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Abstract The present thesis attempts to linguistically examine the expression of attitudes and evaluations in written news discourse with reference to the coverage of the Gaza War (December 2008 – January 2009) in three British newspapers. The theoretical framework adopted is the Appraisal theory, an analytical model for tackling attitudinal, evaluative and interpersonal dimensions of language, developed within the paradigm of Halliday’s systemic functional linguistics. The thesis more specifically tries to find an evidence-supported answer for the question whether or not the hard news report is always objective, factual, non-attitudinal and non-evaluative. The thesis also considers the socio-cultural status of the newspaper as one factor influencing the objectivity of newspaper reporting. The application material was therefore drawn from three British newspapers: The Independent, representing high-brow British journalism, Daily Mail, representing midmarket tabloids, and The Sun, representing popular tabloids. |