Semiotics, structuralism and ideology in newspaper language

Overview

Lévi-Strauss's central claim about meaning, binary opposition that commonly structures newspaper coverage and preferred reading.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What does Barthes mean by signification?

   Model answer

   Barthes argues that a text conveys its meanings through signification. Signification is the process by which a sign comes to stand for a concept.

2. 2

   How can two newspapers denote the same event and connote opposite meanings?

   Model answer

   Each paper reports the same facts at the denotative level. Word choice, photograph and headline attach very different associations.

3. 3

   What does Barthes mean by myth?

   Model answer

   Barthes uses myth for a constructed meaning that has come to seem natural and self-evident. Naturalisation hides the fact that the meaning was made.

4. 4

   Apply denotation and connotation to a photograph of a politician at a podium.

   Model answer

   The photograph denotes a person standing behind a microphone. A low camera angle connotes authority, while a raised finger connotes lecturing or blame.

5. 5

   How can a newspaper photograph naturalise an ideology?

   Model answer

   Repeated framing of one group as threatening makes that association feel like common sense. Naturalisation is achieved when readers stop noticing the choice behind the image.

6. 6

   What is Lévi-Strauss's central claim about meaning?

   Model answer

   Claude Lévi-Strauss argues that meaning is produced through pairs of oppositions. Texts are best understood by examining the underlying structure those oppositions form.

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