Int. j. econ. manag. soc. sci., Vol(4), No (6), June, 2015. pp.

426-431

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International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences

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ISSN:
2306-7276

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How does Cooperative Principle (CP) Shape the News?

Observance of Gricean Maxims in News Production Process
Reza Kheirabadi *
Faculty member of organization for Educational Research and planning (OERP), Ministry of Education of Islamic Republic of Iran. PhD in General Linguistics.

Yasaman Hasanizadeh
MA in General Linguistics from Department of General Linguistics Science and Research branch ,Islamic Azad UniversityShahrood,Iran.
*Corresponding author: rkheirabadi@gmail.com

Keywords

Abstract

News Discourse Analysis

News values
Grice Cooperative Principle (CP)
News agencies of Iran

News production is a multidimensional process in and within which many socio-political, economic and
linguistic factors play their interestingly interwoven roles. Linguistic features of the news and the way
journalists express and organize their stories have been in the center of attention for both media researchers
and linguists at least since the beginning of the twentieth century. News values, set of criteria by which the
journalists and editors make judgment about newsworthiness of an event, is widely studied by linguists,
especially critical discourse analysts and due to the fact that every event which is reflected in the news goes
through some kind of Gate keeping process, the role of news values seems to be of pivotal importance in
shaping news and consequently the public opinion. In this article, we try to study the role of Grice
Cooperative Principle (CP) and its relevant maxims (quality, quantity, manner and relevance) in news
production process based on the data mainly gathered from Iranian news agencies. In this paper, we propose
the idea that news can be seen as a mutual conversational interaction between the media and its audiences,
and consequently Grice conversational maxims are also respected and observed in final products of the news
production process. The data of this descriptive study is gathered from two Iranian news agencies (IRNA
and Fars) within the period of Sept-Oct 2013 and 100 main stories are studied to elicit the CP and its
relevant maxims in the selected corpus. We eventually analyze a news story to illustrate in action how CP
can be considered as linguistic criteria of news composition. The results of this paper support the idea of
suggesting Grices cooperative principle as a (linguistics) news value participating in news selectivity
process previously proposed by this author in 2012. While in this paper we showed some discernible aspects
and manifestations of CP in shaping the news, many questions still remain unanswered about the observance
and violence of CP in news productions.

1.

Introduction and literature

Considering the importance of the news and its central role in modern human life, the study of how the news is written and selected has long
been of interest to researchers in mass media, journalism and communication studies. News selection is a routine and very important process for
news agencies and media in general and as Albert Braun (2009, p.1)[1] mentions Every event which is reported in the news, goes through some
kind of Gate keeping process. Since 1950s, both scholars and practitioners examining the gatekeeper function of the news media have sought
to explain why some issues and events become newsworthy while others remain obscure.
Some media researchers refer to a set of widely known News Values (also called news criteria) which enables them to make decision whether
a news story has enough technical and professional potentiality (value) to be selected and consequently published in competing with other
potential possibilities or not. News values determine the amount of prominence given to a news story by both the media and audience. Although
this concept is widely and internationally used, there is no unique list of news values and news criteria vary from one time, place and culture to
another. Stuart Hall (1973, p.181cited in ONeill and Harcup , 2009 p.163 ) [2] argues:
News values are one of the most opaque structures of meaning in modern society [] Journalists speak of the news as if events select
themselves. Further, they speak as if which is the most significant news story, and which news angles are most salient are divinely inspired.
Yet of the millions of events which occur daily in the world, only a tiny proportion ever become visible as potential news stories and of this
proportion, only a small fraction are actually produced as the days news in the news media. We appear to be dealing, then, with a deep
structure whose function as a selective device is un-transparent even to those who professionally most know how to operate it.
The designation of news values as a theoretical concept in media studies mainly goes back to Galtung and Ruges seminal and widely referred
to paper (1965) [3] and many other scholars have been trying to explore different dimensions of this classic term in their native and authentic
media atmosphere.
Galtung and Ruge (1965) [3] studied the reflection of three major international crises (Congo, Cyprus and Cuba) in four Norwegian
newspapers and proposed some alternative approaches to reporting the foreign news in the press.
Although their work faced some serious criticism, Galtung and Ruges list of news values was and has been inspiring enough to register their
names as the first to provide a systematic list of news values (Palmer, 1998 p.378[4]). Bell (1991, p.155) [5] calls the work as the foundation
study of news values, McQuail (1994, p. 270) [6] as the most influential explanation of news values, and Tunstall (1970, p. 20) [7] believes
it could be the classic answer to the question what is news? For Barbie Zelizer (2004:54) [8], Galtung and Ruge were responsible for perhaps
the single piece of research that most cogently advanced a general understanding of news selection processes that remains even today one of
the most influential pieces on news making. (Wahl-Jorgensen and Hanitzsch:164) [9].
The following is the brief review of Galtung and Rugs so-called list of news values which consist of 12 news factors:
1.1. Frequency: An event that unfolds within a publication cycle of the news medium is more likely to be selected than a one that takes
place over a long period of time.
1.2. Threshold: Events have to pass a threshold before being recorded at all; the greater the intensity (the more gruesome the murder or the
more casualties in an accident), the greater the impact and the more likely it is to be selected.

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International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences Vol(4), No (6), June, 2015.

1.3. Unambiguity: The more clearly an event can be understood and interpreted without multiple meanings, the more likely it is to be
selected.
1.4. Meaningfulness: The culturally familiar is more likely to be selected.
1.5. Consonance: The news selector may be able to predict (due to experience) events that will be newsworthy, thus forming a preimage of an event, which in turn increases its chances of becoming news.
1.6. Unexpectedness: Among events meaningful and/or consonant, the unexpected or rare event is more likely to be selected.
1.7. Continuity: An event already in the news has a good chance of remaining in the news (even if its impact has been reduced) because it
has become familiar and easier to interpret.
1.8. Composition: An event may be included as news less because of its intrinsic news value than because it fits into the overall
composition or balance of a newspaper or news broadcast.
1.9. Reference to elite nations: The actions of elite nations are seen as more consequential than the actions of other nations.
1.10. Reference to elite people: Again, the actions of elite people, likely to be famous, may be seen by news selectors as having more
consequence than others, and news audiences may identify with them.
1.11. Reference to persons: News that can be presented in terms of individual people rather than abstractions is likely to be selected.
1.12. Reference to something negative: Bad events are generally unambiguous and newsworthy. (Galtung and Rouge 1965 cited in ONeill
and Harcup , 2009, p.164-165) [2].
In the introductory part of their paper (1965, p.64), Galtung and Ruge stated that No claim is made for completeness in the list of factors or
deductions and it seems their invitation for further studies on different aspects of news values was warmly welcomed by other researchers. In
the course of time, many scholars attempted to (re)classify and represent completing or totally new lists of news values for different means of
communication (News values in Radio, Television and Internet websites), different societies (Asian news values for example!) and various
cultural, social, economic and experimental backgrounds.
Schulz (1982) was one of the leading researchers who developed the Galtung and Ruges news values list by conducting a content analysis of
newspapers, examining both domestic and foreign news. He proposed six different dimensions to news selection, which he further broke down
into 19 news factors: status (elite nation, elite institution, elite person); valence (aggression, controversy, values, success); relevance
(consequence, concern); identification (proximity, ethnocentrism, personalization, emotions); consonance (theme, stereotype, predictability); and
dynamics (timeliness, uncertainty, unexpectedness). (ONeill and Harcup , 2009, p.165)
Among other scholars who suggested new sets of news values or attempted to rehash Galtungs list some names like Golding and Elliott(1979)
[10], Gans (1980) [11], Bell (1991) [5], and Harcup and ONeill (2001) [12], are more famous for their works. Let us in brief go over some of
them:
Golding and Elliot (1979 Pp.115- 123) [10].pinned down a list of eleven news values with major differences with the original source of Galtung
and Rugs:
Drama, Visual attractiveness, Entertainment, Importance, Size, Proximity, Negativity, Brevity, Recency, Elites and Personalities.
Harcup and ONeill (2001, P.279 cited in ONeill and Harcup , 2009, p.167) [12], proposed another explanatory set of news criteria which is
listed below:
The Power Elite: Stories concerning powerful individuals, organisations or institutions.
Celebrity: Stories concerning people who are already famous.
Entertainment: Stories concerning sex, show business, human interest, animals, an unfolding drama, or offering opportunities for
humorous treatment, entertaining photographs or witty headlines.
Surprise: Stories that have an element of surprise and/or contrast.
Bad News: Stories with particularly negative overtones, such as conflict or tragedy.
Good News: Stories with particularly positive overtones such as rescues and cures.
Magnitude: Stories that are perceived as sufficiently significant either in the numbers of people involved or in the potential impact.
Relevance: Stories about issues, groups and nations perceived to be relevant to the audience.
Follow-up: Stories about subjects already in the news.
Newspaper Agenda: Stories that set or fi t the news organizations own agenda.
The most recent development in the news production analysis is the ethnographic approach in which researchers with training in linguistics go
into the newsrooms and observe the daily routines of making news.(See especial edition of Journal of Pragmatics, vol.43, Issue 7(May 2011) for
discursive perspectives on news production.)
This article is designed to study the role of Cooperative Principle (CP) in shaping the news and support the preliminary idea of suggesting a
linguistic set of news values previously posited by the author in 2012. (Kheirabadi and Aghagolzade, 2012) [13]. The main objective of this
research is to introduce Paul Grices Cooperative maxims of Quality, Quantity, Manner and Relevance as the essential linguistic criteria of news
composition. By analyzing the news values lists presented from 1965 and afterwards, we can infer that many of the so-called items, mentioned in
various news values lists so far can be regarded as rewording of CP and its relevant maxims.

2.

Methodology and theoretical framework

Herbert Paul Grice, in his inspiring lectures in Harvard University (1967) [14] which leaded to his seminal work Logic and conversation in
1975, posited a set of rules governing the conversation process in general and defining the way people interact with each other. The principle
was named as Cooperative Principle (CP) and in Grices words is phrased as:
Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk
exchange in which you are engaged. (1989, p. 26).
In Grices view both parts of a conversation must take part in communication process cooperatively and although CP is phrased imperatively, the
principle is intended to be a description of the way people behave in their normal conversational interactions.
Grice limited the use of the CP for describing those conversations that observe the following three characteristics:
1. The participants have some common immediate aim.
2. The contributions of the participants [are] dovetailed, mutually dependent.
3. There is some sort of understanding (often tacit) that, other things being equal, the transactions should continue in appropriate style
unless both parties are agreeable that it should terminate (Grice, 1989p. 29 cited in Mey 2009 p.152) [15].

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International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences Vol(4), No (6), June, 2015.

Although at first look the above mentioned characteristics seem to be much restrictive, Grice believes that most conversations observe CP due to
the following fact: Our talk exchanges . . . are characteristically, to some degree at least, cooperative efforts; and each participant recognizes in
them, to some extent, a common purpose or set of purposes, or at least a mutually accepted direction (Grice, 1989: 26 cited ibid). [15]
Known as Gricean maxims, CP as a super or supreme principle can be divided into four conversational maxims of Quality, Quantity, Relevance
(also relation) and manner formulated by Grice as:
1. Quantity (give as much information as is required, and no more than is required)
2. Quality (do not say what is false or that for which you lack adequate evidence)
3. Relation (be relevant) 4. Manner (be clear, be orderly, and avoid ambiguity) (Grice, 1989 p. 28) [15]
The central idea of this article is to expand the scope of CP from daily conversational exchanges into the realm of the news and suggest CP and
conversational maxims as linguistics criteria for news writing. The influence of CP theory was much deeper than it was assumed at first and very
soon the trace of CP was discernible in other fields of linguistics. For the influence of CP on other scholarship of linguistics see the relevant part
in Mey 2009 p.155)
Kheirabadi and Aghagolzadeh (2012) [16] posited the idea that many so-called news values previously mentioned in news values list are
actually rewording and paraphrasing CP and its maxims and illustrates the idea by the following examples:
Maxim of Quality
The concept of referring to quality markers especially statistics, numbers and quotations from official sources is observable in many news values
lists such as the followings:
Facility (Bell, 1991[5]; Gregory & Miller, 1998) [17]; Numbers (Hetherington,1985) [18],; Voters, Survey Respondent, and other agreements
(Gans, 1979) [11]
When journalists refer to numbers, statistics and facts and figures or quote from an official source, they are indirectly trying to show the
audience that their news is respecting the maxim of quality.
Maxim of quantity
This maxim is also observable in the following news values:
Brevity (Bell,1991) [5], ;Follow-Up (Harcup & ONeill, 2001) [12]; CO-Option (Bell, 1991[5]; Gregory & Miller, 1998) [17], Meaningless
(Galtung & Ruge, 1965) [3], Impact and Consequences (Herbert, 2000) [14]; Significance (Hetherington, 1985) [18],;Magnitude (Harcup &
ONeill, 2001) [12],; Thershold (Galtung & Ruge, 1965) [3],
A news story should be informative enough, neither too long and nor too short and this proposition is paraphrasing of the general concept of
Quantity maxim: Make your contribution as informative as is required and Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.
Maxim of relation
This maxim may seem quite clear initially but as Grice himself mentioned it is very difficult to define it exactly: "Though the maxim itself is
terse, its formulation conceals a number of problems that exercise me a good deal: questions about what different kinds and focuses of relevance
there may be, how these shift in the course of a talk exchange, how to allow for the fact that subjects of conversations are legitimately changed,
and so on. I find the treatment of such questions exceedingly difficult, and I hope to revert to them in later work." (Grice 1989, p.27) [19]
A relevant news is a news which is relevant to the needs and interests of its audiences. This maxim is reworded under other names and titles in
various news values lists:
Relevance (OSullivan et al., 1983[20]; Bell, 1991[5]; Gregory & Miller, 1998[10],;McQuail, 2000[21],; Harcup & ONeill, 2001)
[12],Composition (Galtung & Ruge, 1965) [3]; Political Balance (Warner, 1970) [22], Cultural Response (Ryan, 1991) [23]; National
Ceremonies (Gans, 1979) [11]; Consensus(OSullivan et al., 1983) [20], Predictability And Routine (McQuail, 2000) [21],Elite People (Galtung
& Ruge, 1965) [3],;Elitism (Gregory & Miller, 1998) [17]; Proximity(Ruehlmann, 1979[24],; Hetherington, 1985[18]; Ryan, 1991[23],;
MacDougall in Palmer, 1998[4],; Herbert, 2000) [14]; Closeness (OSullivan et al., 1983[20],; McQuail,2000) [21]; Domestic Affairs
(OSullivan et al., 1983); Location Of Events (McQuail,2000) [21],; Proximity To The Audience Of People And Events In The News
(McQuail,2000). [21]
As we see, the factor of relevance and to speak and write relatively is mentioned in many lists of news values under various titles even the
relevance itself. In other words, the more relevant the news is to the needs of audiences, the more probable the selection is.
Maxim of manner
The followings are only some of the news criteria in which the content of the manner maxim is in the center of attention: Unambiguity (Galtung
& Ruge, 1965) [3], and Clarity (Bell, 1991[5], and McQuail, 2000) [21].
A news should be unambiguous in composition level because it is not generally a highly scientific and academic writing which needs much
background information to be understood.

3.

Data analysis

It is widely believed that conversational maxims remain some linguistic traces from themselves within the course of conversation. There are
certain kinds of expressions speakers use to mark that they may be in danger of not fully adhering to the principles, these kinds of expressions
are called hedges. (Yule,2000, p.38) [25], for example we may say: I am not sure if this is right or As far as I know to show that we
respect the maxim of quality and many of us may use this clich expression So, to cut a long story short, to emphasize that we observe the
quality maxim in communication process. We can observe many of such phrases and sentences in news stories also:
To sum up the story
There are no more details available about the accident(Quantity maxim)
The official sources announced that
No one takes the responsibility of this report
It is heard that(Quality maxim)
On this subject, we interview(Relation maxim)
To clarify the news, I talk to(manner maxim)
Such linguistic clues are good sources of information while we analyze a news story from a CP perspective and Kheirabadi and
Aghagolzade(2012) [13], based their argumentation on such expressions among international news stories gathered from both Iranian and nonIranian dispatches. In this article, we collected the data from the news stories of two Iranian news agencies (Fars news agency abbreviated as
FNA and Iran news agency (IRNA) ) Sept-Oct. 2013 and studied a corpus of one hundred news stories to investigate the role of CP in shaping

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How does Cooperative Principle (CP) Shape the News? Observance of Gricean Maxims in News Production Process
International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences Vol(4), No (6), June, 2015.

the news. We checked the political desk of these news agencies and consequently the genre of the collected data is political ( both domestic and
international) . In our analysis, we took both hedges and other linguistic clues in to consideration and found that the influence of CP and its
relevant maxims can be seen as considerably undeniable (if not indispensable). The followings are just a few examples showing the role of CP
observance in the body of data we selected (the clues are underlined and italicized for the sake of clarity):
1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)
9)

10)

11)

12)

13)

14)

15)

16)

17)

Three Egypt Policemen Killed in Attack in Nile Delta Town

TEHRAN (FNA) 20:38 - Oct 27 2013
Three Egyptian policemen were killed on Monday when masked men attacked a checkpoint in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura,
security sources said.
Source: Saudi Coup Attempt to Topple Yemeni President Fails
TEHRAN (FNA) 15:24 - Oct 27 2013
The Saudi government's plot to stage a coup in Yemen to topple President Abd Rabuh Mansur Hadi fell flat after sensitive
information leaked, informed sources disclosed on Sunday.
Persian Gulf Arab States Plot to Disintegrate Libya
TEHRAN (FNA) 14:40 - Oct 27 2013
A number of Persian Gulf Arab countries have hatched plots to disintegrate the Eastern part of Libya from the African state, Libyan
sources said on Sunday.
Kurd Fighters Seize Syrian Border Post from Al-Qaeda
TEHRAN (FNA) 11:19 - Oct 26 2013
Syrian Kurdish fighters have seized the sole border post held by Al-Qaeda-linked groups on their border with Iraq, Kurdish sources
and an Iraqi official said.
14 Border Guards Killed in Southeastern Iran
TEHRAN (FNA) 10:13 - Oct 26 2013
At least 14 Iranian border guards have been killed in heavy clashes with outlaws in the Southeastern province of Sistan and
Balouchestan on Friday night, sources said.
Monuments Erected in MKO's Camp Ashraf in Memory of Al-Qaeda Terrorists
TEHRAN (FNA) 18:51 - Oct 23 2013
Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO, also known as the MEK, NCRI and PMOI) has erected monuments and statutes in its main
training camp in memory of the Al-Qaeda terrorists who have been killed after the fall of Saddam in Iraq, sources in Iraq's Diyala
province revealed on Saturday.
SOURCES: Saudi Arabia Plans to Arrest More Activists after Hajj Season
TEHRAN (FNA) 10:55 - Oct 23 2013
Saudi security forces intend to tighten their grip on the Arab countrys dissidents by arresting more political and human rights activists
after the Hajj season, sources revealed on Wednesday.
Israeli Forces Raid Villages across Jenin, Detain 2
TEHRAN (FNA) 16:58 - Oct 22 2013
Israeli forces raided houses in the Northern West Bank village of Sansour and detained two Palestinian men, security sources said.
US Man with Guns, Ammo in Luggage Arrested in New York Airport
TEHRAN (FNA) 17:08 - Sep 15 2013
A man carrying two handguns, two defaced rifles and high-capacity magazines was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport
in New York, the officials said.
Senior Lawmaker Supports Confidentiality of Iran-G5+1 Talks
TEHRAN (FNA)- 15:24 - Oct 22 2013
Member of the Iranian Parliament's Presiding Board Hossein Sobhaninia voiced support for the Iranian team of negotiators' resolve to
keep the details of their recent talks with the six world powers confidential.
details of Foreign Companies Investment in Irans Petrochem Industries
TEHRAN (FNA) 16:16 - Jun 21 2013
Managing-Director of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Abdolhossein Bayat revealed details of Iran's joint investment
projects with Turkish and South Korean companies.
Syria: 14-Year-Old Terrorist Discloses details of His Role in Criminal Acts
TEHRAN (FNA)- 16:48 - Oct 06 2013
14-year old terrorist Omran Adnan Qaddour disclosed the details of his participation in acts of killing, looting and kidnapping in
addition to planting explosives and smuggling weapons.
Official: Sanctions left least impacts on countrys defense sector
Tehran (IRNA) 17:14- Oct 28 2013
Head of Irans Civil Defense Organization Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali said on Monday that the sanctions imposed on Iran
have left least impacts on the countrys defense sector.
Iran Navy saves Iranian ship from pirates
Tehran, Oct 28, IRNA An Iranian Navy official said naval forces on Monday foiled an attack by pirates on a domestic commercial
ship.
2013/10/28 - 15:19
Blast kills Pakistani soldier in tribal region
Islamabad, Oct: 27 ,IRNA-- A Pakistani soldier was killed and three were injured in lawless tribal region on Sunday, security officials
said
2013/10/27 - 15:55
UN official proposes ways to save Lake of Orumiyeh
Tehran, Oct 27, IRNA The United Nations Resident Coordinator Gary Lewis has proposed ways to prevent the death of the worlds
largest saltwater lake, the Lake of Orumiyeh.
2013/10/27 - 12:16
Tehran to host Iran-Oman tourism technical committee session
Tehran, Oct 26, IRNA Iran-Oman joint tourism technical committee meeting will be held in Tehran on November 3-4, an official
announced on Saturday.
2013/10/26 - 14:00

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International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences Vol(4), No (6), June, 2015.

18) Pakistan, U.S. discuss Afghan peace, PM Sharif visit to Washington

Islamabad, Oct 14, IRNA Pakistan and the United States Monday discussed reconciliation in Afghanistan and Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharifs upcoming visit to Washington, official sources said.
2013/10/14 - 15:42
19) Blast kills three Pakistani soldiers
Islamabad, Oct 6, IRNA A roadside bomb blast Sunday killed at least three Pakistani soldiers near a tribal region, security sources
said.
2013/10/06 - 11:29
20) Six Pakistanis injured in Indian firing
Islamabad, Oct 5, IRNA Indian firing has injured six Pakistanis along the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region, official
sources said.
2013/10/05 - 10:55
The implicit and explicit role of CP in the shaping of the news collected in this research was so profound that we found the hedges in 42 news
stories out of one hundred which is a meaningful number!
In order not to limit ourselves to quantitative argumentations, let us analyze a news story about a terrorist car explosion in Pakistan selected from
IRNA and try to illustrate some aspects of CP in this news. Please note that we restricted our analysis to obvious linguistics instances only.
researchers analysis and clarifying remarks is added to original text within square bracket:
Car bomb in Pakistans crowded market kills 42
Islamabad, Sept 30, IRNA
A powerful car bomb blast has killed at least [the number is probably more, observance of quality maxim] 42 people including women and
children in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, doctors said [mentioning the source, observance of quality maxim].
A spokesman at the main hospital [mentioning the source, observance of quality maxim] said that six children and three women are among the
dead.
Doctors have confirmed that death toll reached 42 while nearly [number is not exact, observance of quality maxim] 80 more injured are being
treated. Several injured were registered critical, the spokesman of the Lady Reading Hospital said.
Dozens of shops and vehicles caught fire after the blast at the crowded Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province, witnesses said.
Police [mentioning the source, observance of quality maxim] said that 14 members of a family were among those killed who had gone to
Peshawar for preparations of a marriage ceremony.
The bomb placed in a vehicle was triggered through a remote-controlled device, Commissioner of Peshawar Sahibzada Anis said [mentioning
the source, observance of quality maxim].
Head of the Bomb Disposal Squad Shafqat Malik said [mentioning the source, observance of quality maxim] nearly [distance is not exact,
observance of quality maxim] 200 kilogram explosives were used in the blast.
He told reporters at the blast site [the interview is placed in site, observance of the relation maxim] the whole car was converted into a bomb to
cause collateral damage. He said preliminary investigation [the investigation has not been finalized yet, observance of quality maxim] suggests
that the bombing was carried out with the help of a remote controlled device.
Several shops caught fire and fire fighters were called to extinguish the blaze.
Police said all [not ambiguous, observance of manner maxim] those killed were civilians who had been busy shopping for the coming Eid
festival. People from other areas had also arrived in Peshawar for shopping because of official holiday on Sunday.
Pakistani Taliban denied involvement. No other group claimed responsibility [observance of relevance maxim] for the deadly attack, the third in
the area in eight days.[ giving relative details without ambiguity]
Another blast in the bus of government employees killed and injured dozens near Peshawar on Friday. The blast occurred near a Church which
was also attacked by two suicide bomber last Sunday [representing the relevant details clearly] and killed over 80 people, mostly Christians
[numbers are not exact, observance of quality maxim] .
The series of deadly blasts in recent days [observance of relevance maxim] have spoiled environment for the proposed talks between the
government and the Taliban militants.
President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif and political leaders [mentioning the source, observance of quality maxim] strongly
condemned the attack and killing of innocent people.
The above mentioned theoretical and applied instances of CP role in shaping news provide us with a discernible ground to come to this end that
CP can be called as a news factor and plays a meaningful role in routine news production process. However, there is no doubt that to expand the
results into all genres and mediums of news stories, many explanatory researches are needed in order to explore different aspects of CP such as
linguistic role and structure of maxims in various (meta)lingual levels.

4.

Conclusion

The main purpose of this research was to study the role of Grice Cooperative Principle and its relevant maxims in shaping news and we posited
the idea of suggesting conversational maxims as linguistics news factors. Although the lists of news values pinned down by several media
scholars seem endless and almost all researchers who have studied this concept may suggest a new set of news values based on the data and
methodology chosen, in this paper we posited CP as an apparently news element participating in news composition process.
Considering Grice maxims as linguistic set of news values both shows the potentiality of broadening CP to media contexts and probably can
be regarded as a concrete criterion for the journalists and news editors to evaluate the outcome of their production process.
Although the data of this research is gathered from domestic resources, the results may be of use regionally and internationally.

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How does Cooperative Principle (CP) Shape the News? Observance of Gricean Maxims in News Production Process
International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences Vol(4), No (6), June, 2015.

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