Abstract

The present study is the comparative analysis of headlines of Urdu newspaper of Pakistan, particularly the headlines which have appeared in more than one newspaper with different linguistic features and different word choice to reveal different ideologies or agendas. The study has investigated that different newspapers have different choice of words in their headlines. The study on the comparative analysis of discourse appeared in different Urdu newspapers of Pakistan have been conducted. The data was collected from Urdu newspapers and have been analyzed qualitatively with respect to textual and contextual analysis using different strategies like word choice, power dynamics, referential strategies, framing and agenda setting, ideological standpoint, language as power, language competence, power in discourse, power behind discourse, and comparative synchronic analysis. The findings have shown that Media discourse do not happen but are created, framed, and manipulated to serve the purpose of media industry with their hidden agendas.

Key Words

Newspaper Headlines, Print Media, Different Word Choice, Different Ideologies

Introduction

Print media has always been a rich source of information for the public. In Pakistan, people have a deep attachment to reading newspapers on a daily basis to remain updated with the current circumstances. It has been observed that in the 21st century, media being the fourth pillar of a state possesses a potential power in any society (Thomas & Wareing, 1999, & Nani, 2003). Print media thus has succeeded in conditioning the masses with their thoughts and ideologies. Pakistan is a multicultural and multiethnic country with a diverse range of languages, political ideals, and religious beliefs. Keeping in view the vast circulation of newspapers, the news agencies thus inject their ideologies behind the politics idealism, and religious beliefs. Discourse has always room for manipulation and in this way, the news agencies get benefits from it. The present study focuses on different tactics for constructing news narratives and presenting them to the public. It reveals that who gets the most of the benefit of such practice. According to Crystal, "Headline is one of the most particular features of a newspaper because it highlights the creativity of the journalists. The success of the newspaper lies in the formation of headlines as most people scan only the headlines (Crystal, 1993). In short, some important functions of newspaper headlines attract the reader, to persuade the reader, to excite the curiosity of the reader, to give the crux of the news story, to summarize the news, and to give accurate information in no time and space. Thus the newspaper is also responsible for sensationalism, biased partisanship, manipulation, and propaganda, and it impacts on mental-health also. A comparative study has been conducted in this regard and it has got pertinent attention in terms of the language used in the newspaper headlines because the headlines are attention-capturing since they are the first impressions for the common readers also. Most people love to read just headlines only, it may be due to their size, and font, or they think that the news which is written in bold words is the most important. To some people, headlines are considered to be essential and contextual because they presuppose a certain and specific amount of information that is relevant and referent to a particular group or society. It's important that if one is unaware of the current social, religious, and political norms, trends, and hierarchies, he/she will not be able to decode the language of the headlines easily. Theorists and researchers have discussed and discerned the various theories of news. Most of them have the features of schemata labeled as a type of discourse. 

  

Significance of Research 

The study is unique and significant in nature because it decodes the hidden ideologies of the print media industry helping the consumers to understand their objectives, personal interests, consumerism, and some hidden agendas. The study is also important as it further talks about how text and discourse are created, manipulated, and used for personal objectives because newspaper headlines play a crucial role in shaping public perception. 




Background of Study 

New papers generally speak the language of common people so that they increase the consumerism and publicity behind that they have their personal objectives and agendas to sell. When the headlines of two different Urdu newspapers were compared, dissimilarities were observed. Dissimilarities in headlines stimulated the study and paved the way for such research.




Statement of Problem 

Besides the apparent role of Urdu newspapers in shaping public opinion, there exists a gap in understanding how power dynamics and ideological expressions are reflected within their headlines. There is a need for comprehensive research that needs to be conducted to examine the language choice and discursive strategies used by Urdu print media that hinder our ability to decode the ideology or to grasp the nuanced ways in which media influences the construction of socio-political narratives. Therefore, the essence of this research is to address the gap in it conducting a critical discourse analysis of Urdu newspaper headlines aiming to uncover the embedded ideologies and power relations. 




Research Questions

? What are the linguistic features and differences used in the newspaper headlines?

? How the similar headlines appearing in different newspapers serve different ideologies?

Methodology

The present study aims to explore the hidden ideologies and agendas of Urdu newspapers in Pakistan by comparing the discourse of headlines. It reveals how these newspapers manipulate language through news headlines using different linguistic features. The current study is qualitative in nature which can cover both micro and macro analysis of language and ideology through manipulation of language and discourse which have appeared in two different Urdu newspapers of Pakistan showing different ideologies. 

Type of Research

For the present comparative study, the qualitative research paradigm has been used to explore similarities and dissimilarities in the news headlines in the contemporary Urdu newspapers in Pakistan and to observe the objectives of manipulation in the discourse with the lenses of critical discourse analysis CDA. 

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework adopted for this research is Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). According to Van Dijk (2004), "Critical Discourse analysis is a type of discourse analysis research that primarily studies the way social power abuse, dominance, and inequality are enacted, reproduced, and resisted by text and talk in social and political contexts". Van Dijk (2009) asserts that CDA is a combination of theory and application critical rather than critical analysis that therefore leads to the term (critical discourse study). CDA is not originally a linguistic theory but a multidisciplinary framework that refers to approaches from different disciplines and areas of study having an interest in human behavior. Van Dijk’s (2009) proposed model is suitable for this research to analyze media text and discourse. Dijk (2009) in his work, "Politics, Ideology, and Discourse", proposes a research model to analyze print media discourses. He further elaborates that print media discourses are more suitable to propagate different types of ideologies. Moreover, he further talks about print media that it carries two types of powers i.e. power within discourse and power behind discourse. Moreover, in the past history, some theories related to agenda setting and framing were also introduced. The "Agenda Setting Theory" coupled with the "Media Framing Theory" will also be fitting with this kind of research. The rationale further uncovers the objectives that how this theory explores how media discourse influences public perceptions by highlighting certain issues, and determining what topics receive attention.  

Figure 1



Data Collection Procedures

five vast circulated newspapers were selected for data collection (Jung, Dunya, Express, Khabrain, Ummat, and Jurrat) Ten (10) similar newspaper headline items of different dates were collected, compared, and seen through CDA lenses. The results were quite amazing and productive. The rationale behind their selection is the vast circulation across the country. Moreover, the findings have confirmed that the procedure has remained appropriate and enhanced the fruitful results because the 

newspapers are spreading different ideologies. 




Sampling Techniques

For this study, the purposive sampling technique has been applied to collect the data. The rationale behind selecting this sampling is, that it is the technique of sampling that is used in qualitative research to select a specific group of individuals or units for critique and analysis. It is deliberate and non-random based on specific characteristics or criteria relevant to the study's objectives. This approach enhances the depth and relevance of the data collected ensuring aligns with the research purpose and questions. It is used to capture a diverse range of variety of linguistic variations and editorial choices. It gives an opportunity to see the data with a powerful CDA lens. Like Specific Focus, Maximum Variations, in-depth Analysis, contextual relevance, and rich insights. Moreover, seven headlines from two different Urdu newspapers (Roznama Jung and Roznama Dunya, Roznama Express, Roznama Khabrain, roznama Nawa-e-wkt, Roznama Jurrat and Roznama Ummat of Jan 3rd, 4th, and 5th, 6th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th, 2024) were collected, compared and reviewed through the lenses of Critical Discourse Analysis CDA to understand the dissimilarities and to decode the ideology through the linguistic features used in the headlines which confirm that the newspapers are spreading different ideologies. They do not serve giving information but they serve different objectives embedded in their headlines.   

Literature Review

The media discourse plays a vital role in the conditioning of any society. Discourse originally refers to the use of language in communication encompassing both written and spoken forms. In CDA, discourse is society because language cannot be separated from society. While discussing the Discourse, Media, Media discourse, Language, Power, and Society, a newspaper is a printed form of information or it is online also that provides news and information about the ups and downs of politics, religious sermons, and political and religious gatherings. Thus a newspaper is responsible for discursive practices (either good or bad), accountable for creating rifts, formatting society, or diverting the minds of the masses. A Newspaper has many folds of objectives to fulfill, just as, an information dissemination system, agenda setting, setting of public opinion, influence political, educational, religious, economic, and social structure. Thus, in this study, we have studied and found how the linguistic choices with different linguistic structures create differences in a news story and how the same piece of news is presented differently by the different newspapers' headlines e.g. in more than two Urdu newspapers. 




Discourse and Media

The word discourse means the study of the language in use (Gee, 2010). A statement without any purpose cannot be called a discourse (Gee, 2010). Fairclough (2003) and Johnstone (2018) define discourse (written or spoken) as a way to highlight different relations of the people to the external world may it be political, economic, social, or religious. On the other hand, discourse analysis means the cues and clues used by a speaker or writer to shape readers’ or listeners’ interpretations and actions (Gee, 2010). Broadly speaking, the relationship between discourse (written or spoken) and media (print or electronic) is strong enough to attract linguists’ attention. 

Critical Discourse Analysis: According to Van Dijk (1999), critical discourse analysis (CDA) is the study of social practices through which social power, dominance, and inequality are being practiced or sometimes resisted through written or spoken text. Its purpose is to expose the hidden agendas behind every written or spoken discourse. According to Carvalho (2008), the goal of the CDA is to look beyond the text by taking into account the context (institutional and socio-cultural). In terms of the study of media discourse, CDA is the only approach to conduct the research (Carvahlo, 2008). Carvahlo (2008) further argues that CDA researchers try to create a relationship between the text and the social practice. Their main concern is to find how people shape, produce, and reproduce views about the world through the use of language (Johnstone, 2018). In this study, we have employed CDA to analyze the print media discourse by using AnabelaCarvahlo’s (2008) theoretical model which is mainly proposed for the journalistic discourse where written language is dominant. 

The Language of Newspapers: Headlines Headlines are one of the most distinctive features of a newspaper as they highlight the creativity of the journalists (Crystal, 1993). The success of the newspaper lies in the formation of headlines as most people scan only the headlines (Crystal, 1993). Headlines determine the readability and popularity of the articles in the newspaper as they are the most important representation of journalistic style (Rich, 2010, p. 259). We can say that the author and the reader interact and communicate with each other through the medium 

of headlines of the newspaper (Bitiniene, 2007, p. 62). Therefore, headline writers must be experts in their skills (Don and Simpson, 2002). Straumann (1935, cited in Khodabandeh, 2007) referred to the language of the headline as "Block Language" and classified it into nominal, verbal, neutral, and particles. Mardh (1980) has also classified the headlines on similar lines. Structurally, verbal headlines and non-verbal headlines are two broad categories (Yadegarfard, 2014). Bell has conducted research on the accuracy of news headlines examining the ideological dimension of print media. He further explored it with a methodological analysis of how the piece of news may misrepresent or misinterpret the events and create misunderstanding or serve an ideology by a particular group. He summarizes 'an already done' study of climate variation coverage, in which, the reports were sent back to the professional sources with an appeal to point out the accuracy level. The reports concluded that only 29% of the stories were undeniably accurate, 55% of them were faintly inaccurate and 16% were completely inaccurate (Bell, 1991, p. 217). 

 Media has also made this world a global village where information about any worldly affair is just a click away (Crystal, 1993). Media, especially the press, is responsible for disseminating information about various local, national, and international events (Nani, 2003). It is said that the media may control and sell the information (Richardson, 2007).

Language is the center through which an event is presented or described. Language is not considered merely a tool to interpret reality rather it is also a means to construct reality (Taiwoo, 2007). Therefore, linguists (see Lee, 1992; Simpson, 1993) analyze the language of the news media and try to find out the relationship between a story and its context. Broadly speaking, the function of every newspaper language is to inform and entertain people but the language used in the newspaper is different from the language of business or academia (Timuçin, 2010). The language of the newspaper even varies from newspaper to newspaper and sometimes from news story to story. According to Crystal and Davy (1969: 173), linguistic homogeneity can never be found in newspaper writing as a newspaper is always stylistically eclectic. A striking fact is the difference in the overall styles of journalists dealing with the same issue (Crystal & Davy, 1969).

Thus, the study has examined and explored the hidden ideologies behind the newspaper headlines that have appeared in different newspapers with different linguistic features (with different Grammatical and syntactic structures). Similar pieces of news appearing in different newspapers with different syntactic structures have confirmed the research gap and have paved the way for research to conduct research. The data was scrutinized by using Van Dijk (2003). The study includes that the headlines can have layers of various interpretations. It means that the newspaper agency wants to control the masses for their objectives to be fulfilled by the consumers/customers.

There are 10 news items that have appeared in four different newspapers. According to the findings, we have learned how the news story is created and presented with the different flavors of words given by different newspapers. Thus, the present study has discovered that the different newspapers have different ideologies and hidden agendas to sell. Every newspaper may present a totally different version of the same piece of news because of the selection of different linguistic structures, styles, and forms. They originally create hype through the use of language with a variety of manipulation which only be viewed through the CDA lens. Different news agencies exercise power using linguistic tools and influencing communication dynamics. The newspaper industries originally sell their respective ideologies/agendas and in that scenario, language is used as a bridge between the sellers (Newspaper agencies) and the customers (common people). They basically purchase people and their precious time within the soft price of words without letting them know. This study has ensured and demonstrated how the choice of words can create differences with minor changes in structure. It shows us how the same news appears in the rest of the three newspapers with different ideologies. The study also finds that different print media segments use different discursive moves to represent the same story after carving them with words of their choice to propagate a desired ideology. Several research studies have been conducted in the past. 

Discourse and Media: The word discourse means the language in use (Gee 2010). Brisau (1969) has also found that most of the headlines in the newspapers contain complex clauses. Reah (1998) says that the omission of anything is an indispensable feature of newspaper headlines. The omission of some open words and mostly closed words is also found to ensure the brevity of the headlines (Turner, 1972, p.72). The omission of articles, nominal phrases, use of present tense, omission of conjugation, and extensive use of metaphors are also common features of headlines (Mardh, 1980; Van Dijk, 1988).

Findings and Discussions

The research study has proved to be a valuable contribution to the work of Critical Discourse Analysis in terms of the language and ideologies used by the different newspaper text producers in Pakistan. The analysis has been organized according to the CDA model of Van Dijk. It has further confirmed that the different newspaper industries see society, politics, and religion from different perspectives. The study has discovered that Media has immense power and influence over the societal skeleton. A very thorough investigation of similar headlines appearing in the different newspaper industries has been seen through the lens of critical discourse analysis by conducting a research study of comparative-synchronic study of similar headlines appearing in different newspapers with different syntactic structures. 




Date: 03-01-2024

Comparative-synchronic Analysis 

Similar headlines which have appeared in four different Urdu newspapers, sometimes in three and sometimes in only two newspapers have been taken to conduct the comparative synchronic analysis through the lenses of Critical Discourse Analysis. The news along with the date and the names of newspapers are given as under, 

 







Roznama Jung “2002 me Qaid e Azam bhi naa ahil hote.”   


(Daily Jung, 3rd January 2024; p. 01)


Roznama Dunya “Election ki Ahilya: Maojooda daor me Qaid e Azam bhi naa ahil ho jate”. 

(Daily Dunya, 3rd January 2024; p. 01)


Roznama Ummat Supreme Court ne taa hayat naa ahili per sawal uthaa diya.


(Daily Ummat, 3^rd January 2024; p. 01)

 

 

 

Roznama Jurrat “2002 me Qaid e Azam hote to vo bhi naa ahil ho jate.” Chief Justice

Analysis begins here

Roznama Jung“2002 me Qaid e Azam bhi naa ahil hote.”   



(Daily Jung, 3rd January 2024; p. 01)




 

Translation in English: in 2002, Quaid e Azam would have been disqualified

Analysis: The first part of the above headline is without the subject (Agent). The process is assumption or implication. (Even if the Quaid-e-Azam, were there, he would have faced election-related challenges and issues). The speaker is trying to portray the abundance of challenges and issues that are hard to face in the present time comparatively than that of the age of the Quaid-e-Azam era. The text producer is trying to draw the attention of the audience to assume the troubles of today with the troubles of the past era of Quaid-e-Azam. Secondly, the term Quaid-e-Azam refers to the big name which means even the one who made Pakistan would have been helpless in these circumstances. The ideology behind the text is a "worn-out system of unfair practices in the electoral system.

Syntactic Analysis: We can witness similar news in different syntactic structures. The sentence is in past conditional sentence structure (referring hypothetical situation with an unreal or unlikely condition).

Semantic / word choice: it refers to the particular time in which Quaid e Azam was there. The circumstances of past and present are being compared by the text producer just to highlight his objectives to be entertained by the public or to gain the attention of the people. It's like framing the past with present situations.

Ideology / Agenda: Unfairness of the system, lawlessness with the electoral system

Tone is conversational 

Lexical Choice is negative. The speaker is trying to convince the audience by hook or by crook. 

 




Roznama Dunya “Election ki Ahilya: Maojooda daor me Qaid e Azam bhi naa ahil ho jate”. 


(Daily Dunya, 3rd January 2024; p. 01)


 
Translation in English: Eligibility criteria for the election: At the present time, Quaid e Azam would have been disqualified. Chief Justice
Syntactic Analysis: The sentence is an unreal/hypothetical conditional sentence. The first part of the phrase "Election ki Ahelyat" originally creates suspense for the readers to quickly read the succeeding lines.  The last phrase "ho jate" refers to the powerlessness and hopelessness even on the part of Quaid e Azam. 
Semantic / word choice: the above sentence talks about the circumstances and the state of challenges which an iconic figure can also see the same scenario. The term Quaid e Azam refers to the iconic and heroic personality of the state, he would also be ill-treated by the circumstances. The phrase "in present times" reveals the contrast between present circumstances and historical perspectives.  
Ideology / Agenda: Creating suspense to divert the reader's attention and trigger him or her toward "Unfairness" 
The tone is informative Lexical Choice is emotive, provocative, and exciting the masses against the system. 


Roznama Ummat: “Supreme Court ne taa hayat naa ahili per sawal uthaa diya”. 

Translation in English: “Supreme Court probed for the lifetime disqualification.”
Analysis: The sentence type is a declarative statement stating an opinion and does not pose a question it originally reports that the Supreme Court has taken a step towards something burning discussion.  
Syntactic Structure: the sentence structure is straightforward. Supreme Court is a subject/agent here "Probed" is an intransitive verb it doesn't give clear meaning about whose "lifetime disqualification" 
Semantic Structure: "Supreme Court" directly refers that a system is involved "Probed" shows that there is some political confusion that needs to be investigated and resolved for the court of law by them has involved to get it settled. "the lifetime disqualification." It also refers to jurisdiction and formal precession needs to go with.  
Tone is authoritative
Lexical Choice is formal, "Supreme Court" refers that something has been through a proper system of law, "probed" indicates that a sort of investigation needs to be conducted in this regard, "for the lifetime disqualification" is a phrase who is disqualified and who is responsible is now showing the proper meaning of the phrase.
Ideology / Agenda: Creating hype for the readers to continue reading the entire column. 


Roznama Jurrat “2002 me Qaid e Azam hote to vo bhi naa ahil ho jate.” Chief Justice 

(Daily Jurrat, 3rd January 2024; p. 01)


 
Translation in English: In 2002, If there were Quaid-e-Azam, he would have been disqualified.
Analysis: We can witness that the syntactic structure of the sentence is a conditional sentence with an unreal hypothetical concept. But there are a few things that differ from the above news phrases like the use of the subject "vo bhi naa ahil ho jate" The word "vo” is basically a subject “he” is third person pronoun. 
Syntactic structure: The sentence follows the basic structure S+V+O, the first part of the sentence is dependent and the second part of the sentence is independent. The sentence is a hypothetical conditional sentence. "if there were" shows a hypothetical condition using subjunctive mood. It also shows desire. "would have been disqualified" shows past perfect structure.  
Semantic Structure: “Quaid-e-Azam" refers to the iconic figure, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, the sentence suggests the hypothetical scenario and the situation of past and present being compared in terms of the circumstances "he" “would” have been “disqualified”. (simple conditional structure) Tone is sarcastic
Lexical choice / Word choice: different newspapers have different choices of words. (Three newspapers wrote the word “Naa Ehil" disabled except the one (Ummat) wrote “Naa Ehli as a noun.). The agent is overall hidden. Some were written in the hypothetical sense and some in the past tense. 
Ideology / Agenda: Showing great confidence to the readers so that they should continue reading the complete news item or be regular consumers of the newspaper.
Discussion: we have seen that in all the above headlines, the syntactic is different; it is apparently 
witnessing that different newspaper industries have different objectives and agendas to serve. Second, most importantly, we have observed through the lenses of CDA that the hiding of agents confirms the ideologies behind the discourse. The above newspapers have vast circulations across the country. 


Date: 04-01-2024 
Comparative-synchronic Analysis 
To study on the broader level, similar headlines about the same news that have appeared in four different Urdu newspapers have been collected to conduct the comparative synchronic analysis through the lenses of Critical Discourse Analysis.  
 


Roznama Jung“Balla phir chhin gaya.” 

(Daily Jung, 4th January 2024; p. 01)


Roznama Jurrat “Balley ka nishaan chhen liya, PTI, Intekhabi maidaan se bahar.”
Roznama Dunya Tehreek e insaf se balla phir wapas, toheen e election commission case me baani PTI par fard e jurm aaid.” 

(Daily Dunya,4th January 2024; p. 01)




Roznama Ummat “Balla phir tehreek-e-insaaf ke hath se nikal gaya.” 
Analysis begins here
Roznama Jung “Balla phir chhin gaya.” 

(Daily Jung,4th January 2024; p. 01)


 
Translation: “PTI: Seized the bat again.” 
Analysis: There may be several reasons or hidden objectives of the text producer for creating such types of sentences that are passive and without the subject like masking responsibility, creating deliberate ambiguity, shifting focus, applying syntactic issues, encouraging reader involvement, and maintaining objectivity. 
Syntactic Analysis: the sentence follows with the verb and object structure V+O, in this sentence, the subject/agent is hidden. The term PTI draws the attention of the reader with a colon ":". The theme of the specified subject leaves many questions and confusion for the readers. We further can witness through the lenses of critical discourse analysis that similar news is in different syntactic structures. The sentence is in passive form without the subject. The agent is invisible and tactfully hidden by the text producer to create connectivity and curiosity among the readers and the newspaper information.
Semantics: "PTI" is an identity of a certain political party whereas the colon ":” is used to draw the attention of readers. The term "Seized" confirms that there is a hidden force/power that is responsible and has the authority to seize anything particularly that the “bat” “again” shows that this may be the second time or third time the bat being seized from PTI what are the basic reasons not mentioned by the text producer. 
Ideology / Agenda: The text confirms that there is a hidden power dynamic that has done all with immense power and influence. "was snatched" can confirm the identity of a hidden actor. The lack of clarity about who snatched the bat and why, may influence the reader to think in the direction that a text producer actually wants. The text producer wants to make the reader act as he wishes.
The tone is neutral and descriptive (It gives glimpses of mocking as well)
Lexical Choice is a passive form, (the word "bat" is symbolic referring to a certain identity or power "seized" is again referring the hidden authority whereas the word "again" is referring how many times, the same practice has been repeated and why. Apparently, the sentence structure is simple and has the direct terms giving clarity about the simplicity of the sentence stating the concise description of the event). 


Roznama Jurrat “Balley ka nishaan chhen liya, PTI, Intekhabi maidaan se bahar.”

Translation: “The bat symbol was seized; PTI is out for electoral process”. 
Analysis: The symbol of the bat is giving symbolic representation associated with political engagements or dedication. The passive form of the sentence is sensitizing the situations among the readers or the party followers. The text is responsible for stimulating the attention of party workers. The news is bringing all party people together to do something in that context, maybe something emotional. A few important glimpses of this text are symbolic language, passive construction, victimhood implication / playing the victim card, political status, potential power struggle, and emphasis on timing because the verb "is" in PTI is out for the election shows the emphasis on the current state of affairs. The word "Out" is also an emotional word. This word is emotionalizing and triggering the party workers to do something in this regard. 
Syntactic Analysis: "The bat symbol was seized; PTI is out for the electoral process." The first sentence is in passive form without an agent and the second sentence is a statement. Giving passive-form sentences in the headlines of newspapers may serve several objectives such as Objectivity, Emphasis on action, space efficiency, ambiguity, mitigating blame or responsibility, sensationalization, emotionalization, complexity, and formality.  
Semantic Structure: “The bat symbol” is showing 
an identity of a certain political party  "was seized" is a passive form; "PTI" the famous name of a famous political party "is out" again refers to the immense force "for electoral process" refers to the participation in the election process. The choice of words shows that there is a hidden power and authority that is responsible for seizing the bat symbol. 
The tone is empathetic (expressing the sensitivity of the party being out for election)
Lexical / word choice is emotive. The word “out” is emotionalizing the party followers
Ideology: "The bat symbol was seized; PTI is out for the electoral process". The text producer is trying to evoke the party workers to rise against the challenges the party is facing. The text producer is trying to create hype by using a typical syntactic structure of selected words
 


Roznama Dunya Tehreek e insaf se balla phir wapas, toheen e election commission case me baani PTI par fard e jurm aaid.” 

(Daily Dunya, 4th January 2024; p. 01)


 
Translation: "Seized the bat symbol back from Tehreek-e-Insaf, and founder of PTI accused of contempt of the election commission."
Syntactic: the agent is hidden and not mentioned in the sentence. "fard e jurm aaid" is again without an agent. This phrase makes it clear that there is an invisible power behind the scene. CDA is used to examine and understand power relations, ideologies, and social structure. "Seizing the bat symbol" may indicate a power struggle or a conflict highlighting unseen issues within Tehreek-e-insaf.  
"The founder of PTI accused of the contempt of the election commission." The term accused implies a legal aspect and it is creating tensions. The text producer is trying to divert the focus of the party people and their deep association with the party by reminding them that their leader is accused of contempt. "Fard e jurm aaid” Framing the minds of the people. 
Semantic Structure: "Seized" shows the power it shows that something indiscipline has been done by the PTI and for that being punished by getting the bat symbol back "the bat symbol" "back" vividly referring that there is very giant authority hidden who can do this from any political party if going against the rule of law and the founder of PTI "accused of contempt" inverted phrase is referring that the founder has done something unpleasant in the context of the legal process of the election commission."
The tone is neutral and factual presenting information.  
Lexical word choice: seized a forceful or authoritative action, a legal or official intervention. It also refers that there is a hidden power that is doing all this from the very powerful political party. 


Ideology / Agenda
Roznama Ummat “Balla phir tehreek e insaaf ke hath se nikal gaya.” 

(Daily Ummat, 4th January 2024; p. 01)


 
Translation: “The bat escaped from the hand of PTI again.”
Analysis: The news has appeared in Roznama Ummat, CDA is used to uncover the underlying power dynamics, ideologies, or social structure. The text producer is trying the make readers realize that something big was about to happen if PTI had the bat but PTI has no bat so the things that were supposed to happen, couldn't happen. "The metaphor of slipping; the use of slipping could be used as a metaphor indicating loss or failure and trying to create a negative situation. The personification of PTI refers to the hands that are running the party. 
Syntactic structure: “The bat again escaped from the hands of PTI.” the sentence is without an agent, and no subject is mentioned by the text producer. Maybe he is doing this deliberately to create a chaotic situation or to instigate the party people. 
Semantic Structure: "The bat" shows the symbolic representation of a party, "again" refers that a few more times this thing has happened with PTI, again is also showing that PTI is victimized by repeatedly happening in this context, the term "escaped" is "from the hands of PTI."
The tone of language is formal. 
Lexical choice: The word "again" confirms the reoccurrence of the event it also refers to the continuation. It indicates the situation is unstable for PTI. The word "slipping" refers to a lack of control and it maintains the metaphor. "From the hands of PTI refers that something was in the hands of PTI" It reinforces the sense of ownership and responsibility of having something which is the symbol of success. Balla "bat" symbol is the symbol of success for the PTI workers. It seems that party people have a deep attachment to Bat. Therefore the text producer is mentioning the bat to reinforce the attachment. 
Ideology / Agenda: The text producer is deliberately trying to create a situation in which, they show that there is no more power balance in the hands of PTI. The text producer is trying to evoke a very soft structure of the sentence.
 
Date: 05-01-2024
Comparative-synchronic Analysis 
To carry on the research for the productive results, a few more similar headlines about the same news which have appeared in four different Urdu newspapers have been collected to conduct the comparative synchronic analysis through the lenses of Critical Discourse Analysis as under, 


Roznama Express “Tahayat naa ahili Islam ke khilaaf hai”. 

(Daily Express,5th January 2024; p. 01)


Roznama Dunya“Tahayat naa ahili Islami usoolon le khilaf hai”. 

(Daily Dunya 5th January 2024; p. 01)


Roznama Jung “Tahayt naa ahili khilaf-e-Islam hai.”  

(Daily Jung 5th January 2024; p. 01)


Analysis begins here  
Daily Express “Tahayat naa ahili Islam ke khilaaf hai”. 

(Daily Express, 5th January 2024; p. 01)


 
Translation: “Lifetime disqualification is against Islam” 2015. 
Analysis: The text producer uses religious references here, just to reinforce the idea or to make his statement more workable by quoting a religious reference because the text producer seems well aware of the fact that people are very sensitive as far as their religion is concerned, and they will take anything serious that comes on the way towards their religion. Religion is used to persuade the audience/readers to divert their attention.  
Syntactic Structure: It's a simple statement / an assertive expression. Who has disqualified to whom both the subject (the agent) and object are hidden here. 
Semantic Structure: Word Choice
The words like "lifetime disqualification" refer to the unknown powerful authority who has the power to disqualify anyone whereas "against Islam" is the religious terminology and it is being used to reinforce the statement. The text producer better knows that people have a deep attachment to religion so knows how to use and when to use religious tools to manipulate. 
Tone: The tone is assertive and formal 
Ideology: the text producer is trying to use religion to get his objectives and agendas to be better served by the people he wants. 
 


Roznama Dunya“Tahayat naa ahili Islami usoolon le khilaf hai”.

(Daily Dunya 5th January 2024; p. 01)


Translation: Lifetime disqualification is against the principles of Islam. 
Syntactic Structure: The sentence is in Standard English declarative structure 
Phrasing and organization: The sentence is sentence is organized in logical order. The word "Principles" refers to sentences that are justified in the light of principles. 
Key concepts: The text producer is drawing a specific focus on the principles of Islam. 
Complexity and vocabulary: The sentence employs a moderate level of complexity maintaining clarity and communication. There is a subject-verb agreement properly maintained throughout the sentence ensuring grammatical correctness. 
Conciseness: Conciseness is another tool that is used by the writer to get the attention of the audience. 
The tone is formal 
Cohesion: logic and cohesion are properly maintained in the sentence. 
Ideology: It indicates a belief in a particular interpretation of Islamic principles that condemns long-term disability. The sentence further reflects the normative view of Islam, interpretation of religious texts, moral and ethical judgments, exclusionary attitudes, conservative interpretation, potential lack of nuance, and impact on social attitudes. 


Roznama Jung “Tahayt naa ahili khilaf-e-Islam hai.” 
(Daily Jung 5th January 2024; p. 01)


 
Translation: Lifetime disqualification is anti-Islamic.
Analysis: It could refer to a framing where disqualification is viewed negatively within the context of Islamic beliefs possibly rooted in cultural interpretations rather than inherent religious teachings. This type of discourse analysis would uncover the hidden power dynamics and ideologies that contribute to such a statement and how it may impact perceptions of disqualification.
Syntactic structure: The sentence apparently seems a simple sentence but it has multiple clauses which contribute to multiple meanings and objectives to serve. 
Semantic Structure: The terms used by the text producer leave many questions and confusions for the readers "Lifetime disqualification" questions are whose disqualification, for what reasons, and who is more authoritative to disqualify anyone, and "khilaaf –-e-Islam is an anti-Islamic” which is again asking several questions. 
The tone is declarative and assertive. It expresses a clear stance on the concepts of lifetime disability and Islamic beliefs. 
Ideology: the ideology implies a negative association. This perspective indicates a bias or belief system that perceives disability as incompatible with or contrary to Islamic teachings.  


Date- 05-01-2024
Comparative-synchronic Analysis 
Roznama Dunya “8 farwary ko unheen dil ki takleef honi hai, Raiwand me un ke leye haspatal banenge.” BilawalDaily 

(Dunya 5th January 2024; p. 01)


Roznama Express “Raiwand walon par museebat ae to unhein dil ka daora par jata, london ja kar panah lete hain.”Bilwal 

(Daily Express 5th January 2024; p. 01)


Analysis begins here
Roznama Dunya “8 farwary ko unheen dil ki takleef honi hai, Raiwand me un ke leye haspatal banenge.” Bilawal



(Daily Dunya 5th January 2024; p. 01)


 
Translation: “He has to face cardiac pain on 8th February, we will make a hospital for him” Bilawal
Analysis: The text producer/speaker is trying to scare the opponent party through his statement. It seems that he might face failure so he psyching himself through defying the opponent party by showing the fear of heart attacks. This is a strategy to appear more enthusiastic before the crowd but actually, he is afraid of his failure. The statement also gives a temporal framing trying to evoke emotions and emphasizing the situation. There is also a glimpse of knowledge of assumptions about what is going to happen in the near future without providing details. This is a hidden threat also to the opponent party to decrease the level of energy that they have. 
Syntactic Structure: The third person pronouns (he, we, and him) have been used with subject and predicate. We will make a hospital an independent clause, an infinitive is also used "has to face", and the direct object. Both sentences are independent in structure.  
Semantic / Word Choice: “The cardiac pain” medicalizes the experience framing it within a clinical experience it also confirms that the opponent party has been facing the cardiac pain in the past as well. This is by the way a biomedical perspective. The phrase “8th February" shows some important event that is going to happen, maybe it's a decision-making day for their struggle or for their regime. "We will make a hospital" refers to the collective effort to be put to make a hospital for the leader of an opposing party. 
Tone: the tone is extremely sarcastic, and the tone of urgency to the statement, the tone is also responsible (we will make a hospital).
Ideology: The ideology is to maintain the domination of his party by defying the powers of the opponent party to dominate the opponent party with a simple statement or to boost the confidence of his own party workers to keep working for the party. It's a hidden message for his own party workers to carry one working for the party in the election with the same spirit and energy and never lose hope.  


Roznama Express“Raiwand walon par museebat ae to unhein dil ka daora par jata, london ja kar panah lete hain.”Bilwal 

Translation: They will face heart attack, if the people of Raiwind face misery, they go to London to get refuge. 
Analysis: The text producer is creating urgency with the statement through "emergent or urgent words". The speaker or the text producer is creating chaos with the statement and trying to put pressure upon the opponent political party through emergent, scary, and threatening words like "heart attack". The speaker is or maybe afraid of his failure in the election therefore he is trying to reduce the energy level of the people of his opponent's political party. The party leader is shifting the attention of all people towards that heart attack which is very threatening in taste. The speaker is also internally warning the opponent party leadership to be aware of the consequences that are likely to happen due to their own doings. The terms misery and heart attack convey a negative message to the readers. 
Syntactic Structure: the sentence is conditioned present (factual) all of the sentences are in present simple tenses with subject and predicates, "if the people of Raiwind meet any miser" is a dependent clause that shows that there is a condition to face any consequences in the future. The text producer is originally addressing a particular group of a territory, that might face such incidents in the future. This is a conditional clause with simple sentence structure, the infinitive has also been used to enlarge the predicate. 
Semantic / Word Choice: "The heart attack" refers to a medical term full of negative sentiments and scary kind of feelings. It further confirms that the opponent party has been facing situations like this in the past as well. Both the words misery and heart attack have extremely negative connotations and create a negative portrayal of situations, words like "the people of Raiwind and London" also assure the geographical contrast, these words are self-explanatory that the resources are available in "Raiwind" and the resources which are present in London have a big contrast and quite opposite in nature as far as the treatment of diseases is concerned. The term "refuge" suggests power dynamics, where "London" is the place that refers to “safety” more than “Raiwind”.  
Tone: the tone suggests a negative and emotionally charged atmosphere
Ideology: The ideology embedded in the text producer is framing and power dynamic considering an opponent party as a weak party and psyching his own (Bilawals’) party.  
Date: 06-01-2024 
Comparative-synchronic Analysis

(Daily Jung 6th January 2024; p. 01)


Roznama Express Election Multavi kiye jaen, senate karardaad, noon leeg ki Mukhalifat. 

(Daily Express 6th January 2024; p. 01)












Roznama Dunya“Senate: Intekhabat multavi karne ki karardaad manzoor.” 

(Daily Dunya 6th January 2024; p. 01)


Roznama Jurrat “Intekhabat ke khilaf saazish, senate me intekhabat multavi karne ki karardaad aksaryat rae manzoor.” 

(Daily Jurrat 6th January 2024; p. 01)


Date: 06-01-2024
Comparative-synchronic Analysis
Roznama Jung “Senate karardaad election par hamla karar” 

(Daily Jung 6th January 2024; p. 01)


 
Translation in English: “Senate resolution: considered as an attack on election.”
Analysis:  The text producer is trying to create a chaotic situation by using words like "attack". The speaker is informing the party people that the situation can further get worse. It reflects the negative stance or message towards the election process. The language has many doubts about the fairness of the election process. 
Syntactic Structure: The agent is hidden, and by which source the word "attack" is given to the election process is unknown. The sentence is tricky having multiple layers of meanings and messages in it. 
Semantic / Word Choice: the word "Resolution" refers to there is the formal procedure for the election and the word is getting the attention of the public it's an urgent word creating suspense that anything can happen during or after the election. There is the word "attack" which evokes the emotions of the public. 
Tone: Accusatory, Dismissal, or critical
Ideology: Though the sentence is apparently correct internally the text producer is trying to create disturbance by a little manipulation in it. This newspaper is trying to dominate the other newspapers by creating a chaotic situation through discourse.   






Roznama Express Election Multavi kiye jaen, senate karardaad, noon leeg ki Mukhalifat. 

(Daily Express 6th January 2024; p. 01)


 
Translation: “Election to be postponed” Opposition by N League. Senate passes the resolution.” 
Analysis: it’s a statement showing formality in the structure without any layer of negativity in it. It helps to decode through the lens of CDA that the "N" League wants to hinder the electoral process in the country or they want to create a chaotic situation. They have shown their unity and the party power. Therefore the Senate has passed the resolution.  
Syntactic Structure: The sentence is imperative showing order with hiding agency. 
Semantic / Word Choice: 
Tone: the tone is neutral and informative. 
Ideology: It seems that the N League political party has got powerful status in society and wants sit maintain its position. They with their party influence order the state authorities to postpone the election.  


Roznama Dunya“Senate: Intekhabat multavi karne ki karardaad manzoor.” 

(Daily Dunya 6th January 2024; p. 01)


 
Translation in English: “Senate passes the resolution about the postponement of election.”
Analysis: The sentence gives information about something which has legal, formal, and official. It has got significance of authority and power to postpone the election. It may be that due to political pressure or due to some unknown reasons the election has been postponed.  
Syntactic Structure: the sentence has a subject and predicate containing the verb and the object. The 
structure is Subject, Verb, and Object. S+V+O. 
Semantic / Word Choice: "Senate" refers to there is an organized system of governance that has the authority to pass a resolution, the term "resolution" also confirms that there is a unanimous decision being taken with Senate members about the postponement of the election.
Tone: is assertive, informative, formal 
Ideology: There is some hidden power that has got authority to postpone or to pass a resolution.    


Roznama Jurrat “Intekhabat ke khilaf saazish, senate me intekhabat multavi karne ki karardaad aksaryat rae manzoor.” 

(Daily Jurrat 6th January 2024; p. 01)


 
Translation: “Conspiracy against electoral process: senate passes the resolution of postponement of the election with the consensus of the majority." 
Analysis: Overall, the sentence is informative and assertive because it provides information about a certain event. The first part is creating confusion but when we read the second part, we feel it's normal and formal. 
Syntactic Structure: the first phrase is the informative case without an agent and verb, creating misunderstanding by using the word conspiracy. The second sentence is a statement with a predicate and subject, it's again informative.
Semantic / Word Choice: Words like "conspiracy" are responsible for creating misunderstanding about the fairness of the electoral process, whereas "against" is negative having a negative connotation,  "postponement" is referring the authoritative power balance, "with the consensus of the majority" is again showing that a particular group has got importance due to their unity and are active against the system. They can do with their unity whatever they wish to do. 
Tone: the first part of the sentence shows a chaotic/instigating tone while in the second sentence; the tone is assertive and informative because it gives information about what happened with regard to the election process. 
Ideology: the sentence is really very technical and tricky, it's a mixture of formal and informal, chaotic and informative. This newspaper is creating chaos very silently. 

Conclusion

History shows that many prominent scholars and writers have contributed a lot in terms of critical discourse analysis. There are numerous research studies and scholarly papers available on the sites with different theoretical and methodological approaches. These research studies have paved the way for numerous others to contribute to the work of critical discourse analysis. CDA is awareness, a movement as far as society and societal norms are concerned. CDA can discover countless undiscovered theories and concepts in the future as well. As far as education is concerned, CDA must be part of syllabus for the schools, colleges, and universities. This study is based on the framework given by the Van Dijk model of Critical Discourse Analysis. Based on the data analysis which has been collected from the different newspapers, it can be wrapped up that advertisers use different and numerous strategies of linguistic features and devices such as a direct address, positive vocabulary, framing the statement, headlines, and catchy slogans, or sometimes they use different punctuations to draw the attention of the audiences. 

Future Research Considerations

Future research can be conducted on several other gaps available in media discourse and headlines with the passage of time. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of language and discourse that observes language as a form of social practice. CDA combines analysis of discourse and explanation of how it figures within and contributes to the existing social reality, as a basis for action to change that existing reality in particular respects. The scholars who are working in the tradition of CDA generally argue that (non-linguistic) social practice and linguistic practice constitute one another and focus on investigating how societal power dynamics are established and reinforced through language utility. In this sense, it differs from discourse analysis in that it highlights issues of power asymmetries, manipulation, exploitation, and structural inequities in domains such as education, media, and politics.  

Appredixes A

Newspapers & Websites 

? Roznama Jung Karachi (January 2024)

? web: http://dailyjung.com.pk 

? Roznama Khabrain Karachi (January 2024)

? web:  http://dailykhabrain.com.pk

? Roznama Nawa-e-wakt (January 2024)

? web:  http://dailynawaewakt.com.pk

? Roznama Dunya Karachi (January 2024)

? web: http://dailydunya.com.pk

? Roznama Express Karachi (January 2024)

? web: http://dailyexpress.com.pk

? Roznama Jurrat Karachi ( January 2024)

? web: http://dailyjurrat.com.pk

? Roznama Ummat Karachi (January 2024)

? web: http://dailyummat.com.pk

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