Language and Power: Reporting High Profile Murders in Print Media in Kenya

As news reporting brings together different actors the resulting power dynamics, especially in the context of murder reporting and more specifically on murders involving prominent personalities, shapes the way in which news is produced and vice versa. These reports, compared to those of other murders, often reveal how journalists carefully navigate complex socio-political landscapes shaped by power dynamics. This navigation not only ensures reporters’ safety but also inadvertently reproduces asymmetrical power relations within murder discourses. Taking these propositions as a basis, the current project investigates how language (un)masks power dynamics in murder reports involving prominent personalities. Specifically, focusing on headlines and introductory paragraphs from Daily Nation and The Standard newspapers, the research applies principles of Critical Linguistics to explore how journalists incorporate, highlight or conceal power dynamics which not only shapes and is shaped by the language used but also reflects socio-political aspects such as justice, inequality, dominance among others within the murder reports involving prominent personalities. The study also examines the implications of this language use on the individuals involved in the reports and on the broader socio-political context. A total of 10 samples of headlines and introductory paragraphs were purposefully sampled from the two major Kenyan media outlets in 2018. Focusing on the headline and introductory paragraphs, where the most newsworthy and striking information is presented, allowed for a deeper understanding of language use in these reports. The findings reveal that journalists, in reporting on murders involving prominent figures, linguistically navigate a complex landscape of power dynamics that poses significant risks to their safety often leading to linguistic strategies that soften portrayals or obscure critical details which inadvertently reproduces asymmetrical power relations within murder discourses.