THE CONCEPT OF MEDIA TEXT AND HEADLINE: LINGUISTIC AND PRAGMATIC FEATURES

Abstract

This article examines the linguistic and pragmatic characteristics of media texts and their headlines, which serve as key elements in contemporary mass communication. The study explores how linguistic structures (lexical, syntactic, and stylistic) interact with pragmatic functions (persuasion, information compression, and audience engagement) to enhance the effectiveness of media discourse. Using a mixed-method approach combining content analysis, pragmatic analysis, and corpus linguistics, the research analyzes 200 media texts and their headlines from English, Uzbek, and Russian digital news platforms. The findings reveal that headlines function as independent mini-texts with specific linguistic markers (e.g., elliptical constructions, evaluative vocabulary, intertextuality) that realize pragmatic strategies such as attention-grabbing, framing, and emotional impact. The results contribute to media linguistics and pragmatics by offering a comparative typology of headline strategies across languages and proposing practical implications for media writing. The study concludes that effective headlines balance information density with pragmatic appeal, adapting to platform-specific constraints while maintaining discourse coherence.