The aim of this paper is to analyze the construction of identity of the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi through a Critical Discourse Studies approach (Van Dijk 2009). Interviews with Berlusconi and articles published on the La Repubblica website, reporting foreign media views, constitute the main object of enquiry of this paper in the attempt to establish what role these various actors played in constructing Berlusconi’s identity. As others have pointed out (Stille 2006, Ginsborg 2003), Berlusconi’s relationship with money, media and political power, and the effect on reporting crystallise problems and issues that exist in all modern democracies. Though, in Italy’s case, there are other historical factors involved (Loporcaro, 2006) – apart from Berlusconi’s personal monopoly, the Italian case study points to the potential danger for democracy in any country. This work also takes into account the difficulties researchers face when dealing with contemporary political issues in terms of objectivity and proposes tentative solutions based on Corpus-Aided Discourse Studies and News Translation Studies methodologies.
MEDIAting Italy: the construction of Silvio Berlusconi’s identity
CAIMOTTO, Maria Cristina
2010-01-01
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to analyze the construction of identity of the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi through a Critical Discourse Studies approach (Van Dijk 2009). Interviews with Berlusconi and articles published on the La Repubblica website, reporting foreign media views, constitute the main object of enquiry of this paper in the attempt to establish what role these various actors played in constructing Berlusconi’s identity. As others have pointed out (Stille 2006, Ginsborg 2003), Berlusconi’s relationship with money, media and political power, and the effect on reporting crystallise problems and issues that exist in all modern democracies. Though, in Italy’s case, there are other historical factors involved (Loporcaro, 2006) – apart from Berlusconi’s personal monopoly, the Italian case study points to the potential danger for democracy in any country. This work also takes into account the difficulties researchers face when dealing with contemporary political issues in terms of objectivity and proposes tentative solutions based on Corpus-Aided Discourse Studies and News Translation Studies methodologies.
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