The double expression of the newspaper’s identity

Abstract

The double expression of the newspaper’s identity — The newspaper’s identity is studied in terms of the sensitive and tangible aspects of the modes of presence of the printed press. These aspects are inferred from the discursive constants which, in their reiterations, determine the newspaper’s style. To undertake this type of identity analysis, we enter the field of the semiotics of situations, aiming to contribute to a greater intelligibility of the sensitive in the printed press. Theoretically and methodologically, we are underpinned by the semiotics of A. J. Greimas and especially by the sociosemiotics of E. Landowski and the plastic semiotics of J.-M. Floch. Two types of identity processing stand out in the esthetic arrangement of the newspaper’s expression. The first is based on the name of the newspaper by an invariable esthetic of the arrangement of its distinctive peculiarities. Distinguishing it from up the other communications media, this difference makes up its nominal identity. The second type of identity is structured on the first page by variations in the arrangement of the elements that 64 Oliveira , Ana Claudia de. A dupla expressão da identidade do jornal. Revista Galáxia, São Paulo, n. 14, p. 63-80, dez. 2007. constitute the syntagm, revealing the multiple modernization of the identity esthetic. The most meaningful effect of the variability is to demonstrate the newspaper’s competence in reporting news. Taken together, these two syntagmatic and paradigmatic mechanisms define the essence of the newspaper’s identity.