The Representation of Iran’s Nuclear Program in British Newspaper Editorials: A Critical Discourse Analytic Perspective

Abstract

In this study, Van Dijk’s (1998) model of CDA was utilized in order to examine the representation of Iran’s nuclear program in editorials published by British news casting companies. The analysis of the editorials was carried out at two levels of headlines and full text stories with regard to the linguistic features of lexical choices, nominalization, passivization, overcompleteness, and voice. The results support biased representation in media discourse, in this case Iran’s nuclear program. Likewise, the findings approve Bloor and Bloor (2007) ideological circles of Self (i.e., the West) and Other (i.e., Iran) or US and THEM in the media. The findings may be utilized to increase Critical Language Awareness (CLA) among EFL teachers / students and can promise implications for ESP materials development and EAP courses for the students of journalism.