Pakistani Print Media and Taliban: A Test of Media Conformity Theory

This study aimed to explore the representation of Taliban in the editorials of two leading English newspapers of Pakistan. Through the content analysis technique, the slant of the contents was measured. The slant of the editorials was further categorized into three subcategories; favorable, unfavorable and neutral. For one year, a total number of 352 editorials were specified for the Taliban by Dawn and The Nation. Findings of the study revealed that the slant of both newspapers was mostly negative towards the Taliban. Most interestingly, the slant was noticed to be similar with the stance of the government of Pakistan concerning Taliban. The print media have conformed the Pakistan’s foreign policy about the Taliban as they are terrorists. Therefore, the outcomes of this study have supported the Media Conformity Theory in the context of Pakistan