This study analyzed 300 news articles from the online version of the British daily tabloid The Mirror. Quantitative analysis showed that shocktainment elements are present in 150 news articles out of 300. The results showed that some shocktainment categories are either incompletely presented or lose to other categories. At the same time, the techniques of familiarity (800), absurdity (908), outrage (5,105), influence (4,200), and persuasion (1,101) are used much less frequently than others. The study proved that the authors of the articles actively use shocktainment techniques since they allow the authors to explain the linguocultural features of the country to the readers easily and understandably. The analysis also revealed the main topics that are disclosed in news articles with the use of shocktainment and trigger cognitive processes in readers. The study results can help to correct theoretical and empirical gaps in the research on news media discourse.
Keyphrases