The Discourse of Broadcast News

'In this accessible and thought-provoking book, Martin Montgomery explores the everyday discourse practices of broadcast news. Compared to other forms of mass communication, broadcast news is much closer to the real time co-presence of speech, so the models and frameworks required to understand it, as Montgomery capably demonstrates, are of a different order to those required for the understanding of print media. Richly illuminated with a range of textual examples, and written with typical lucidity, Montgomery guides us through the discursive system of news media, developing the key models and frameworks needed for the analysis of its dominant mode of dissemination – broadcasting. The result is a coherent, rigorous and structured account of the anatomy and function of this endemic verbal practice. As a study of broadcast news in particular, this book is the first of its kind; as a study of media discourse in general, this book is undoubtedly the best of its kind.' Paul Simpson, Queen's University, Belfast, UK

'The only show in town! The best and broadest account of the language of broadcast news for critical audiences.' Martin Conboy, Sheffield University, UK