Us vs. Them: Ideological Bias and Confrontation in Newspaper Leaders

Abstract

The initial hypothesis of this paper is that, given the intention to persuade an audience, a handy device is the division of the world between two opposed sides, which allows readers to decide where they stand, and therefore causes them to accept the argumentation proposed. This can be seen in newspaper leaders, which summarize the medium’s opinion and try to gain the readers’ support for their views of the world. In our study, the devices that support this vision are seen through an analysis of newspaper leaders corresponding to a turning point in history: the late eighties, reflecting the state of affairs immediately before the fall of the Berlin Walt and the end of the Cold War. To illustrate the way they operate within a text, an analysis of a newspaper leader is suggested.