Article Analysis

Sara Shiraz and Dahlia Shatila

1. The article "Gen Pervez Musharraf 'To Return to Pakistan'" only followed a couple of the types of informational bias. The first was dramatization. In the past, Musharraf was accused of assassinating former PM Benazir Bhutto and then leaving the country. In spite of being warned about the risks of coming back to Pakistan he has announced that he will be returning to participate in parliamentary elections. “I’ve been threatened and warned but I’m not one of those who gets scared or backs down” he told supporters. His return was very shocking news and the majority of the article only focused on that aspect. Any other article could have also mentioned his past wrongdoings or discussed the consequences of his actions whereas this one stayed on topic and focused on the actual issue. Also, the article had some personalization. It mentioned that one of Musharraf’s only chances of being accepted back into Pakistan would be through the help of his supporters who are to stand by his side and welcome him back into the country “Addressing a rally by video link from Dubai, he asked his supporters to prepare for elections.”

2. The types of informational biases that were included did have an impact on how we perceived the article and the text. At first, we only thought of Musharraf as a murder for killing Benazir Bhutto and a coward for leaving the country and his job. However, after reading the article our opinions slightly differed since he seemed more determined and powerful than ever. This is mostly noticeable when he said, "I've fought wars. I'll come to Pakistan." He doesn't seem to be concerned about the consequences of his return. When we first read the article we thought that it was just defending Musharraf and that doing so would be useless since we presumed that most of the people would not welcome him back with open arms. However, towards the end we were able to see that Musharraf actually had supporters (he was relying on them) and so we reconsidered his innocence and thought that he might have been judged too quickly or unfairly. So, through dramatization we were able to notice how serious Musharraf was about returning and that his determination might actually mean that he was innocent. Then, through personalization we could see that he might have a chance at becoming popular once again due to his supporters who will be awaiting his arrival.

3. The main aim of news agencies is of course to inform the people about what is occurring around them. At the same time they need people to remain engaged with the stories and to always be discussing them. However, how will they do so if they are not controversial? There are many people who probably do not want Musharraf to return to Pakistan and after reading this story they were certainly angered by the news. This story made it into the print because of the importance of the topic to the people of Pakistan but also because it is controversial. Throughout the article there are quotes where Musharraf talks about his supporters but there was not much about the people against him. If the article had discussed both sides in detail, it would not be have been as interesting or powerful. So, those parameters made the story more one-sided and interesting, and might have caused conflict within the country. However, this is what the news wants because only then will people want to know more. Therefore, by having news and controversy and only focusing on one side of the issue, people will be eager to find out more about the topic in the future.