Discourse Planes. Different strands, and different sections of strands, operate on different discourse planes …… Science(s), politics, media, education, everyday life, business life, administration, are all examples of different discourse planes (astonishingly, the author I borrowed this from omitted the academic and psychological planes from this list !)

• These planes could also be called the societal locations from which speaking happens.
• These different planes relate to each other, use each other, and impact on each other
• Individual discourse planes can be very tightly interwoven with each other
• Fragments from the special discourse of science or from political discourse are used in the media, which borrows and takes from many sources.
• The media often takes 'everyday discourse' about events and sensationalises it (in the yellow press), dressing it up in a popular form. By some mechanism, this seems to regulate the everyday thinking of people and exercises influence on the political agenda and 'what is conductible' (that is, what discourses and positions are permissible at any one time)
• Sometimes the media (try to) take over a discourse from the other planes
• Some planes of discourse are dominant in different ways and at different times
• The discourses used by a plane can have impacts varying from strong to weak at different times

Once again, BSE was approached in different ways by the different levels of the media - some aimed their communication at the "man in a van" others at company directors.

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