The social functions of ideologies focus on specific forms of social relation between groups, namely power and control. When a group A has power over another group B, this involves that group A controls the actions of members of group B. This also
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See definitions of mass media and “new” media in section 2.1. 33
involves that group B acts in accordance with the wishes, interests and goals of group A, even if it is against its own interest and will. Relations of power and control include those of age, gender, social position and profession. Another form of power, which is traditionally associated with ideology and the Gramscian theory of hegemony, is persuasion (Herman and Chomsky 2002, Hawthorn 1987, Robins et al. 1987, Harré 1985 and van Dijk 1997; 1998). Unlike coercive power, persuasion indirectly controls people‟s actions by winning their consent. It implies asymmetrical relations of power and influence between a persuader and a persuadee, who acts out of his/her own free will to serve the goals and interests of the persuader (Harré 1985). There are four different components concerning the act of persuasion: the persuader, the persuadee, the persuasive discourse and the interlocking social, political and historical context (Hawthorn 1987). If persuasion is to be successful, certain conditions and techniques are required. These techniques include deception, emotions, implications, direct repetition and interpretations (Hawthorn 1987)34. Persuasion implies deception. The persuaders deceive the persuadees by denying any intention for persuasion. The persuaders also deny the possession of rhetorical skills to assure their listeners that persuasion is not a result of succumbing to the verbal abilities of the persuaders, but a result of the persuadees‟ rational thoughts. Persuaders seem to engage their persuadees in a conversational discourse which draws upon their powers of reason. As a result, the persuadees rationalize, legitimate and justify the facts and statements presented in the persuasive discourse. According to Harré (1985), a rational discourse is the ultimate force of persuasion. However, a discourse which appeals to the listeners‟ emotions has been recognized to trigger action more quickly than a rational discourse. Hawthorn (1987: ix) notes that “the association between successful persuasion and the ability to arouse an emotional response in one‟s audience is an intimate one”. Persuasion through the use of emotive words, in italics, is illustrated in the following examples from the data:
2.13. Syria Condemns east Beirut blast, lashes out at slander campaign.
(Syria Times English, G1) 2.14. Syria: The US accusation “pure vilification” (Reuters Arabic, G3)
2.15. The source expressed Syria‟s distress at the condemned acts of explosion and assassination which target Lebanon‟s security, stability and civil peace.
(Syria Times English, G1)
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Examples 2.13 and 2.14 are the headlines of the Syria Times and Reuters reports respectively, hence are presented as New information. “Syria” is presented as the thematic focus of these headlines. “Distress” is presented as New information in Rheme position of example 2.15. The use of emotive diction and their presentation as New information seek to persuade the readership of the truthfulness of the assertions contained within these news discourses. The act of persuasion also involves the use of implications, presuppositions and assumptions (see section 2.3.3.2). At the same time, it uses direct repetition of statements. The persuaders get the persuadees to accept what has been presented in the persuasive discourse by repeating statements and juxtaposing them with others which the persuadees reject35. The constant repetition of statements such as “anti-Syrian MP”, “anti-Syrian lawmaker” and “anti-Syrian politician” in some news media reports strongly implies a connection between Syria and the assassinations of the Lebanese politicians. Such repetition helps to construct a certain representation of Syria which gradually becomes habitual and commonsensical. It also helps to persuade the readers to adopt the ideological and political interpretations expressed in the news discourse. Another condition for a successful persuasion is to encourage interpretation. The persuaders never present facts in isolation. Facts are presented with other propositions, assumptions and beliefs, which the persuadees join together to formulate particular views and opinions. These conditions and techniques give the persuadees the illusion that they are actively involved in discourse rather than passively absorbing what is provided by the persuaders. News discourse, in particular, is ideologically produced and reproduced in a way to be most effective and persuasive. The persuasion techniques are frequently observed in news presentation. The selection of news items in terms of what is true or false, interesting or uninteresting and newsworthy or not, is governed by rules, values and ideologies.
Other forms of ideology are manipulation and propaganda. Unlike persuasion, manipulation has negative moral implications (Harré 1985). It implies that the listeners are unaware of the manipulative act which is exerted upon them. It also implies that the effects of a successful manipulation are only in the interest of the manipulators, but unlikely in the best interest of the listeners. In manipulation, the listeners are treated as “things”, rather than as conscious human beings who are engaged in a rational discourse (Harré 1985). Similarly, propaganda entails a deliberate process of manipulation which is performed on susceptible individuals (Robins et al. 1987). It attempts to affect and
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control not only the minds of isolated individuals, but also their personalities, actions and behaviour. Like persuasion, propaganda works by emotional pressure which appeals to primitive impulses and trigger quick and complete response from the listeners. Ideological persuasion, manipulation and propaganda are mainly expressed through language, or discourse. There is an obvious and strong link between language use and power (van Dijk 1997). Social members who can express and articulate the goals and interests of the group can persuade others of their ideologies. However, in order to communicate effectively, social members must have common knowledge and shared social beliefs, i.e. what van Dijk (1998) terms as “social representations”. In a mass society, social representations, information and facts are mainly obtained through public discourse, such as education, information campaigns, and the media. Groups, social movements, elites, institutions and organizations which have access to public discourse and mass media can influence and manipulate the public by various mechanisms (Hawthorn 1987, Robins et al. 1987, van Dijk 1998, Herman and Chomsky 2002, Fairclough 1995 and Fairclough and Wodak 1997). These include restricting the flow and access of information by means of secrecy, security and censorship, hence only certain forms of knowledge and opinions are allowed, expressed and widely circulated. “The proliferation of information gathering” in accordance with the political, economic and social interests of these organizations is another mechanism of manipulation (Robins et al. 1987). Detailed and private information about individuals and families, which can violate their privacy, are collected to increase the power of people who have access to this information. Media language is also influenced by a tendency towards “marketization”, i.e. information is presented as a branch of entertainment and a commodity, as a result of the increasing commercial pressure and competition among institutions (Fairclough 1995). The “marketization” of media language subjects information to the values of the market whose main interest is to persuade the public into accepting their statements and beliefs.
In sum, mass media are effective and powerful ideological institutions which rely on the management and control of information to win the public consent36. Hawthorn (1987: x) notes that:
The exercise of power requires the control of information as much as does the attainment of power… And if control of information gives power, so power gives
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Walter Lippmann (1921) uses the term “manufacturing of consent” which he closely associates with propaganda and public opinion.
one greater control over information… Persuasion is, thus, not a matter of what people are told, rather than what they are not told.
The roles of mass media are to maintain and confirm the status-quo, produce and reproduce relations of power and ideologies through persuasive discourse. Mass media function as “system-supportive propaganda”, according to Herman and Chomsky (2002), which rule by hegemony and consensus. They engineer the public consent and manage the public opinion by means of self-censorship, internalized social representations and marketization (Herman and Chomsky 2002). The management of information and the engineering of public consent may be observed in state-owned news media sources such as Teshreen/Syria Times. The English and Arabic news reports collected from this source tend not to report on the political background and views of the assassinated Lebanese politicians. Instead persuasive discourse is used to emphasise Syria‟s innocence and its complete condemnation of these crimes (examples 2.13 and 2.15). If the mass media are the only channels of communication and information, then, the implications for the social representations which the public share remains uncertain (Robins et al. 1987). However, this control can hardly be total. People who seek various sources of information will be able to make up their minds, form their own opinions and find a way out of the propaganda system.
Having presented the ideological approach adopted in the analysis of news reports, the next section will review the Critical Discourse Analysis theory, its dimensions and shortcomings and propose practical solutions.