A genre analysis of news bulletins on selected Ghanaian radio stations

Abstract

The study aimed to explore how journalists construct news bulletins on Ghanaian radio stations. Specifically, the study sought to examine the generic structures of news bulletins and how journalists draw on other sources for the writing of their texts. Four radio stations (Joy FM, Citi FM, Radio XYZ and Radio Ghana) were selected. The total number of data set comprised 20 transcribed episodes of radio news bulletins from the four radio stations. The analysis of the data set was done by drawing on Halliday and Hasan’s (1985) Generic Structural Potential framework and Bazerman’s (2004) Intertextuality framework. The study revealed three key findings. First, radio news from the four stations analyzed is characterized by twelve rhetorical elements. Second, journalists largely utilize explicit and implicit intertextual sources. Finally, journalists predominantly used positive reporting verbs in their reportage to indicate that they agree and support the information quoted. The findings of this research have significant implication for the genre theory and pedagogy.