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In:New Vistas in Research on Metaphor and Metonymy: Their contexts and interaction across discourse types and modalities
Edited by Robert Kiełtyka, Mario Brdar, Marcin Kudła and Goran Milić
[Human Cognitive Processing 82] 2027
► pp. 164–181

Chapter 6
Geopolitics meets journalism

The capital for government metonymy in US news media

 | Corvinus University of Budapest
 | Corvinus University of Budapest
 | Corvinus University of Budapest
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
In political journalism, capital cities often represent administrations through the capital for government metonymy. This metonymy is more prominent for countries seen as allies or threats, and less for neutral governments. However, it remains unclear whether the capital for government metonymy shifts over time, particularly with changes in political leadership. To address this, the chapter analyzes how capital cities the American public perceives as threats (Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, Pyongyang) and allies (London, Ottawa, Tel Aviv, Brussels) were represented on CNN and Fox News during the first two years of the Trump and Biden administrations. The findings show that metonymic representation was more frequent for threats than allies, regardless of presidential agenda or media outlet, likely due to sensationalist reporting in American media.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Figuration in foreign affairs
  • 3.Corpus and methods
  • 4.Results and discussion
    • 4.1Metonymic representations during the Trump and Biden administrations
    • 4.2Metonymic representations by media outlets
  • 5.Summary
  • Author queries
  • Notes
  • References
References (57)
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