Framing the Frustration: A Comparative Analysis of Print Media Coverage and Government Communication During the Government Employee Protests against the Pension Reforms and End Salary Disparities in Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/qjssh.vi-ii.25347Keywords:
Print Media Coverage, Government Communication, Government Employee, Pension Reforms, Salary Disparites, Federal Government Colleges Teachers Association (FGCTA), Members of All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGEGA)Abstract
The purpose of this is to conduct a comparative analysis of the news media coverage, Government officials, and their communication during the protest of the Federal Government Servants (FGS), Federal Government Colleges Teachers Association (FGCTA), and the members of All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGEGA). This research focuses on a detailed study of the protest organized by the Government Employees for the restoration of the tax rebate, changes in the pension rules, the end-salary-disparities and discrepancies in promotions, and the seniority system of the Government jobs. It will also investigate the comparative analysis of the crisis communication by the Government and the delaying tactics that flared the situation. The analysis of print media coverage was an understudy. The mainstream English newspapers of Pakistan are selected; The News International, Dawn News, and Express Tribune, the news articles were selected through purposive sampling techniques ranging from 2020 to 2025. A number of 27 articles were analyzed, 9 each from the three mainstream English newspapers. A data-driven assessment of Pakistani print media coverage from 2020 to 2025 reveals a predominant focus on worker narratives during pension reform protests. Employee-centric themes dominated approximately 70% of reporting, emphasizing protesters' resilience and policy demands, while government reform proposals and crisis management strategies received limited attention at 30%. The resulting narrative imbalance may have exacerbated social tensions and hindered consensus-building, suggesting urgent reforms toward equitable media representation of all stakeholders during contentious policy debates.
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