ABSTRACT

Political cartoons being one of the most influential tools for public engagement as well as in political expression but unfortunately its overlooked. The dual role of political cartoons in providing medium for editorial freedom and shaping public perceptions are neglected in the existing studies. This study looks into two important things. Cartoonists editorial freedom and political cartoons influence on two Generations (Y and Z). Approach adopted in this research is mixed method, thematic analysis (for interviews conducted with cartoonists), descriptive analysis (for data collected through online survey form Generation Y and Z) and semiotic analysis (for political cartoons collected from newspaper and Television). Foundation of this research has been put on two theories, Gate Keeping (for editorial structures) Theory and Visual Rhetoric theory (for symbolic communication). Together these theories guided the interpretation of both the creation audience interpretation of political cartoons. Findings of the study highlighted political cartoonists do have freedom but is dependent on internal (institutional environment, editors’ restrictions) and external factors (social and political pressures). Moreover, gatekeeping is widely practised within the media institutions which is directly increasing the self-censorship among cartoonists.   Additionally, variation in engagement of both the generations i.e., Generation Y and Generation Z were noticed. Generation Y respondents were more likely into traditional media formats while Generation Z respondents were more tilted towards television and digital cartoons.   On the contrary the assumptions about the negativity of political cartoons, data highlighted that especially among youth political cartoons influence positive political engagement, awareness and education. Overall, this study provides insights on political perception and engagement of individuals from different generations, media freedom and political communication in the context of a developing country Pakistan.