Abstract
This article explores thematic progressions (TPs) in selected Radio Nigeria network news commentaries. Using the Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) models of Daneš, it analyses TPs in six commentaries: two each on economy, health and politics, collected from Pendants of Rhythm: A Selection of Radio Nigeria Network News Commentaries. All the TPs in the commentaries were identified, analysed and discussed. The result of the work shows that various
thematic progressive patterns are used in the commentaries, namely: linear progression, constant progression, TP with derived theme and combined theme. The TPs were employed to link clausal messages within the texts. It is also found that the commentaries on health are the most thematically organised and well-knitted texts, and they have not recorded even a single combined thematic progressive pattern which could have destructured their paragraphs. The commentaries on politics are found to be the least organised texts as they have recorded the highest number of
combined thematic progressive patterns which have destructured some of their paragraphs. Lastly, the commentaries on economy fall in-between the commentaries on health and politics in terms of organization and nexus of clausal messages.