ABSTRACT
This research was conducted to analyze the power relation between the participants in the four disaster news interviews. The aims of this research are: (1) to find out the indicators of power that can be found in the four disaster news interviews, (2) to describe the relation between the participants related to institutional and societal aspects, and (3) to show the participant who has more power in each interaction.
This research is descriptive qualitative research. This method was conducted by observing, classifying, and interpreting the data. The data were collected by using criterion-based sampling. The source of data are four news interviews about disaster entitled “BBC News Interview Malaysian Airways flight 370, Richard Gordon BBC World News Interview on Typhoon Bopha - Dec. 6, 2012, BBC interviews Margareta Wahlstrom on Disaster Reduction, and BBC World News - Typhoon Haiyan preparedness” taken from BBC news interviews. The data are in the form of transcript dialogues between the interviewers and interviewees. The data were analyzed one by one to reveal the power relation between the participants.
Some results were found after conducting the research. First, the relation between the interviewers and interviewees in those news interviews are unequal as the usual news interviews. The power of the interviewees is restricted by broadcasting convention of the news interview and the sovereignty of a country (can be seen from the use of modality). Second, there are two kinds of indicators of power. They are some indicators of power that show the interviewers’ authority in the news interviews interactions (formal expression, interruption, and appearance), and some indicators of power that show the way of the interviewers in controlling the interviewees’ contribution in the news interviews interactions (turn-taking, formulation, and allusion). While, the interviewees show their power as experts by commanding and evaluating. Third, the participant who has more power in each interaction is/are the interviewer(s). The interviewers maintain their position to make the news interviews interactions under their control.
This research is expected to give benefit for the students who are interested in analyzing the power relation in the news interview discourse by using Critical Discourse Analysis approach and give an inspiration for the new comer interviewers in conducting and controlling the news interview interaction by considering the convention and politeness aspects.
Keywords: critical discourse analysis, news interview, power relation