Abstract

This purpose of this study was to examine the language and news frames used by the New York Times in its coverage of the Brock Turner and the Roger Ailes sexual misconduct cases. This study looked at 16 articles published by the Times, eight that covered the Turner case and eight that covered the Ailes story. Using feminist analysis, this study looked at how the Times used language and news frames to either combat or uphold traditional notions and representations of gender. The findings indicated three major themes throughout the articles. The first theme is the discussion of the bodies of Turner, Doe, Ailes, and Carlson, be it in terms of their physical strength or social status. The second theme is the repeated inclusion of the victims’ voices in both of the cases, as well as the frequent practice of speaking through others. Finally, another theme was the use of thematic versus episodic framing, with the thematic frames more apparent in the Turner stories and the episodic frames more obvious in the Ailes articles. After the analysis of these 16 articles, I concluded that, while there have been improvements in news coverage of sexual misconduct cases, there are still changes to be made.

Advisor

Singh, Rohini

Department

Communication Studies

Disciplines

Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication | Journalism Studies | Mass Communication | Women's Studies

Keywords

feminist analysis, news coverage, frames, sexual misconduct, Roger Ailes, Brock Turner, the New York Times

Publication Date

2017

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2017 Emily N. Hatcher