Language, Media, and Ideology: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Pakistani News Bulletin on the Change of Command of COAS (2022)

Shehla Sohail; Pir Suhail Ahmed Sarhandi; Alia Ali Bhutto

doi:10.35484/ahss.2024(5-III)05

Authors

Shehla Sohail Senior Instructor in Department of English National University of Modern Language, Karachi Campus, Sindh, Pakistan
Dr. Pir Suhail Ahmed Sarhandi Registrar, Aror University of Art, Architecture, Design & Heritage, Sukkur, Sindh, Pakistan
Alia Ali Bhutto Lecturer in TESOL in Department of Linguistics and Social Sciences & Manager Publication and Communication in Office of Research Innovation & Commercialization (ORIC) in Begum Nusrat Bhutto Women University, Sukkur, Sindh, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35484/ahss.2024(5-III)05

Keywords:

Critical Discourse Analysis, Headlines, Ideology, Media, News Bulletin, Tweet

Abstract

Television is a permeating medium that can instill false consciousness in its audience. The current study looks at the ideological constructs in the headlines of Pakistani news channels and on Twitter and how they affect the readers. This study has explained the ideological constructions by applying Fairclough's paradigm for critical discourse analysis (CDA) to the news headlines in electronic media and Twitter regarding the appointment of the Chief of Army Staff (2022) and contrasting three different Pakistani news channels. The effect of news headlines and tweets regarding the change in command of the COAS on viewers has been evaluated using a qualitative method, coupled with some intertextual and sociocultural analyses. Examining the news headlines reveals that Pakistani news headlines are imbued with various ideologies and power interactions. The current study is intended to aid in the promotion of media literacy among Pakistani viewers and media authorities.