From Structure to Frame: News Discourse Organization in Party-Affiliated Kurdish Media Coverage of Erbil–Baghdad Fiscal Relations

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18326/jopr.v8i3.1055-1081

Keywords:

news discourse analysis, framing theory, Kurdish media, critical discourse analysis, social actor representation, Erbil–Baghdad relations

Abstract

The current research, as an illustrative comparative case study, investigates the distinct discourse organization of Erbil-Baghdad issues in two rival Kurdish media outlets: Kurdistan 24, affiliated with the KDP party, and CHANNEL8, affiliated with the PUK party. The research employs qualitative discourse analysis and van Dijk's theory of news discourse to analyze 8 English articles that relate to four topics: oil export, public-sector wages, integration of custom issues, and revenue transfer. The findings highlight significant structural asymmetry, with Kurdistan 24 using opportunity-equality frame that eliminates any action for negative consequences, while CHANNEL8 employs compliance-tension frame focusing on agency by Baghdad and not resolving it at the end. This pattern can be noted in all examined topics, with the analysis being limited by a small corpus and not allowing for the establishment of causation between party affiliation of news outlets and the way they portray the issues under discussion.

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Published

2026-10-14

How to Cite

Jawzal, N., Omar, R. Y., Saeed, B. M., & Ramadhan, S. S. (2026). From Structure to Frame: News Discourse Organization in Party-Affiliated Kurdish Media Coverage of Erbil–Baghdad Fiscal Relations. Journal of Pragmatics Research, 8(3), 1055–1081. https://doi.org/10.18326/jopr.v8i3.1055-1081

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 3 (2026): Journal of Pragmatics Research

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Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Nechirvan Jawzal, Rozgar Yousif Omar, Binin Mustafa Saeed, Shakhwan Sedeeq Ramadhan

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