A critical discourse analysis of the Pakistani newspaper headlines on the federal budget for FY 2021-2022

Abstract

This research study is based on the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of news headlines of different Urdu and English newspapers on the federal Pakistani budget for the fiscal year 2021-2022. This research is descriptive qualitative in its nature. Fairclough (1995a) model of three dimensions (text, discourse and social practice) was used to analyse text. 21 different headlines from renowned Pakistani national Urdu and English newspapers on June 12, 2021, were collected through purposive sampling techniques of data collection. The study highlights the concealed ideology of newspaper editors who aims to arouse masses by using stirring vocabulary. The significance of this study lies in the vocabulary of news items of newspapers headlines which serve as an important medium of presenting ideologies. Thematic and the linguistic analysis of newspaper headlines highlight those newspapers are concealed with important orientations for readers. The study draws the conclusion that news headlines represent editors’ ideologies on their political inclinations and alignment in spite of their claim to be impartial. The newspaper editors exploit headlines to form a way of thinking on issues of national concern to achieve their political interests.