Gendered Voices in the Digital Newsroom: A Cross-Linguistic CDA of BBC and Kun.uz

Abstract

This study examines the linguistic construction of gender in digital news discourse through a contrastive Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of two online media outlets - BBC News (English) and Kun.uz (Uzbek). The relevance of the study is обусловed by the increasing role of digital media in shaping public perceptions of gender roles and power relations, as well as by the limited development of cross-linguistic research on media discourse. The aim of the research is to identify and comparatively analyze the linguistic mechanisms through which gender roles and power relations are represented in news texts of two media platforms belonging to different linguistic and sociocultural traditions. Particular attention is paid to grammatical, lexical, and discursive strategies involved in the construction of gender meanings. The methodological framework of the study is based on Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis, which includes textual, discursive, and social levels of analysis. The empirical material consists of news articles published by BBC News and Kun.uz between 2021 and 2024, focusing on women’s participation in politics and the issue of the gender pay gap. The analysis includes linguistic features such as transitivity, nominalization, modality, presupposition, evaluative lexis, intertextuality, distribution of voices, and metaphorical models of progress. The results show that in both media discourses gender representation is mainly expressed through quantitative indicators and institutional frameworks. In Kun.uz texts, gender equality is often represented through passive and nominalized constructions that attribute agency to state institutions and development strategies. In BBC news texts, gender achievements are frequently interpreted through statements of male political actors who act as the primary sources of evaluation and interpretation of ongoing changes. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of applying the findings in media linguistics, gender studies, journalism education, and digital media analysis, as well as in the development of media literacy programs and critical analysis of news discourse.