Critical Discourse Analysis of Political Economics of Media Coverage on Sabdaraja on the Succession in Yogyakarta Empire by Kedaulatan Rakyat Daily Newspaper, Yogyakarta, Editions of May 2015 Sutopo1, Rukmini Diah1 1Post-graduate Program of Science of Communication, The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Sebelat Maret University of Surakarta Online published on 2 February, 2019. Abstract Objective This research aimed to reveal how the local newspaper constructed the controversy of Sabdaraja on the succession and to expose the economic-political interest of the printed media in exposing internal polemic of Yogyakarta Empire. Analysis This research is a critical discourse analysis on the controversy of Sabdaraja in Sultan empire in Yogyakarta exposed by local newspaper namely: Kedaulatan Rakyat daily newspaper. The data were collected by using media text analysis technique combined with in-depth interviews. Method It used critical paradigm with Norman Fairclough's research method of critical discourse analysis. The selection of this type of qualitative research in the preparation was due to some reasons: it focussed on the words (not on the numbers), the authors were in this study as the main instruments. Findings By using discourse, it was found that the Sabdaraja were related to power dominance. It was also seen that there was an additional discourse which was actually the result of alignment of the dominant interests. Economic factors were more prominent and overcame other pressing factors such as politics and culture. Result Results of the research showed that Kedaulatan Rakyat daily newspaper did not stand firmly. It tended to lean to one of the camps, namely: the sultan's, by accommodating the opposite discourse. Kedaulatan Rakyat identified itself to be the supporting group of Sabdaraja. The way the media exposed the succession polemic showed the vulnerability of media independence. Top Keywords Political economy of media, discourse analysis, Sabdaraja. Top |