A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE 2024 AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Apstrakt

The aim of this research is to analyze media representation of the 2024 U.S. presidential election in two respectable American daily newspapers by implementing the methodological and theoretical framework of Critical Discourse Analysis. This paper contains analysis of articles published in The Washington Post and The New York Times from 1 September 2024 to 4 September 2024 focusing on the topics of the newspaper articles, modes of discourse representation, and news sources. Analysis revealed some differences and similarities between the two newspapers. The total number of articles related to the election in both newspapers is similar, but the difference is in the number of articles that dealt with particular topics. In The New York Times, there were more articles discussing the Republican Party, and in The Post more articles focusing on both parties simultaneously. The results showed that there were small differences between the two newspapers in modes of representing discourse. There were also certain differences between the newspapers in the usage of news sources. However, there was a big difference between them in the number of reported sentences spoken by Trump and Harris. Trump had almost double the number of sentences reported than did Harris in The Post. There were 106 sentences by Trump and 46 by Harris. There was an equal number of sentences spoken by each (24) in The Times. These differences reflect certain ideological differences between the two newspapers.