A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF MEDIA LITERACY AND NIGERIAN NEWSPAPER HEADLINES’ REPORTAGE OF HIGH COST OF LIVING

Abstract

Language plays an invaluable role in the area of news dissemination and it is the window through which the world is understood. It serves as a useful tool in the hands of newspaper editors who deploy its resourcefulness in presenting news to the reading audience. This study applies Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine how Nigerian newspaper headlines shape public perception and discourse on the rising cost of living. Focusing on media literacy and linguistic devices, the research investigates patterns of representation and framing in headlines, as well as framing in the use of rhetorical devices and lexical choices. The study aims to identify the linguistic devices employed by Nigerian newspapers and evaluate their impact on public perception and discourse. The paper adopts Van Dijk's Socio-Cognitive Model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Michael Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) which respectively account for ideologically driven meaning and linguistic forms. A qualitative Content analysis of four Nigerian newspaper headlines (The Nation, Punch, Tribune, and Guardian), Selected through purposive Sampling is used over a period of six months (January to June, 2024). The focus of this study ultimately lies in the significance of print media language and media literacy in influencing readers' perceptions of the world and how they react to social and political issues.