Language use in Le Monde’s print and online ‘news at a glance’: A potential shift in news media role

Democracy and media are concepts that go hand in hand. While numerous debates pinpoint to the continuous need to reinforce democracy, financial difficulties keep plaguing western media. In their strategies for news presentations, print and online newspapers may reflect public spheres linked to various types of democracy; this may have an impact on their ability to attract readers. This article explores the print and online ‘news at a glance’ of the French quality daily, Le Monde (LM), through a frame and heteroglossia analysis. This analysis of language use reveals how the introduction of a new technological support has been accompanied by a change towards a more ‘open’ and less authority-prone conception of media function in society, a change that contributes to a shift from an active monitorial to a facilitative news media role.