DISCOURSE STRATEGIES USED BY INTERVIEWERS TO ACHIEVE NEUTRAL STANCE IN CROATIAN NEWS INTERVIEWS

Abstract

This paper analyzes one type of spoken media discourse, i.e. Croatian news interviews. To explore this issue, the methodology of conversation analysis is employed. The aim of the paper is to describe the basic characteristics of Croatian news interviews and to focus on the role of the interviewer and the strategies (s)he uses to achieve and maintain neutral stance during the interview. The most significant procedure interviewers use to achieve neutrality is limiting themselves to exclusively asking questions. However, in certain situations interviewers are also forced to make assertions which may sound more or less overtly opinionated and thus put their neutrality at risk. In such situations, interviewers use specific discourse strategies to create some degree of distance between themselves and their remarks. They primarily do this by attributing their statements to third parties.