ABSTRACT

In the United States, hate speech sits at the intersection of ethical and legal debates and has a complex relationship with journalism. The First Amendment provides broad legal protections for hate speech, and U.S. journalists have historically been known for their advocacy for speech freedoms. However, ethical debate persists about the extent to which hate speech should be used within U.S. public discourse. At the nexus of this debate are journalists with intersecting and – possibly – competing duties. This study examines the discursive construction of hate speech in U.S. opinion journalism, analyzing journalistic discourse published in U.S. editorials and opinion columns between 1998 and 2019. The study finds five key themes that, together, indicate the use of hate speech as a means to articulate a libertarian interpretation of public discourse, facilitating a reductionist conception of freedom of expression that does not live up to journalism’s duties to democracy.

抽象的

在美国，仇恨言论位于道德和法律辩论的交汇处，与新闻业有着复杂的关系。《第一修正案》为仇恨言论提供了广泛的法律保护，而且美国新闻工作者一向以倡导言论自由而闻名。但是，关于仇恨言论应在多大程度上进行道德辩论仍然存在在美国公共话语中使用。在这场辩论中，新闻工作者担负着交叉的，甚至可能是相互竞争的职责。这项研究研究了美国舆论新闻中仇恨言论的话语结构，分析了1998年至2019年间在美国社论和舆论专栏中发表的新闻话语。该研究发现了五个关键主题，这些主题共同表明了利用仇恨言论进行表达的方式自由主义对公共话语的解释，有利于还原主义的言论自由概念，不符合新闻界的民主职责。