MEDIA, POWER AND IDEOLOGY: A COMPARATIVE DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF REGIME CHANGE OPERATION COVERAGE IN PAKISTANI AND INTERNATIONAL PRINT MEDIA
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Abstract
This research sought to establish how media framing influences the issue of regime change particularly the dismissal of the Pakistan’s Prime Minister Mr. Imran Khan. A qualitative research method was adopted. Pakistan’s newspaper Dawn News, The News and international New York Times, and BBC news were used to capture both the Pakistani and Western attitudes. The focus of the analysis is based on the framing theory developed by Entman (1993) and Van Dijk’s (2009) sociocognitive model. This study sought to find out how coverage of regime change coincides with ideological, geopolitical, and cultural considerations. The two strategies used in the analysis involved macrostructure and microstructure of headlines where choices of words, syntactic patterns, semantic connections and rhetorical devices were determining variables with ideological tendencies and framing mechanism. This study revealed that the Pakistani media often report the ouster as a nationalist ‘freedom struggle’ against the foreign interferences; thus, the writers used the relevant provocative tone and language to mobilize the public emotions while emphasizing the issue of sovereignty. On the other hand, the international media enlighten the audiences on the procedures of democracy, governance, and institutional responsibility and therefore presented the ouster as a democratic process other than an external influence. Both perspectives oversimplified the political processes and conditioned by the cultural and ideological rates of both audiences. The local media of Pakistan supports these populist trend sets the stage and portrays Khan as the people’s champion against external forces while the International media emphasizes the democratic procedures and process reflects the west Political orientation. The media coverage on political transitions, this research adds a four-dimensional framework to media discourse and political communication analysis. This research offers understanding of the international media and communication, arguing that media discourse guides but also participates in shaping power relations and ideological positions in global politics. This research pertains to policy making and journalism, diplomacy and international relations.
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