Abstract
This research aims to explore the portrayal of political
parties in the English newspapers of Pakistan during the
general elections of 2008. The media's importance during the process
of elections becomes manifold as it can frame the image of politicians
and political parties. Comparative analysis of the leading political parties
of Pakistan, including PPPP, PMLN and PTI, in the two English dailies -
Dawn and The News was done. This paper examined the frequency and
direction of editorials and front-page news stories that were published on
leading political parties from 18th January 2008 to 18th March 2008.
Along with the content analysis method, theoretical postulates of
agenda-setting were employed to explore English newspapers' depiction
of political parties during general elections 2008. Findings revealed that
a maximum number of news and editorials were published on PPPP, but
it was portrayed in a negative manner. The English print media adopted
a supportive tilt towards PMLN by giving it a positive portrayal during the
general election of 2008.
Authors
1-Shazia Ismail Toor: Assistant Professor, Institute of Communication Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Keywords
Newspaper, Dawn, the News, Pakistani Political Parties, General Elections 2008
DOI Number
10.31703/gpr.2020(V-IV).10
Page Nos
86-93
Volume & Issue
V - IV