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Title:
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A Pragmatic Study of Aspects of Political Discourse in Press Headlines
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Author:
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Ihab Shabana
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Email:
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click here to access email
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Degree Awarded:
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Al-Azhar University
, Ph D in Linguistics
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Degree Date:
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2006
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Linguistic Subfield(s):
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Pragmatics
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Director(s):
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Bruce Ingham
Abdel-Rahman Sayed
Muhammad Ghaly
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Abstract:
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Media in general and the Press in particular are among the most powerful institutions that disseminate and publicise policies and ideologies of the ruling group in a given society. In times of crisis, the impact of the press is crucial. It has a significant role to play in preparing people for war during the build-up stage or rather strengthening the social solidarity and the internal front.
Headlines are a tool used by editors to expose their ideas and render them to the reader. They encapsulate the view of the editor and reveal his real aim behind reporting a news story in a certain manner. In addition, they are the first thing one may read in a newspaper. They are usually written carefully and in very concise language. Headlines also carry the most influential statements in a news story, and thus editors write them in an eye-catching style that may entice the reader to read them. The content of headlines does not only include the prominent incidents of a news story, but encapsulates also the perspective of the editor. Here comes the importance of headlines in shaping the minds of the reader. That is the editor has the opportunity to better introduce the ideas proposed in the speech of the politician in a way that makes headlines influential and memorable.
The analytical part of my thesis will focus on the front page headlines of a state controlled Egyptian newspaper, Al-Ahram. The significance of using Al-Ahram’s headlines as data for analysis in this thesis is that this newspaper is the mouthpiece of the ruling power in Egypt. Moreover, Al-Ahram is known to be widely read by the intelligentsia of Egypt, who represent the most influential class in the pubic opinion of the nation. The impact of this newspaper is derived from the fact that the editor of Al-Ahram during the period of analysis, Muhammad Hasanein Heikal, was a close associate of president Nasser for two decades. This gave him the privilege of being close to the circles of decision making and thus the best transmitter of political discourse in the post 1952 Revolution era. Being a close adviser of Nasser and the most prominent journalist of his generation, Heikal used the headlines of Al-Ahram to spread the nationalist discourse that was dominant during Nasser's era. During the first four years of Sadat's rule, Heikal still enjoyed the same unique position as a close advisor.
Within this framework, this thesis attempts to explore the different aspects of political discourse in pre the 1967 war and pre the 1973 war in the headlines of Al-Ahram. The reason for choosing these two periods is that the two wars still have consequences not only for Egypt but also for the region as whole. It is not an exaggeration to say that the two wars had an influence on the balance of power all over the world. It is known historically that the 1967 war ended with a humiliating defeat to the Arabs with Israel occupying more lands, while the 1973 war witnessed the achievement of significant military gains by the Arabs. It is also known that Egypt had Nasser in power during the 1967 war. After Nasser, Sadat succeeded him in power and thus planned the 1973 war. The analysis of the data will attempt to identify the main aspects of the political discourse during the two wars as reflected in the press-headlines of Al-Ahram. Inaddition, analysis will attempt to show whether the political discourse of each leadership was appropriate and in the interest of the country or not.
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