Abstract
Television is a penetrating medium, capable of creating false consciousness among the viewers. The present study examines the ideological constructions in Pakistani news bulletin headlines and their impact on the viewers. This research has explicated the ideological constructions through Fairclough’s framework for critical discourse analysis (CDA) by applying it to the electronic media news headlines and comparing three different Pakistani news channels. Extensive text as well as selective intertextual and sociocultural analyses have been carried out along with the assessment of the impact of news headlines on viewers through a questionnaire. The analysis of the news headlines reveal that Pakistani news headlines are infused with varying ideologies and power relations, while the responses of the viewers reveal their dislike for entertainment-oriented, exaggerated, unfair, and moderately informative headlines of news channels. It is hoped that current study would help in the promotion of media literacy among viewers and media authorities in Pakistan.
Highlights
It is a well acknowledged fact in contemporary society that people turn to different sources of information like print and electronic media to keep themselves updated with the happenings of the world especially concerning the matters of national and international politics, security, and events like war
This research largely draws upon the critical discourse analysis (CDA) framework given by Fairclough that stresses on the three dimensional investigation of any “communicative event.”
The major research question established for this research is, “How the ideological meaning is constructed in Pakistani news bulletin headlines?” On the contrary, minor research questions attempt to answer the questions such as “How the language is manipulated through the choice of words in Pakistani news headlines?” “How the impact of a message is enhanced by the way in which it is presented in news bulletin headlines?” “How is the world represented and framed in news headlines?” “What identities and relationships are set up for those involved in a news story?” and “How susceptible are the listeners to linguistic style of news?”
Summary
It is a well acknowledged fact in contemporary society that people turn to different sources of information like print and electronic media to keep themselves updated with the happenings of the world especially concerning the matters of national and international politics, security, and events like war. It becomes vital to have a deeper investigation of the ideologically invested meanings pertaining in mass media For this reason, a comprehensive framework is required that could provide a deeper inquiry in the matters of ideology, power, and hegemony. First level includes the close textual and linguistics analysis; second level includes the analysis of discursive practices, while the last level deeply studies the social practice and sociocultural phenomena. The purpose of this exploratory study is to advance the research on Pakistani electronic media’s news headlines, their framing, and examination of the role of ideology in their news constructions
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