Akhtar Aziz

A Discourse of Challenge: Discourse Devices Behind Protest Mobilization : a Critical Discourse Analysis of the English Newspapers in Pakistan. Akhtar Aziz

The mass media, in recent years, has developed into a new center of power in Pakistan. Its progress has been so phenomenal that traditional power centers are already feeling threatened by it. It is a fact beyond question that it wields an immense influence in bringing the general public round but how it manages to do that is a pertinent question to be asked. This study takes a Discourse Analytic approach to answer that question with a specific focus on how the mainstream Pakistani English newspapers, through a skillful use of their language, contributed towards mobilizing a protest movement for the restoration of the Chief Justice of Pakistan. The Critical Discourse Analysts have their focus on discourse in its ability to (re)produce and challenge dominance and this study has also revealed that by aligning itself with this movement, the media also became a party to the challenge posed by the Judiciary to the dominance of the Executive.