Language, Ideology and Power: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Pakistani News Headlines on Electronic Media

Abstract

This study undertakes a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to systematically investigate the intersection of language, ideology, and power as enacted within Pakistani news headlines on electronic media. The study implies Three-Dimensional Model of CDA developed by Norman Fairclough, the research is founded on the argument that news discourse is never neutral but is instead a strategically manufactured product that is designed to reflect specific institutional and political interests. This is a qualitative analysis specifically select four different high-impact news headlines covering political affairs international, economic, and military themes. The analysis proceeds across three dimensions Text,  Discursive Practice, and Socio-Cultural Practice to achieve its primary goal of moving beyond sentence structure to uncover the strategies that are used for manipulating public opinions. The findings reveal that news headlines consistently used specific linguistic features, including emotive lexical choices, and  passive voice to obscure accountability, and rhetorical devices to construct dominant narratives. This current research demonstrates how these discursive patterns function to de-legitimize political opposition, reinforce institutional hegemony, construct narratives of victimhood, and normalize economic hardship among the populace.

Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Language Ideology, Power, Electronic Media, News Headlines, Fairclough’s 3D Model, Pakistani Discourse.