GLOBALIST DISCOURSE IN U.S. MEDIA (2020–2025): LINGUOPRAGMATIC STRATEGIES OF LEGITIMATION. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FOX NEWS AND CNN

Abstract

Abstract

The article is devoted to a comprehensive linguopragmatic analysis of globalist discourse in the US media landscape during the 2020–2025 period. The main focus is on the mechanisms of meaning construction that legitimize or delegitimize the processes of globalization in the context of the post-pandemic world and geopolitical turbulence. The research methodology is based on the integration of critical discourse analysis (CDA), corpus linguistics methods (using the Sketch Engine platform), and the close reading method for the illocutionary interpretation of utterances. The empirical database consists of an original corpus of 201,519 tokens (124 media texts), compiled from materials published by The New York Times, CNN, Fox News, and The Hill.

The analytical focus of the study is directed toward a comparative juxtaposition of ideological antipodes – CNN and Fox News. As a result of the study, it is proved that Fox News implements a "directive-security" model of legitimization, relying on the strategy of "othering" and presuppositions of threat. Conversely, CNN constructs an "assertive-humanization" model, where globalization is presented through the prism of individual experience, fact-checking, and commissives of support. The scientific novelty lies in the formalization of linguopragmatic patterns that ensure symbolic power in contemporary American media discourse. The practical significance of the findings is related to the possibility of their application in monitoring informational influences and the automated analysis of media texts using Digital Humanities methods.

Keywords: globalist discourse, US media discourse, linguopragmatics, assertives, directives, close reading, legitimization, Fox News, CNN.