CROSBY, AUBREY M., Ph.D., August 2020 ENGLISH NEWS MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE PROTEST (A STUDY USING SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS AND APPRAISAL THEORY) (279 PP.) DissErtation Advisor: Dr. Patricia Dunmire My dissErtation presEnts a critical discoursE analysis of news mEdia reporting of threE sPEcific altErcation events during the Dakota AccEss PiPEline (DAPL) protEst in 2016. The DAPL ProtEst is known globally as a grassroots movemEnt occurring in responsE to the construction of a 1,172-milE long piPEline across the statEs of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois. Initially lEd by mEmbers of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the DAPL protEst movemEnt cEntEred on the concErns that tribal lands would be destroyed during construction and that the region’s watEr supply would be contaminatEd. Although the tribe’s protEst of the projEct began in 2014, it was largely kept out of mainstream news mEdia. It wasn’t until the fall of 2016, when reports of physical confrontations surfacEd, that the ongoing protEst made national headlines. WhilE sEveral studiEs have analyzed the quantitative pattErns of this news coverage, only a few studiEs have taken a qualitative look at the actual contEnt of the news reports. My projEct intEnds to fill this gap by examining how thesE altErcation events and the actors involved are charactErizEd by journalists and presEntEd to the public. To do so, I draw on tools and mEthods of Critical DiscoursE Analysis and SystEmic Functional Linguistics, sPEcifically Transitivity analysis and Appraisal Theory. NEWS MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE PROTEST (A STUDY USING SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS AND APPRAISAL THOERY) A dissErtation submittEd to KEnt StatE University in partial fulfilmEnt of the requiremEnts for the degreE of Doctor of Philosophy By Aubrey M. Crosby August 2020 © Copyright All rights resErved ExcEpt for previously published matErials Dissertation written by Aubrey M. Crosby B.A., Siena Heights University, 2012 M.A., The University of Toledo, 2014 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2020 Approved by ________ Dr. Patricia Dunmire_____, Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee ________ Dr. Ryan Miller_________, Members Doctoral Dissertation Committee ________ Dr. Sara Newman________ ________ Dr. Danielle Coombs_____ ________ Dr. Tiffany Taylor________ Accepted by ______Babacar M’Baye______________, Chair, English Department _______ Mandy Munro-Stasiuk_______, Interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences TABLE OF CONTENTS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iv LIST OF FIGURES ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- vii LIST OF TABLES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- xiv CHAPTERS I. INTRODUCTION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Dakota Access Pipeline Protest -------------------------------------------------------- 1 Research Design & Methodology ------------------------------------------------------------ 9 Theoretical Frameworks --------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Analytic Procedure --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23 Conclusion & Chapter Summaries --------------------------------------------------------- 35 II. LITERATURE REVIEW -------------------------------------------------------------------- 37 Trends in Representation Research -------------------------------------------------------- 37 Representing Protest in the News ---------------------------------------------------------- 46 Reporting on the Dakota Access Pipeline Protest ---------------------------------------- 52 Conclusion & Contributions to Research ------------------------------------------------- 54 III. ANALYSIS I: Representation in The New York Times ---------------------------------- 56 Transitivity Analysis ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 56 Appraisal: Judgement Analysis ------------------------------------------------------------- 74 Source Integration & Engagement Analysis ---------------------------------------------- 79 Conclusion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 85 iv IV. ANALYSIS II: Representation in the Wall Street Journal ----------------------------- 87 Transitivity Analysis ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 87 Appraisal: Judgement Analysis ----------------------------------------------------------- 105 Source Integration & Engagement Analysis -------------------------------------------- 111 Conclusion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 114 V. ANALYSIS III: Representation in the Associated Press ----------------------------- 116 Transitivity Analysis ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 116 Appraisal: Judgement Analysis ----------------------------------------------------------- 138 Source Integration & Engagement Analysis -------------------------------------------- 145 Conclusion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 151 VI. ANALYSIS IV: Representation in The Bismarck Tribune --------------------------- 153 Transitivity Analysis ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 153 Appraisal: Judgement Analysis ----------------------------------------------------------- 187 Source Integration & Engagement Analysis -------------------------------------------- 194 Conclusion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 201 VII. CONCLUSION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 203 Characterizing Altercations as ‘Process,’ ‘Participant,’ & ‘Circumstance’ -------- 204 Representing Social Actors --------------------------------------------------------------- 207 Role & Range of Integrated Sources ----------------------------------------------------- 213 Summary, Contributions, & Limitations ------------------------------------------------ 219 REFERENCES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 223 APPENDICES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 237 A. Articles Published After the 9/3, 10/27, & 11/20 DAPL Protest Altercations----------- 237 v B. Transitivity Diagrams for The New York Times --------------------------------------------- 239 C. Transitivity Diagrams for Wall Street Journal ----------------------------------------------- 244 D. Transitivity Diagrams for Associated Press -------------------------------------------------- 249 E. Transitivity Diagrams for The Bismarck Tribune ------------------------------------------- 255 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Projected DAPL Route & Alternative Routes in N.D. ------------------------------------- 3 Figure 2. Map of DAPL Route Intersection in Cannon Ball, N.D. ---------------------------------- 4 Figure 3. System Network for Analyzing Attitude: Affect in Appraisal Theory ------------------ 19 Figure 4. System Network for Analyzing Attitude: Judgement in Appraisal Theory ------------- 21 Figure 5. System Network for Analyzing Attitude: Appreciation in Appraisal Theory ---------- 21 Figure 6. System Network for Analyzing Engagement in Appraisal Theory ---------------------- 22 Figure 7. Sample Transitivity Diagram ----------------------------------------------------------------- 26 Figure 8. Sample of Attributed ‘Material’ Process Coding in NYT Report 10/28 ---------------- 27 Figure 9. System Network for Analyzing Social Actors and Their Representation in Discourse (Adapted) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 Figure 10. Sample Coding for Attitude: Judgement (of Appraisal Theory) ------------------------ 33 Figure 11. Percentage of Attributed vs. Unattributed Phrasing Across All News Reports ----- 204 Figure 12. Percentage Range of Process Types Across All News Reports ----------------------- 205 Figure 13. Range of Source Attributions Across All News Reports by Percentage------------- 213 Figure 14. Transitivity Diagram, NYT 10/28 Report ------------------------------------------------ 239 Figure 15. Transitivity Diagram, NYT 11/21 Report ------------------------------------------------ 241 Figure 16. Transitivity Diagram, WSJ Report 10/27 ------------------------------------------------ 244 Figure 17. Transitivity Diagram, WSJ Report 11/21 ------------------------------------------------ 245 Figure 18. Transitivity Diagram, AP Report 9/4 ----------------------------------------------------- 249 Figure 19. Transitivity Diagram, AP Report 10/28 -------------------------------------------------- 251 Figure 20. Transitivity Diagram, AP Report 11/21 -------------------------------------------------- 253 Figure 21. Transitivity Diagram, BT Report 9/3 ----------------------------------------------------- 255 vii Figure 22. Transitivity Diagram, BT Report 10/28 -------------------------------------------------- 258 Figure 23. Transitivity Diagram, BT Report 11/22 -------------------------------------------------- 261 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1. News Reports of Protest Altercations Occurring on 9/3, 10/27, and 11/20------------