Social Actors and Storylines in the Coverage of Russian-Ukrainian War in English and Polish-Language Tabloids

Bibliographic Data

ID7897124
AuthorsKatarzyna Molek-Kozakowska (0000-0001-9455-7384, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume27
Issue1
Pages63-83
Publication date2026-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-670X • E-ISSN: 1469-9699
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1461670x.2025.2567889
OpenAlexW4414979489
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited32

The article explores editorial practices regarding the formulation of headlines in the tabloid coverage of the Russian-Ukrainian war. On the basis of a purposive matching dataset of 568 headlines harvested between 2022 and 2024 from the online versions of two popular English-language tabloids, The Mirror (UK) and The New York Post (US), and two top Polish-language outlets, SuperExpress and Fakt, the study focuses on the representations of social actors and the schematic narratives they are involved in. Both social actor analysis and transitivity analysis performed for each outlet/language map how tabloids simplify and polarize war-related reporting to engage audiences. The findings include a spectrum of identified discursive strategies of polarization, personalization of conflict, and of moral evaluation. These patterns underlie the tabloid format’s reproduction of binary oppositions and stereotyping, as well as prominence of human-centered narratives anchored in clear moral distinctions. The study helps raise linguistic awareness of how tabloids, with their editorial practices and audience-oriented design, entrench polarized representations that aggravate conflict and impede a nuanced understanding of political relations needed for reconciliation

Journalism · Photojournalism · Social media · Social movement · Eastern European Communism and Reforms · Linguistics, Language Diversity, and Identity

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