ATTRIBUTIVE HEDGES AS EPISTEMIC MITIGATORS: PRAGMATIC FUNCTIONS AND JOURNALISTIC STANCE IN ONLINE NEWS CORPORA

Abstract

This study investigated attributive hedges as epistemic mitigators in online news corpora, examining their pragmatic functions and relationship to journalistic stance. You analysed 1,200 news articles from six major online news outlets published between 2018-2022, employing both quantitative corpus linguistic methods and qualitative discourse analysis. Using AntConc and NVivo software, you identified and categorised attributive hedges according to their epistemic functions and journalistic purposes. Your findings revealed that attributive hedges served primarily as precision markers (42%), attribution markers (31%), and perspective indicators (27%). You also discovered significant differences in hedge usage across news outlets, with The Guardian and BBC employing significantly more hedges than Fox News or Breitbart. Your qualitative analysis demonstrated that these linguistic devices functioned as crucial tools for journalists to navigate the competing demands of objectivity, accountability, and audience engagement in digital media environments. The study contributes to the growing body of research on epistemic modality in news discourse and offers practical implications for journalists, editors, and journalism educators seeking to understand the nuanced ways language shapes news perception in online environments.