CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF COLUMNISTS: POLITICAL POWER AND FREEDOM OF PRESS IN DAWN

Abstract

This research aims to assess the situation of Press Freedom in Pakistan by identifying linguistic strategies used by journalists to avoid any retaliation from the state and how ideologies implicit in our social discourse motivate this form of censorship. For this research selected columns are taken from the English Daily DAWN newspaper and are sourced for analysis written over a period of five years from 2019-2023. Data is analyzed using qualitative analysis, employing critical discourse analysis and the Fairclough three-dimensional model. The strategies employed by journalists to circumvent political censures such as interdiscursivity and historical framing are identified. By using such techniques columnists are able to successfully reveal hidden ideologies that promote Power politics while avoiding any backlash from the authorities by framing their discussions in a historical or social perspective or by using irony or similar literary devices. The analysis of selected newspaper articles shows that journalists in these past five years have adopted discursive strategies to counter the limitations imposed by the political establishment that have inclinations towards nationalistic ideologies and authoritarian tendencies.