THE POPULIST PLAYBOOK: ANTI-ELITE AND PEOPLE-CENTRIC RHETORIC IN MEDIA DURING THE POLITICAL CRISES IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

This research study examined the framing of populist political communication in leading newspapers of Pakistan by using qualitative and quantitative content analysis techniques. The central problem addressed by this study was to comprehensively analyze the coverage of populist rhetoric by the leading press in Pakistan before and after the “No Confidence Motion” against PTI government in April 2022. Four leading newspapers, two each from English and Urdu press (The News International, Dawn, Daily Jang, and Daily Express) of Pakistan were selected for the purpose. Findings indicated that both Urdu and English newspapers gave greater coverage to populist narratives. Anti-elitist, polarization, and people-centric frames appeared more frequently, suggesting that political news stories often emphasized societal and political division in Pakistan. Out of 785 news stories of front pages 574 (73.1%) contained populist frames, while 211 (26.9%) were without populist frames. There was a potential difference between Urdu and English press in editorial policies and ideological leaning which helped us to understand the role of media in shaping public perception of political discourse through populist narratives. In comparison to leading English press (47.6%), the higher proportion of favorable political news to populist framing in Urdu newspapers (64.2%) indicated a less critical approach and a more populist political narrative aligned approach. The frequency of Anti-elitist, polarization, and people-centric frames suggested that political news stories often emphasized societal and political division in Pakistan.