On Friday, March 8, 2024, the Master's Program in Islamic Communication and Broadcasting (KPI) once again held a thesis discussion on graduation acceleration. This thesis discussion, held on Friday (8/03), presented two studies that drew attention in the realm of political news coverage on women and persuasive communication strategies to prevent school dropout at the State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

Maria Ulfah, a master's program student, discussed the political news coverage of women on CNNIndonesia during the 2024 Election from the critical discourse perspective of Sara Mills.

In the background of her research, Ulfah identified that women are less covered compared to men in the context of the election. Her analysis highlighted the dominance of men in political news coverage, as reflected in the language used. This study aimed to understand the differences in treatment in coverage between women and men, as well as the factors underlying the minimal coverage of women on CNNIndonesia.

Meanwhile, Ishmatun Nisa, another student, revealed the persuasive communication strategies implemented by the Social Trust Fund (STF) UIN Jakarta to prevent student dropouts. Nisa addressed the issue of school dropout, which poses a serious challenge to UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

She emphasized that STF UIN Jakarta has been striving to assist financially challenged students through various policies and support. Her research focused on the persuasive strategies employed by STF UIN Jakarta to change students' beliefs and behaviors, with the hope of reducing the dropout rate.

Both of these studies adopt a qualitative paradigm, with each employing different analysis methods. Ulfah applies Sara Mills' critical discourse theory in analyzing the news coverage, while Nisa utilizes a constructivist approach to understand the persuasive communication strategies of STF UIN Jakarta. Both studies involve interviews, document studies, and data analysis to gain a profound understanding of the phenomena under investigation.

It is hoped that the results of both studies will provide new insights into understanding the dynamics of political news coverage of women and the effectiveness of persuasive communication strategies in preventing school dropout in higher education settings.[THM]