Telling the economy: Rhetorical resources in talk radio program “El equipo económico de La linterna”, Cadena COPE (from may 2010 to July 2012)

Abstract

The present research is a case study of the talk radio program “El equipo económico de La Linterna” in Cadena COPE. It analyzes how journalists and experts use language resources to translate the economic jargon into a straightforward message. The research covers the period from May 2010 to July 2012, the main phase of the so-called eurozone crisis. During that period, Spain as well as the European Union took on drastic actions to face the economic and financial slowdown which led to high unemployment levels. The research includes a picture and a quantitative analysis of the language resources used during the talk radio. The aim is to show how interaction among the different professional profiles and the wide use of the language tools can help explain the economy. The research findings show that radio talk uses language tools which create sounding images during the informal chat of the experts. This way, the pedagogic and information work of the radio is fulfilled.