The popularisation of trial discourse in 18th-century periodicals. A corpus-based study of the Old Bailey Trial Proceedings and newspaper trial reports (1710-1779)

The contribution examines the recounting of trials in the Old Bailey Trial Proceedings and in the weekly newspapers in the period from 1710 to 1779. The OBPs appeared in 1674 but became a specialised genre in the early 18th century. The weeklies were not a specialised trial genre per se but, insofar as they provided short trial accounts, they contributed to the popularisation of trial knowledge. In line with the principles of corpus-assisted discourse analysis, the qualitative analysis of the text is combined with the quantitative approach provided by Corpus Linguistics. The results are investigated within the wider social context in which the two publications were produced and consumed, as well as within the immediate situational context. The study suggests that by the end of the century, newspapers had the better of the OBPs in the print market, thanks to a skilful balance of specialised discourse and newsworthiness in a publication which was cheap and swift to produce and easy to be consumed