A Description of Argument Schemes Employed in Citizen Television’s News Gang Talk Show: A Pragma- Dialectical Approach

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the argument schemes employed in Citizen Television’s News Gang talk show using a pragma-dialectical approach. The study was guided by the pragma-dialectical theory developed by Frans H. van Eemeren and Rob Grootendorst, which explains how discussants balance reasonableness and persuasion in argumentative discourse. A descriptive research design and qualitative approach were employed to collect and analyse data. The study used systematic sampling to select 12 episodes from a target population of 47 episodes broadcast between February and December 2025. Data were obtained from online archival records on YouTube, manually transcribed, and analysed using pragma-dialectical principles. The findings established that News Gang employed three types of argument schemes: symptomatic, causal, and comparison. These schemes were used at different stages of critical discussion, particularly during the argumentation stage, to advance and justify discussants’ standpoints. The study contributes to the understanding of argumentation in televised talk shows and demonstrates the applicability of the pragma-dialectical approach to discourse analysis. Furthermore, analysing argument schemes provides a framework for reconstructing premises and identifying the underlying logical structures of televised discourse.