Uutisaika. Finiittiverbin aikamuodoista katastrofiuutisissa 1892-1994

• Ritva Pallaskallio

Avainsanat: sanomalehtikieli, tekstintutkimus, tempukset, uutinen

Abstrakti

News over time: tenses of finite verb forms in disaster news reporting 1892-1994 (englanti)

1/2003 (107)

News over time: tenses of finite verb forms in disaster news reporting

The article deals with Finnish newspaper language and how it has changed during the era of Modern Finnish from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day. The analysis focuses on the tenses of finite verb-forms and changes in tense usage. The material used comprises eleven accident and disaster news stories concerning misfortunes at sea published in the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat (formerly Pivlehti) in the period 1892-1994. Reporting of this type has traditionally had a strong influence on the world-view of a newspaper.

The writer observes that a clear change has occurred: the pluperfect tense and the dramatic present tense have disappeared as this type of news coverage has developed. Tendencies can be observed in the usage of different tenses over the time period, varying according to the function of news reporting and the relationship with reporting sources at the particular time. From a present-day perspective, news reporting in the nineteenth century appears didactic and literary in style, favouring use of the dramatic present and pluperfect. In the Helsingin Sanomat news coverage of the 1950s, on the other hand, the investigative journalistic style presents the reporters own observations to readers using almost exclusively the past tense, and is reminiscent of todays tabloid sensationalism. The material in the study is divided accordingly on the basis of tense usage into three different periods: chronological or narrative news reporting (1890-1910); sensational news reporting of events on a subjective basis (1920-1960); and todays factual reporting that combines different viewpoints and emphasizes objectivity (1970-).

The basic premise is that newspaper texts can be viewed as a kind of multi-level forum for the different discourses found in society: news reporting involves a fusion of public speech and individual speech, and these combine with each other via the oral, fictional and factual text traditions. The diachronic tense variation in shipwreck reporting can thus be seen as reflecting the different aims and operating methods of the media at different time periods.

Ritva Pallaskallio