersonal reasoning. In this paper, we investigate the intrapersonal reasoning of journalists in the process of newswriting. By applying the method of Progression Analysis, we open a window into the writers’ minds.

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Why is it important?

Journalists, just like all writers, need to make decisions when preparing an article. For example, they have to choose appropriate sources, put together the most relevant information and formulate the text in an audience-friendly way. Such tasks require weighting all sides of an issue and supporting each choice with reasonable arguments in order to protect the author from accusations of impartiality or inaccuracy. This is why analyzing argumentation in a journalist’s reflections on his or her own writing is useful to understand how news comes into being and why texts are written the way they are.