Modelling multimodal genre in print media: a case study of tourist brochures

Abstract

[Abstract] This paper aims to show how the Genre and Multimodality (GeM) model (Bateman 2008) can be applied to the study of multimodal meaning-making and genre as higher level organizational concept in print media. The theoretical framework of the GeM model combines the methodologies of corpus and text linguistics and document design in a multi-layered and cross-referenced XML-based annotation schema, which is suited for the systematical analysis required in modelling the complex phenomenon of genre in print media. An analysis of a series of five tourist brochures published between 1967 and 1988 for the purpose of advertising the city of Helsinki serves as the basis for a discussion of the patterns that may be identified in the rhetorical, layout and navigational structures in this particular print media genre. The semiotic resources of language and image convey ideational meaning for the purpose of construing a persuasive image of the locations, and to guide the reader to and around the location. Consistent patterns in layout and realisation information (typographical and visual features) are used to make the document accessible to the reader. The findings imply that while identifying patterns that may be attributed to the genre of tourist brochure is possible, many of the features can also exist in other print media genres, which suggest that the concept of genre itself is fuzzy and may contain overlapping features. A prototypical model of genre provides a context for more detailed studies of multimodal semiotics, but further investigations and comparative studies are required to in order to work towards a functioning definition genre in print media.