Post 9/11 American Footprints in Pakistani Media: A Critique of Semiotic Discourses of Pakistani Newspapers

Abstract

This paper highlights the power of image in shaping perception of the people regarding post 9/11 American representation in Pakistani print media discourses. The study deconstructs the semiotic discourse(s) of Pakistani English newspaper Dawn (daily) from September 2018 to February 2019 to argue that linguistic and semiotic devices and techniques work discursively to shape the readers’ perception regarding American foot-prints in Pakistani print media. It employs Multimodal Critical Discourse analysis approach by drawing upon Machin (2007), Van Leeuwen framework for recontextualization (2008) and Fairclough’s (2003) for visual and linguistic analyses to lay bare embedded ideologies propagated through word-picture conjunction. The levels of analysis include participants, settings, poses, objects, metaphor, inclusion, exclusion and discourse. Moreover, the researchers have validated the findings of their semiotic analysis by conducting two focus group discussions among the students of linguistics and other disciplines. The findings reveal that print media semiotic discourses provide an appropriate use of language in graphic form. The findings reveal that no use of language is ideology free and words and pictures work in conjunction to propagate desired ideology to the target readership. Additionally, the study notices the visible change that has taken place regarding American representation from superordinate to back foot and ready-to-hold dialogue through semiotic discourses of mentioned newspaper.

An Investigation of Media communication

“…Therefore, previous researchers discussed different themes and different elements in newspapers headlines and articles, like; Hladka (2010) conducted a study to know about the prominent tense used in newspaper headlines and which one is prominent. Sajid (2012) discussed the representation of Islam and Muslims with conception in western newspapers decode with semiotic discourses and with flashes of ideological linguistics. He also mentioned in his work that western newspapers ideology is set with the approach as in Pakistani newspaper articles have elaborated.…”