Editorial and its comments: Follow-ups in a discussion forum
: Johansson Marjut
: Fetzer Anita, Weizman Elda, Reber Elisabeth
: ESF Strategic Workshop
: Würzburg
: 2012
: Follow-ups Across Discourse Domains: A Cross-Cultural Exploration of their forms and functions. Proceedings of the European Science Foundation Strategic Workshop
: 151
: 164
: 14
: http://opus.bibliothek.uni-wuerzburg.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/6116
In this paper, I present an analysis of one discussion forum that is related to an editorial in an online newspaper. Follow-ups are communicative acts involving stancetaking. They take up prior discourse that they may accept or challenge. In the data analyzed, the challenging follow-ups target the editorial and its content, the journalists, their writing and the stance expressed. These follow-ups exposed the lack of accurate information in the editorial. They cast doubt on the editorial and provided more information on the object of the discourse. The follow-ups that accepted the editorial used positive evaluations such as congratulations. Their additional information served to support the excellent analysis they felt the editorial presented.