Cohesive Devices in English Business News: A Comparative Analysis of Online and Print Media Discourse
Author : Tanyaret Boonma, Suwaree Yordchim
Abstract : This study investigates the use of cohesive devices in English business news, comparing their deployment across online and print media platforms. Drawing on Halliday and Hasan's (1976) framework of cohesion, the research examines how grammatical and lexical cohesive ties function to maintain textual coherence in business news discourse. The study analyzes 20 business news articles from The Bangkok Post, comprising 10 online articles and 10 print articles published between January and March 2024. A mixed-methods approach combining qualitative content analysis with quantitative frequency counts was employed to investigate five categories of cohesive devices: reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction, and lexical cohesion. The findings reveal significant differences in cohesive device deployment between online and print business news. Online articles demonstrate a higher frequency of reference devices, particularly demonstrative references, which facilitate rapid information retrieval in digital reading environments. Print articles exhibit greater reliance on lexical cohesion, especially through repetition and collocation, supporting sustained reading engagement. Conjunctions emerge as the dominant cohesive tie across both media formats, with additive conjunctions appearing most frequently. The study contributes to discourse analysis by illuminating how medium-specific constraints shape cohesive strategies in business journalism. The findings offer pedagogical implications for English language teaching and professional journalism training, particularly in developing writing competencies appropriate for diverse media platforms.
Keywords : Cohesive devices, English news, Business news, Online media, Print media, Discourse analysis, The Bangkok Post
Conference Name : International Conference on Next-Generation Educational Models and Innovation (ICNGEMI-26)
Conference Place : Bangkok, Thailand
Conference Date : 4th Feb 2026
