Discourse and Media Discourse: The Genesis of Concepts and Essential Differences

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of key concepts for modern communication studies - discourse and media discourse. It traces the evolution of the concept of discourse from linguistic and semiotic interpretations to socio-philosophical ones, where it is understood as a practice that constructs reality through language and is inextricably linked to power (M. Foucault). Alternative approaches are considered: J. Habermas's normative ideal of communicative rationality and the radical postmodernist position, which rejects stable meanings in favor of a struggle of interpretations (J. Derrida, E. Laclau, C. Mouffe). The synthesis of these directions is critical discourse analysis, which offers a toolkit for revealing ideologies embedded in language practices. The second part of the work reveals the specifics of media discourse as a technologically mediated and institutionalized form that dominates the information age. Its essential characteristics are identified: mass orientation, intentional persuasiveness, subordination to the laws of the media context, and postmodern features-fragmentation, clip-like nature, hyperreality. In conclusion, the fundamental differences between the two phenomena are systematized, and the status of media discourse as a leading force determining the rules for constructing social meanings and collective identities in the modern world is substantiated. The author concludes that their relationship is dialectical, and proficiency in critical analysis of media discourse becomes crucial for navigating the modern information space.