ABSTRACT
Addressing the question of how news journalism responds to authoritarian populism, in this chapter we explore populist communication style. We propose a refined conceptualization of ‘style’, or rather ‘styles’, as situated performances defined by sets of motivated linguistic and discursive choices, which seek to achieve social and cultural resonance in their respective socio-political contexts. We argue that these choices, at least partly, account for authoritarian populists’ appeal with audiences and media allure and raise challenges for journalism when reporting on far-right politics. We illustrate populist stylistic repertoires in the mediated political performances of Nigel Farage in the UK, Florian Philippot in France, and Golden Dawn in Greece and show how the media have coped with these performances. Finally, we discuss Donald Trump’s idiosyncratic populist style in presidential campaign rallies and social media and show that authoritarian populist styles may converge, creating a common discursive/ideological ‘idiom’ that infiltrates the media.
