News Headlines in Pakistani Newspapers on Budget of the Fiscal Year 2019-20: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

This study is a critical discourse analysis of the newspaper headlines published in different Pakistani newspapers regarding Pakistan's fiscal year 2019-20. There are three Urdu newspapers and five English newspapers which are published in Pakistan. They have been selected randomly. This study focuses on a single issue of the budget of Pakistan for the year 2019-20 as it is represented in the newspapers. The Urdu newspapers target the local readers and try to attract their attention by highlighting the aspects of their interest. In contrast, the English newspapers address the local and foreign readers and provide information to present a positive picture of the country. It has been found that these news headlines represent the ideologies of the editors regarding some national issues and, they are not purely neutral while providing information to the readers.