From Print to Digital: Linguistic Perspectives on Media Language and Communication

Abstract

Language plays a central role in media, serving not only to transmit information but also to construct social realities, reinforce ideologies, and shape public opinion. The shift from print to digital platforms has transformed how language is produced, shared, and interpreted. This study examines media language through the lens of stylistics, pragmatics, and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), comparing newspapers, online news portals, and social media platforms. Using qualitative descriptive methods, data were drawn from Kompas, The Jakarta Post, Liputan6.com, Detik.com, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter/X. The analysis highlights stylistic features (diction and metaphor), pragmatic strategies (speech acts and modality), and discourse practices (framing and ideology). Findings reveal that print media use formal and authoritative language, online portals favor accessible and concise styles, while social media emphasize multimodality, interactivity, and creativity through hashtags, emojis, and code-switching. The study concludes that linguistic literacy is vital for audiences to critically interpret and engage with media in the digital era.