“no prizes to anybody spotting my typo, by the way”
The interplay between criticism and identity management in the comments sections on newspaper websites
Criticising others not only seems to be one of the core functions of comments posted on newspaper websites, but also an intriguing means to perform identity work. This paper therefore consists of a fine-grained analysis of the discursive construction of identity in critical comments posted on the websites of the Guardian and the Times. Drawing on the framework proposed by Bucholtz and Hall (2005, 2010), the study explores how the users construe and negotiate not only the identity of the person criticised in their comments, but also their own. Focusing on criticism targeting the journalist and prior commenters, it reveals how criticism can be used to foreground certain identity aspects and uncovers the different strategies employed for this purpose.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Data, goals and methodology
- 3.The communicative situation
- 4.The discursive moves of criticism and disagreement
- 5.Targets of criticism
- 6.Aspects criticised and forms of criticism
- 6.1Criticising the journalist
- 6.1.1Journalistic quality and identifying the target
- 6.1.2Challenging argument/reasoning
- 6.1.3Attitude/character
- 6.1.4Lack of integrity (balance, completeness, objectivity)
- 6.1.5Minor aspects
- 6.2Criticising other comment writers
- 7.Discussion and conclusion
-
Notes
-
References
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