Rhetoric Devices Used in Tourism News Headlines on BBC and CNN

Abstract

This study examines the use of rhetorical devices in global news headlines from BBC and CNN, based on a sample of 50 headlines published between 2024 and 2025. The analysis is guided by Harris’s (2017) framework, focusing on rhetorical devices such as amplification, personification, metaphor, hyperbole, antithesis, parallelism, simile, synecdoche, and metonymy. The research employs a descriptive qualitative method, which includes reviewing relevant literature and analyzing the content of the selected headlines. The findings reveal that BBC headlines tend to employ amplification more frequently, with a percentage of 36.0%, in order to provide clearer explanations and deliver information effectively without exaggerating the facts. In contrast, CNN headlines show a preference for hyperbole, with a frequency of 33.3%, as a way to evoke stronger emotions and make the news more appealing to readers. Overall, this study highlights that rhetorical devices in headlines serve not only as tools for presenting information but also as strategies to shape readers’ perceptions more persuasively. The research is significant because it contributes to a better understanding of how global media discourse is constructed and how language choices in international news reporting can influence audiences.