One of the advanced approaches to studying language in the XX and XXI centuries has been the anthropological perspective, which proposes that the human being - his consciousness, thinking, culture, and spiritual life - is the foundation for understanding all aspects of language. With the advent of anthropocentric paradigm, discourse became a spotlight of research in many fields. As we are living in the world where it takes a blink of an eye for information to circulate around the world, it is also of utmost importance to investigate newspaper and media discourse. Technological advancements have contributed to the increase in news consumption, which in turn, brought about increasing demand for news articles and media materials. Given the huge amount of resources out there, the role of the authorial self in newspaper discourse gained a significant position in modern linguistics and media studies. In linguistics, the idea of authorial identity has gained popularity, especially as researchers examine how academic, cultural, and personal aspects influence linguistic research and its interpretations. The study of authorial identity sheds insight on how the affiliations, backgrounds, and ideologies of researchers affect their theoretical stances and methodological decisions(Azar & Hashim, 2022; Fowler, 1991; van Dijk, 1988).

Literary and discourse studies gave rise to the concept of authorial identity, which refers to the manner in which an author's experiences and sociocultural background inform their writing. A theoretical framework for examining how authors' identities and societal positions influence texts was established by Foucault's groundbreaking work on the "author function" in 1969(Foucault,1969). With the development of sociolinguistics and critical discourse analysis, this idea gained popularity in linguistics as researchers like Labov  and Fairclough highlighted the interaction between language and social systems(Labov,1972; Fairclough,1995). With the realization that linguistic analysis is not totally objective, authorial identification became especially important in research techniques. In their critique of the premise of neutrality in sociolinguistic research, Milroy L. and Milroy J.  contended that the framing of linguistic variables by researchers is frequently influenced by their linguistic connections and histories(Milyor,1985). This criticism laid the foundation for a more thorough investigation of how identity influences scholarly research.

Newspaper discourse is considered to be a part of media discourse. It refers to the specific use of language, structure and stylistic choices in the production and interpretation of texts published in newspapers. Newspaper discourse is shaped not only by the linguistic features of the text, but also by the medium’s purpose, audience and conventions as well. Thus, the writer’s personal identity and its expression on their work play a key role in newspaper discourse. The way an author (or journalist) expresses their professional or personal position, viewpoint, or area of expertise in their writing is referred to as their "authorial identity." Newspapers, in contrast to scholarly or literary works, seek to strike a balance between objectivity and subjective interpretation. However, language and stylistic decisions invariably convey the author's identity. Authorial identity lets the writer shape their own voice, and reveal their views implicitly to the reader. The concept of authorial identity in newspaper discourse is not limited to how linguistic choices are embodied, it also encompasses the way author aligns with the text, differentiates himself or herself from institutional norms, and shapes his or her unique style. The study of authorial identity offers a unique perspective for analyzing the engagement of audience, efficient ways of creating influential content to name but a few(Wornyo, 2023).

Newspaper discourse is frequently perceived as formal, institutionalized medium. Nevertheless, it always leaves space for individuality to create emotional bond with the audience. Writers attempt to create their "persona," or authorial identity or voice, as an embodiment of themselves or their creations, as well as to recognize the group to which they belong. Because readers' interaction frequently occurs in newspaper context, the persona engages readers with the authors' argument; in other words, it engages readers with the propositions made by the author. The persona or image that an author presents through their writing is known as their "authorial identity." Authorial identity also functions as a personal signifier that highlights their accomplishments, credibility, seniority, and experience. Journalists frequently take on particular authorial personas in newspaper discourse in order to build empathy, authority, and credibility with their readers. The intended audience, the news outlet, and the article's genre can all affect these identities. For example, an opinion writer may embrace a more subjective and opinionated character, or a news reporter may assume a more objective and unbiased identity. This can be deducible from the stylistic devices, stylistic choices, storytelling techniques, expressions manifested within the text. Considering the fact that misinformation has become quite common, credibility has grown even more crucial in news context. Authorial identity, as stated above, is capable of making the discourse more credible, valid, reliable and accomplished(van Dijk, 1988).

Author’s self-image can be manifested through his language and creativity.  Linguistic personality is a type of full representation of personality, encompassing psychological, ethical, social, and other components, but refracted through its language, its discourse. The concept of "language identity" is used both to describe generalized characteristics that unite certain groups of people and to describe the linguistic personality of a specific individual. Language identity is deeply embedded in the lexicon, tone, syntax and register used by the author, whereas author’s creativity lies within stylistic and rhetorical strategies applied in the discourse. Linguistic identity of the author may include cultural components, which reflects the cultural values, tolerance and cross-cultural competitiveness of the author, and personal component, which reflects the true profound self of the author. The term "linguistic personality" was first used back in 1930 by V. V. Vinogradov in the book "On Artistic Prose"( Vinogradov,1930). This area of linguistics began to be actively developed in the 1980s, as the category of linguistic personality corresponds well to the new anthropocentric stage of linguistic development that emerged during this time. The attention of contemporary researchers to the topic of the human factor in language indicates a shift towards studying language in close connection with the person, their thinking, and practical activities, and as a result, towards the study of linguistic identity. The linguistic personality exists in the space of culture, reflected in language, in forms of public consciousness at different levels (scientific, everyday, etc.), in behavioral stereotypes and norms, in objects of material culture, and so on. The concept of linguistic personality captures the connection between language and the individual's consciousness, as well as their worldview. According to G. Ya. Solganik, "when we consider the concept of the author of journalistic text, we are not talking about undoubtedly important personal traits (talent, temperament, erudition, etc.), although they are also significant, but primarily about the generic concept of the author, which characterizes all (or many) creators of journalistic texts."( Solganik,2016) In other words, it refers to those aspects of the concept of the author that constitute its essence (regardless of the specific individual acting as the author), that is, the generic, typical traits of the category of the author shaped by time. A. Potebnja wrote back in the late XIX century that "Linguistic individuality distinguishes a person as an individual, and the brighter this individuality, the more fully it reflects the linguistic qualities of the society of individuals."(Potebnja,1894) Language identity is influenced by political, social, and cultural elements.  It includes everything of an author's linguistic decisions, such as style, grammar, and vocabulary. Language identification is frequently employed in newspaper discourse to create a feeling of shared identity with the audience. Journalists can influence readers, arouse feelings, and support particular ideologies by using particular linguistic elements. For instance, using formal language might project professionalism and authority, but using casual language can make the tone more approachable and conversational. A journalist's language choices are influenced by the authorial identity they present, and vice versa. To illustrate their knowledge, a journalist who develops a critical and analytical authorial identity, for example, could employ sophisticated language patterns and specialist vocabulary. On the other hand, a journalist who wants to reach a larger audience could speak in simpler terms and employ more informal idioms. This individuality of the author can be reflected with the help of discursive and non-discursive elements which will be discussed in detail below.

Lexical choice of the author is a discursive element, in which author selects    particular words to align with the target audience. The author of political news article use formal and technical terminology to establish authority. A lifestyle journalist may prefer conversational and accessible language to bring together the reader and the writer emotionally. Apart from this, authors showcase evaluative language by using evaluative adjectives, adverbs and verbs to point out their positive or negative reaction. In some cases, usage of loaded words, words that have a stronger emotional impact than their literal meaning, and can be used to persuade or manipulate people, can also be observed. Loaded words are widely used to reflect political, cultural, or ideological leanings, especially in politically charged topics. Using the word “regime” instead of “government” can be an example, as government carries neutral stance, regime is used instead to express critical stance.

Not only loaded words, but also figurative language can signal the author’s identity. Such figurative meanings are usually developed with the help of metaphor and imagery. In this piece “The stock market has been a rollercoaster this week, with investors holding their breath for stability”, the word rollercoaster is used metaphorically to refer to the face that author is evaluating this situation to be dynamic and unpredictable. Likewise, a financial crisis may be described as “storm” or “earthquake” to create vivid mental images and higher emotional impact on the reader.

Additionally, the choice of personal pronouns also reflect the tone and intentions of the writer. Using first-person singular pronoun (I) is common in opinion pieces, and they directly indicate the writer’s personal involvement, while first-person plural (we) pronoun is used to build a sense of shared experience and closer connection, sympathy with the audience. Using the second-person singular or plural pronoun (you) is aimed to create a conversational tone with the reader.

Framing the information also carries certain individuality. For example, short, direct sentences are usually typical for news articles, whereas elaborate structures dominate in opinion pieces and feature writing. The structure and wording of headlines are especially important to view author’s or newspaper’s stance. The headline “New study highlights rising sea levels” sounds neutral and may have no emotional impact of the reader, however, if it’s presented as “A rising sea levels: a crisis we can’t ignore”, the headline becomes opinionated, attracting reader’s attention and showing the care and concern of the author on the issue.

Multilingualism – in multilingual societies, newspapers may incorporate terms from different languages to reflect cultural diversity. This kind of blending enhances authenticity and reveals the identity of the author as part of a broader linguistic community. It is common in American newspapers to witness the usage of expressions like carpe diem, carte blanche, c’est la vie as American newspapers have global appeal, attracting readers from various cultural backgrounds. Another good example of this would be the newspaper Spanglish Times, published in Arizona in 2007. As it is known, Spanish language is as popular as English in most parts of the USA, so most articles and advertisements in this newspaper were presented in the mixture of these two languages.

Voice – writer can present objective or subjective voice according to the aim and intention of the article in discussion. For instance, in hard news article, journalist’s presence is minimalized to enhance neutrality and credibility. Author’s identity is downplayed in favour of creating an objective tone: “The government announced a new policy on education reform yesterday, aiming to increase school funding by 15%.” In this sentence, absence of personal pronouns and maintenance of formal tone give objective voice to the text. In contrast, subjective voice becomes prominent in columns or opinion writing. To express their position, the journalist uses rhetorical tactics, evaluative language, and personal pronouns.

Another tool which can be used to embed auhtor’s identity is the usage of citations and quotations. Writers, especially in newspaper media, are careful with the choice of citations, as they are said to have great influence on the interpretation of the information being delivered. Quoting authoritative voices, such as politicians and other important public figures reinforces the journalist’s credibility. Appropriate quoting can also help the author avoid giving biased and prejudiced stance.

Individuality of the author is reflected not only with the help of linguistic capabilities and choices of the author, but also with the creative approach to the delivery of the message. Journalistic writing traditionally prioritizes objectivity, however, modern media allows significant space for creativity. The original aim of using rhetorical questions, parallelisms, irony and satire and many other stylistic devices serve both to entertain the reader and to make author’s identity brighter and appealing. Rhetorical questions directly reflect the author’s perspective, and their strength lies within the fact that they urge the audience to engage, agree with this perspective. Parallelism are also utilized to create strong memorable statements, thus, they can be often witnessed in the most vital idea of the text. Personification can also be effectively used to build creative individuality. Giving human qualities to abstract notions and ideas add dynamic, creative touch to the factual reporting. For example, when the writer says “The economy sighed with relief”, they want to express that certain economic situation has been positively resolved. This personification displays that author is relieved and happy about this situation and spreads the same air of mood among readers. Such stylistic choices effectively deliver the author’s individual stance, points and messages just like the other ways mentioned above, but what makes them even more powerful and creative is the fact that they drive the reader to concur with those messages, and display the presence of author in a graceful manner.

Let us delve into this aspect deeper by analyzing the self-image of author in newspaper editorials. Newspaper editorials offer authors' perspectives on contemporary social, political, economic, or legal concerns in an effort to influence readers to share the newspaper's viewpoint. Editorials are thought to be strong, compelling pieces that express the newspaper's opinions. To support their arguments, editorial writers should include data in the form of facts, figures, statistics, instances, and specifics. The editorial writers must present reasoning, refute dissenting opinions, and persuade readers to agree with the paper's stance. Within an editorial, if the writers want to gain an emotional appeal, they focus more on using words that evoke positive or negative emotions (evaluative language, loaded words). If they want to gain credibility of the reader, they try to connect with the reader, and establish shared values, they are more likely to use personal pronouns (we, you), informative sentences and expressions that declare honesty (to tell the truth, face the music, turn to reality).

Having discussed the power of language in expressing authorial self-image, it is also important to comment on pictures and illustrations. As it is well-known, newspaper pages are enriched with various pictures, and illustrations. To the naked eye, they may seem to have neither meaning nor importance, but in reality, they also serve to convey identity of the writer. With the development of multimedia, such type of discourse has emerged, namely Multimedia discourse analysis, which refers to the study of symbolic modes, pictures within a text. When it comes to multimedia discourse analysis, the incorporation of visual components such as images and illustrations into newspaper articles is crucial in determining the identity of the writer. In addition to enhancing the written content, these visual elements also add to the news article's overall interpretation and meaning. The role of multimedia discourse analysis in here is that, photo captions, visual layout, participants and their motions are capable of delivering certain messages. A plain and brief example would be that you can request obedience if you gaze down from a high position, mercy if you look up from the bottom, and approval if you smile immediately at the audience. On the contrary, if the image viewer does not have virtual contact with the participants, he will "stay out of the way" to treat the people and things in the image, creating a kind of social distance. Similarly, an article about climate change accompanied by drought-stricken land showcases that the writer is emphasizing how serious this problem is, and there is an urge to take action. If the writer’s intention is to express satire, sarcasm or irony, he or she is more prone to add cartoons and caricature to compliment their intention. Such illustrations help the writer guide readers towards the appropriate interpretations.