Legislative initiatives in the media: strategies for representation and interpretation

Faculty of Journalism, Ural Federal University, Lenina st., 51, Yekaterinburg, Russia

^* Corresponding author: vestnik-va@mail.ru

Abstract

The discussion of legislative initiatives, as well as the interpretation a legislative acts or amendments, is an ambiguous phenomenon within the framework of a thematic media discourse. The specified reason determines that the study of the phenomenon is a necessary and relevant thing. The analysis of a legislative hypertext involves the consideration of representative and interpretive strategies of submission of laws by media. An approach seems relevant because the media shapes the public opinion and legal culture, ensures the quality and results of the public discussion of legislative innovations. The research of socio-legal communications is based on the methodology of critical discourse analysis involving the consideration of an unobvious purpose, structure, and additional meanings of the statement. The differences between the practices of representing legal decisions and interpreting lawmaking allowed singling out key strategies for the formation of legislative discourse. The official media represent a law or legislative initiative using strategies such as discussion and popularization, propaganda of law as the basis of society, education that raises the level of legal culture of the population. Opposition media practice the interpretation of legislative activity using other strategic decisions: constructive criticism, analysis of the development and adoption process, construction of a hypothesis of application, as well as emotional (provocative) interpretation.