BIAS AND POWER: APPRAISAL IN MEDIA DISCOURSE

Abstract

The objects are articles from Jakarta Globe entitled Personalities Set to Trump Party Loyalties in Indonesian Presidential Election, Golkar Riven by Presidential Candidacy, and SBY Silence May Speak a Thousand Words comparing Jokowi-JK to Prabowo-Hatta. The titles seem neutral, while the contents are not. Actually, journalists should be lack of bias. However, in this case, appraisal exists, meaning tendency in publishing, including bias and power. There is a relation between bias and power (Richardson, as cited in Allen, 2012:7). Bias is formed because of power while power is gained to show bias. In fact, material processes are for power necessity; mental process is for expressing bias (Simpson, 2011:452). However, in these articles, journalists offer sources that have power applying verbal processes to indicate bias. This is related to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to see the implicit meaning from the language used. In sorting the data, purposive sampling has selected the intended things (Mackey and Gass, 2005:122) based on the knowledge about power and bias by Foucoult or Fairclough (1989). There are 31 sentences sorted. In processing, the phrases are coded into tabulation in terms of transitivity (Martin et al., 1997) and appraisal (Martin and White, 2005). From the result, transitivity contributes to the pattern of bias and power. There is an order of mostly used process type. First, in verbal processes, the participants are named speakers with specific identities in politics. Besides, there is a source in real experience as evidence, with valid result. Then, media reports, even, quotes bias opinion. Hence, speakers and symbolic source act as power sources so that we vote whom they are biased to. Then, material processes prove that what candidates do and what happens are concrete. Thus, these produce power abuse, then, space for bias. Furthermore, based on what are exemplified by relational processes, consisting of attributive and identifying ones, we consider bias and power emerge. Then, behavioral processes, the active version of verbal and mental ones, indicate real productive activities in life. These include perception, cognition, and affection consciousness. Therefore, the ideas have basis. Finally, existential process introduces the reason of supporting to gain power in expressing bias. Then, we consider writers‘ evaluation for readers to interpret the news. Related to verbal process, the writers use references called heteroglossia. There is an order of mostly used heteroglossia. First, acknowledges present explicit subjectivity of sources supporting or rejecting utterances. Hence, the writers deliver power sources for readers to follow bias. Moreover, entertains, indicate possibilities. Furthermore, denies introduce alternatives by rejecting something while respecting else. Then, endorses emerge responsible, valid, undeniable, and highly warrantable power sources. Thus, media clearly align the readers to vote whom the power sources are biased to. Additionally, counters represent current idea replacing previous expected one. These invite us to compare the candidates so that bias seems clear. Finally, concurs clearly announce the agreement in terms of bias. Besides, concerning with attributive process, attitude, consisting of affect, judgement, and appreciation, is included. Affects express the writers‘ feeling and emotional reaction toward the candidates. Then, judgement and appreciation value and explain candidates‘ behavior. Besides, attributive processes are also related to graduations, raising or lowering positive and negative degrees by comparison. These contribute to the existence of bias. Hence, instead of accepting the news as what is presented explicitly, we should read it critically to reach the implicit intention from the language used.