<![CDATA[The stalled Mojopahit Marine Park (TBM) project in Mojokerto City has become an interesting public issue because it involves allegations of irregularities in regional budget management and raises the role of the media in shaping public understanding of an event. Studies on corruption reporting have so far focused more on legal aspects and social impacts, while studies on how local media construct meaning through language choices in reporting are still limited. This study aims to analyze the construction of meaning built by Radarmojokerto.Jawapos.Com in discussing the alleged corruption in the TBM project. The study uses a constructivist paradigm with a descriptive qualitative approach based on M.A.K. Halliday's social semiotic theory which includes the field of discourse, the tenor of discourse, and the means of discourse (mode of discourse). Data were obtained through the analysis of 15 news texts from February–October 2025, in-depth interviews with editors, and documentation analyzed using triangulation. The research findings show that the media construct the TBM issue as a matter of alleged misappropriation of public funds, presenting a discursive relationship between public supervisors, law enforcement, and local governments, and employing linguistic strategies such as metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and euphemism to reinforce the news message. These findings demonstrate that local media not only convey facts but also contribute to shaping social reality through the practice of linguistic representation.]]>
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