This inquiry shifts from a media-theoretic to a discourse-linguistic view, exploring ‘controversial’ and ‘emotional’ reports of debates using Appraisal Theory and Controversy Analysis. The study centers on how Zimbabwean newspapers render ‘controversial’ and ‘emotional’ debates equipoising factuality, impartiality and objectivity. Stories from both autonomous and state-owned newspapers have been chosen on their ‘controversiality’ and ‘emotionality’ basis. It is inferred that news reporting is aimed at (incorrectly) aligning readers with particular interpersonal meanings. It is claimed that newspapers headlines are attitudinal or ‘emotionally loaded’. Keywords: appraisal, argumentation, controversy, newspaper reporting, representation, subjectivity, Zimbabwe