A Contrastive Analysis of Headlines Writing Techniques in FIFA World Cup 2022

Abstract

In the world of information technology, a news story plays a crucial role in people’s daily lives as it will keep them informed about the current situations in an ever-changing world. Therefore, understanding the news structures in newspapers, including the headlines, becomes essential. This Contrastive Analysis of Headline Writing Techniques in FIFA World Cup 2022 was conducted to investigate and compare the occurrences and frequency of techniques in the Bangkok Post, the New York Times, and the Metro. The data were analyzed based on the theoretical framework proposed by Reah (1998), Fredrickson et al. (1991), and Metcalf (2013). The findings found that idioms were the most frequently used technique in all three newspapers, while loaded words were the most popular technique in the Bangkok Post (f =33,14.53%). Intertextuality was found the most in the Metro (f=30, 12.55%). As the tabloid newspaper, the Metro had a more significant number in phonology (f=50, 20.92%) than those in the Bangkok Post and the New York Times, which are the broadsheet newspapers.  Homophone was the only technique absent in all three newspapers. The findings implied that almost every headline-writing technique was used in all the three newspapers. Studying these techniques would be useful in both reading the headline and studying English. Reading a news headline is also a practical reading strategy to improve English skills. Moreover, the understanding of headline writing techniques would enable readers to learn new cultures because headlines were often made based on cultural and social backgrounds.