Using Worthiness, Unity, Numbers and Commitment to Analyse Reported Speech in the Pro- and Anti-Brexit Press

Abstract

Following the Brexit referendum’s marginal leave result, the People’s Vote March (PVM) protests rallied for a public vote and second referendum that would include the option to remain. Both the pro- and anti-Brexit press reported on PVM protests more than any other Brexit-related demonstration. In doing so, they included politicians’ quotations – powerful ideological tools often used by the press to manipulate readers’ perception and interpretation of events. Although historically, the press is known to construct protests unfavourably, Tilly (2004) argues that politicians are responsive to protests when they display worthiness, unity, numbers, and commitment (WUNC). In a dataset of all 572 national UK newspaper articles that reported on PVM protests, this article seeks to show how linguistic features can contribute to WUNC as a methodological framework. It then demonstrates how WUNC can be applied as an additional critical lens in the analysis of concordance lines to interpret how politicians’ quotations, and the context in which they are embedded, can contribute to the pro- and anti-Brexit press’ respective PVM-opposing and PVM-backing ideologies.