Knowing Her Name: The Framing of Victims and Assailants in News Media

Headlines

A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts

in the Department of Communication, College of Arts and Sciences by

Tessa Webb

B.A. University of Cincinnati, December 2017

Advisor: Nancy Jennings, PhD.

Committee: Omotayo Banjo, PhD. and Ronald Jackson, III, PhD.

Abstract: By examining how attribution of responsibility is constructed by public opinion, this research determines the discrepancy in the presence of the victim and their sexual assailant in news media headlines. This research is based in the theoretical framework of framing, which will be used to evaluate how electronic news media sources portray these stories and the ways in which they possibly alter truth through agenda setting and priming. myths grow within our society through repetition, so the theoretical basis of the cumulative and cognitive-transactional model of media effects will be utilized in order to focus on the consonance and repetition of themes and messages that occur across media content. A content analysis will examine the ways in which electronic news media headlines are more likely to utilize language of support and use more description for the sexual assailant, as opposed to their victim. Content analyzed will include electronic news media headlines related to the Stanford sexual assault trial.

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Acknowledgments: I would first like to acknowledge the support of my advisor, Dr. Nancy

Jennings. Your patience and support are the reason why I survived such a harsh topic of research.

In addition, much thanks and love are in order for my mentors and friends, Dr. Jessica Graves-

Rack and Dr. Autumn Miller, without whom I would not be where I am today. Thank you for always being there and willing to give me the pep talk I need. Additional thanks are also in order for my committee members Dr. Omotayo Banjo and Dr. Ron Jackson who have supplied me with numerous sources, ideas, and feedback that has helped shape my research. With love and gratitude, I would like to thank my parents, Katie, Marissa Gene, Shelly, and Gary Fine,

Rebekah Knaggs and Evan Neidig, Sue Graves, Marcella Miller, and all of the amazing friends

I’ve made along the way. It truly takes a village to raise an academic, and mine has been the best village of all.

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Table of Contents

Tables……………………………………………………………………………………………..vi Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..……1 Literature Review………………………………………………………………………………….4 Rape myths………………………………………………………………………………...4 Rape myths, and the Stanford case…………………………………….....5 Rape myths, framing, and agenda setting………………………………………………....9 Rape myths and media effects…………………………………………………………...12 Research questions……………………………………………………………………………….16 Methods…………………………………………………………………………………………..16 Sample……………………………………………………………………………………17 Coding……………………………………………………………………………………17 Variables…………………………………………………………………………………19 Results……………………………………………………………………………………………21 Presence of the victim……………………………………………………………………21 Presence of the perpetrator……………………………………………………………….22 Presence of rape myths…………………………………………………………………..24 Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………..24 Maintaining identity……………………………………………………………………...25 What’s in a name? ……………………………………………………………………….27 Attribution of responsibility and public opinion…………………………………………30 Limitations……………………………………………………………………………………….32 Future research…………………………………………………………………………………...33 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….33 Appendix A………………………………………………………………………………………35

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Tables

Table 1. Reliability………………………………………………………………………………17

Table 2. News Sources and Presence of Victim…………………………………………………21

Table 3. News Source and Victim Referred to as Innocent……………………….…………….23

Table 4. News Sources and Presence of Perpetrator…………………………………………….23

Table 5. News Source and Description of the Perpetrator………………………………………24

Table 6. Presence of Perpetrator and Language of Support…………………………………..…24

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Introduction

News media headlines are tasked with summarizing the story in one line. We skim through these headlines on Twitter or our news app of choice and grab the necessary information from them in order to determine if an article is worth our time. Often, when reporting a sexual assault, news media outlets will include aspects of the perpetrator that reveal the violent offender’s identity but will simply use “victim” or “woman” for the individual that has been assaulted, if she’s mentioned at all (Kahlor & Eastin, 2011; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000; Yodanis,

2004). There are implications for focusing on the identity1 of the sexual assailant, while diminishing their victim. This concept has become even more apparent in recent years with the rise of the .

There has been a shift of focus within our society that has changed the ways in which we discuss sexual assault. The Me Too movement focuses on mobilizing against sexual harassment and assault (Lee, 2018) while maintaining a goal of refocusing the narrative of sexual assault and rape to be concerned with the victim and not the sexually violent offender. Founded in 2006, the movement was meant to help the survivors of sexual violence find opportunities for healing (Me

Too Movement, n.d.). The drive of this movement was and still remains to address the lack of resources for survivors of sexual violence while building a community made up of advocates, driven by survivors, that will work together in order to create solutions to end sexual violence within these communities (Me Too Movement, n.d.).

1 Identity is conceptualized in this research as factors that pertain to the individual that would be used to describe aspects of their everyday life. This includes occupation, academic affiliation, relation to individuals, athletic affiliations, or the use of their name.

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Furthermore, this movement also brought to light the heinous and disempowering actions committed by men against women in various industries across the , especially within Hollywood (i.e., Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Bill Cosby) and the news media (i.e.,

Matt Lauer, Les Moonves, Roger Ailes). Well-known male actors, artists, and musicians that had engaged in sexual misconduct without consequences throughout the entirety of their careers were soon cast into the spotlight, except this time they played the starring role in their own demise.

With a growing focus on reclaiming the “victim” narrative, Me Too has worked to establish a society where survivors and women feel comfortable discussing their assault or harassment and can find allies in the public around them (Lee, 2018). Readers have become more critical and this is often influenced by whose narrative is given more attention in the media.

This research is significant because it will contribute to the understanding of the ways in which our news media frame the identities of sexually violent offenders and the women they assault, including determining the presence of rape myths associated with the victim and perpetrator. Current and past research has focused on the portrayal of the victim in television programming and the implications of these depictions (Cavender, et al., 1999; Kahlor & Eastin,

2011;). This research analyzes headlines and news media narratives that can shape the social reality and public opinion of consumers.

While there is much literature to be considered that discusses the ways in which victims are portrayed in the media, or the depiction of sexually violent offenders, there is a lack of focus on how the two identities compare when being presented in the news. News media is the main source for us as citizens to read about these crimes and educate ourselves on the facts surrounding the assault. However, when these sources consistently allow the perpetrator of the assault to maintain their identity while automatically reassigning the woman to the “victim”

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identity, we begin to see how framing plays a part in the presentation of these narratives. One prominent example of this is the case of attempted rapist, Brock Turner.

The purpose of this research is to analyze the news media headlines that correspond with stories of the sexual assault of “Emily Doe,” a pseudonym chosen by herself as the female that was sexually assaulted by Brock Turner. Using these headlines as content, this research will determine the presence of language regarding “Doe” and Turner. If the sexual assailant’s identity remains, then why do we replace the identity of the women they assault? If there is a difference in the language used to present the identities of Turner and Doe in these headlines, how does this differential framing of the crime impact the perceptions of the audience that consumes this form of media?

How society places such weight on the attribution of responsibility in crime can affect the ways that rape myths have become so pervasive in our beliefs. When the victim’s identity is replaced in news headlines and the assailant’s remains, it is easier for consumers of this information to attribute responsibility on the victim. This is how questions and assumptions such as “What were they wearing,” “How much had they drank,” and “She was probably teasing or flirting” become established responses to stories of sexual assault and rape due to the attribution of responsibility to the victim.

If societal knowledge and public opinion of the attribution of responsibility decides who is to blame in an assault, we would hope the information they are consuming is being presented in a non-biased manner that presents the crime in a straight-forward manner. This may not be the case. In addition to attribution, this research will also look at the ways in framing theory is utilized in both the creation of news stories in a journalistic setting, but also how it can be used in order to possibly alter the public’s understanding of a subject.

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Literature Review

With a combination of effects models and media theories, the broader implications of news headlines about sexual assault, specifically the Stanford case, will be examined. Iyengar

(1994) explains that framing can impact the public understanding of an issue or news stories depending on the wording that is used by the author. As suggested by the cumulative and cognitive-transactional models of media effects (Perse, 2011), these two models will provide a basis to expolore the effects of the framing of the perpetrator’s and victim’s identities in news stories such the Stanford rape case. Iyengar (1994)’s concept of attribution of responsibility will be utilized to examine the ways in which the victim is held responsible in not only the eyes of the public, but also in the framing of the headline. How the headline is worded can drastically affect the reader’s assumptions, contextual understanding, and opinions on that situation. Iyengar

(1994) explains that attributions of responsibility are “critical ingredients of all social knowledge” (p. 8) and that society forms its collective knowledge on the basis of how we attribute the responsibility of crime. The following literature will focus on the theoretical concepts of framing, agenda-setting and priming, while applying them to rape myths and the ways that victims and sexual assailant are presented in the media, starting with the conceptionalization of rape myths and victim blaming.

Rape myths

There is a power dynamic that exists in our society that puts women at a higher risk of being raped or sexually assaulted than men (Kahlor & Eastin, 2011). We live in a culture of violence that encourages and allows violence to take place towards women, where one in every five women will be a victim of attempted or completed rape at some point in their lives (Kahlor

& Eastin, 2011; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000; Yodanis, 2004). Over time, common assumptions

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have developed regarding rape known as the rape myth. Kahlor and Eastin (2011) define rape myths as “false but persistent beliefs and regarding forced sexual intercourse and the victims and perpetrators of such acts (p. 216).” This could include myths such as women who say they are raped are promiscuous or slutty, have an established bad reputation, are lying about consesual sex because they regret it, and dress in a sexual manner (Clark & Carroll, 2008; Kahlor

& Eastin, 2011). The following is a discussion of rape myths, which specific ones are most common in the Stanford case, and how they apply to other cases as well.

Rape Myths, Victim Blaming, and the Stanford Case

There were three main rape myths I have identified that were heavily focused on throughout the Stanford rape case and contribute to victim blaming. These include the rape myths of about one’s rape due to regret, being raped due to the promiscuous nature of the victim’s clothing, and victim’s over-consumption of alcohol as a means to say the victim cannot be believed.

Victim blaming and doubt of victim’s allegations. Although, only approximately two percent of rape allegations against men are false (National Sexual Violence Resource Center,

2012), this is often a common rebuttal that can be seen in response to a man being accused of rape. The Stanford case was no exception, with both Turner’s father and the defense attorney claiming (at first) that he was being falsely accused (Park, 2018).

Victim blaming and victim’s clothing. Also present in the Turner rape case was the rape myth of promiscuity on behalf of the victim due to her choice in clothing. Potter (2017) discusses the way that “Emily Doe” addresses the victim-blaming she was encountering due to whatever clothing she had on that evening with a direct quote from her written statement:

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“It is deeply offensive that he would try and dilute rape with a suggestion of ‘promiscuity

(“Emily Doe”).’”

Siefkes-Andrews and Alexopoulos (2019) report that “...the victim’s appearance, specifically the victim’s dress, can influence attribution of responsibility for sexual assault to the victim over the perpetrator” (p. 749). In cases of sexual assault and rape, a jury, judge, or even the general audience consuming information regarding the case may view this as a valid excuse for the male assailant, which is why it is asked of victims when they do decide to report.

There are organizations that have noticed the trend of victim and slut shaming that focuses on what the individual was wearing at the time of her rape or assault. One example of anti-rape myth activism is the SlutWalk, a form of protest which involved both women, men, and those that do not identify, protesting in the street in various outfits ranging from completely nude, to dressed as nuns. These protesters around the country held mostly handmade signs with slogans such as “Times Up,” “Me Too,” and “Still not asking for it (Carr, 2013).” With the emergence of the public pushing back against this common rape myth, it will be interesting to see if it is amongst the first to disappear from the culture of rape that has established itself within our society.

Victim blaming and alcohol consumption. Last, there is the rape myth of overconsumption of alcohol being an excuse for victim blaming. Research conducted by

Abbey, Zawacki, Buck, Clinton, and McAuslan (2004) indicated that approximately half of sexual assaults involve the consumption of alcohol on behalf of either the assailant, the victim, or both. However, if one or both of the individuals involved in sexual intercourse are under the influence of alcohol, they are unable to . Planned Parenthood (n.d.)

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defines as the agreement to participate in sexual activity. They explain that it must be freely given, reversible, informed, enthusiastic, and specific. Without this, any type of sexual activity is considered sexual assault or rape. Furthermore, individuals who are drunk, high, or unconscious are unable to consent to sex, thus any sexual activity that occurs while someone is in this state is nonconsensual.

Throughout the case of “Emily Doe’s” sexual assault and rape, she claims to be constantly reminded of the fact that she admitted to being intoxicated and is unable to recall specific events (Potter, 2017). Due to this fact, Turner’s attorneys made consistent claims that only Turner’s testimony mattered, because he claimed to remember everything in detail. Below is a quote taken from Doe’s testimony regarding the role her consumption of alcohol played in the case:

My testimony was weak, was incomplete, and I was made to believe that perhaps, I am

not enough to win this. His attorney constantly reminded the jury, the only one we can

believe is Brock, because she doesn’t remember (“Emily Doe”) (Potter, 2017).

The persistence of the idea that someone under the influence of alcohol does not deserve to be heard in instances of rape and sexual assault because they may not remember or were intoxicated is a false conception that drives and continues to put women at risk of assault and rape.

However, Turner’s sexual assault case is not the only example of rape myths and how they are portrayed in the media.

Rape myths in other cases. The Steubenville, Ohio rape is another case that we can use to identify the common rape myth practice of victim blaming, which was amplified through the

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use of social media, especially Twitter, during the case’s trial. Phillips (2017) explains the case in detail, describing how two members of a high school football team were accused of raping and urinating on a fellow high school student, carrying her from party to party, and documenting their crime on social media with pictures and a video that surfaced later in the case. Due to the pervasiveness of social media, it was not long before tweets began popping up engaging in victim blaming and accusing the victim of lying for attention (Phillips, 2017). The following are a few examples of comments engaging in victim-blaming and the assumption of rape myths provided by Phillips (2017) from the picture of the victim that was posted on Facebook: “Song of the night is definitely Rape Me by Nirvana,” “Some people deserve to be peed on,” “Never seen anything this sloppy,” and “I have no sympathy for whores” (Phillips, 2017).

Not only are these comments alarming and disturbing, but they also play a part in the process of victim-blaming, which assumes that the victim of rape or sexual assault is in some way responsible for what happened to them. According to the account of the events following the allegation and picture on Facebook provided by Phillips (2017), the victim of this case was bullied and ridiculed publicly and was referred to as the “train whore” of Steubenville. It was noted that coaches in charge of the assailants knew about the situation but did not report it or discipline the boys. It was said they confirmed they would “take care of it” (Phillips, 2017, p.

47). One volunteer coach was quoted in an article as saying,

The rape was just an excuse, I think...What else are you going to tell your parents when

you come home drunk like that and after a night like that?...She had to make up

something. Now people are trying to blow up our football program because of it (Phillips,

2017, p. 46).

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In addition to victim and slut shaming, the victim in the Steubenville rape case faced threats to her life and safety in the form of tweets on the social media platform

Twitter. These tweets read, “I’ll celebrate by beating the shit out of Jane Doe,” “You ripped my family apart, you made my cousin cry, so when I see you bitch it’s going to be homicide,” and “She’s the town whore anyways. She hasn’t stopped drinking yet. just pray, cause God’s gonna get her worse than anyone can” (Phillips, 2017). The boys were found guilty of the rape of Jane Doe, as well as one faced a charged for the distribution of the picture of her that was posted to social media. The two individuals who tweeted the aforementioned messages were charged with telecommunications harassment (Phillips,

2017).

Rape Myths, Framing, and Agenda Setting

Sexual assault cases can be a breeding ground for rape myth perpetuation in news media.

When Brock Turner raped “Emily Doe” in 2015, news sources covered the case in order to disseminate that information to the public. However, as with most rape and sexual assault cases, rape myths began to litter the headlines and other news articles as the case ensued, and Turner’s lawyers did their best to prove his innocence.

When it comes to news media, it is often said that it’s not what you say, but how you say it (Schuefele & Tewksbury, 2007). This is the case with framing, agenda setting, and priming as tactics within the news writing. Headlines can act as prompts that provide context and affect an audience's interpretation of the news they are about to read before they even open the article. As described by Durant and Lambrou (2009) “information is not a passive resource waiting to be searched for an accessed. It is always in competition for people’s attention with other

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information” (p. 28). If there is always a competition for audience attention, those who are tasked with writing news headlines need to construct them in a way that catches people’s attention.

Framing and implications of rape myths. Rape myths exist not only in our society, but also in our news media. When news stories focus more on what a victim was wearing or how much she had to drink at the time of her rape, they perpetuate these common rape myths and allow for them to stabilize in the minds of their audiences. For example, in the Brock Turner sexual assault case, news media focused heavily on his swimming accolades while his victim was questioned on how she could possibly remember what had happened due to her alcohol consumption (Potter, 2017). Through word choice and emphasis, journalists frame news stories.

Framing is the concept of how representation of information or an issue is reported in news media can have an effect on how the audience will interpret the message (Schuefele &

Tewksbury, 2007). The concept is influenced by sociological research that assumed people have the inability to understand our world fully while interpreting their life experiences, as well as the world around them (Goffman, 1974; Schuefele & Tewksbury, 2007). As a result, we utilize interpretative schemas, also referred to by Goffman (1974) as a primary frameworks, to evaluate information and explicate it meaningfully (Schuefele & Tewksbury, 2007).

While it is possible that the framing of news can cause an audience to view a subject or issue how the creator frames it, it is not necessarily the intention of the journalist to deceive their audience or to spin a story a certain way. Schuefele & Tewksbury (2007) explain that “framing is a necessary tool to reduce the complexity of an issue, given the constraints of their respective media related to news holes and airtime” (p. 12). Simply put, framing seeks to describe how people form impressions regarding an issue as they process the information provided by the journalist.

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When attributing blame in cases of sexual, such as Turner’s and Emily Doe’s, it is important to consider the source of news where one is consuming information reporting on the facts of the case. The framing of the issue on the behalf of the author and the news source can alter the facts and truth behind cases of sexual assault. Most studies that look at framing have been focused on the pattern of news coverage and identifying the “...economic, organizational, and other characteristics of the broadcasting business that produce the demand for episodic news” (Iyengar, 1994, p. 15). However, what if the political framing of issues of sexual assault varies across sources? Specifically, do journalists and authors of headlines that write about sexual assault determine the framing of the issue and case?

Since rape and sexual assault are serious issues we face in our society, concerns arise about why is it also the most misunderstood and underreported (Sacks, Ackerman, & Shlosberg,

2018). As of the last fifteen to twenty years, only approximately 36% of were reported by victims to the authorities according to a Department of Justice Survey (Sacks, et al., 2018). We must consider why victims of sexual assault are hesitant to report. The ways in which they are framed in the media and the rape myths they will face once the story is framed can be a deterrence for going public. For this reason, Brock Turner’s victim chose to use a pseudonym to protect her identity, going by “Emily Doe.”

Agenda setting and priming. Agenda setting is the correlation of emphasis that news reports place on certain issues will have an effect on the audience’s interpretation of said issues importance (Schuefele & Tewksbury, 2007).

The activities of interest groups, policymakers, journalists, and other groups interested in

shaping media agendas and frames can have an impact on both the volume and character

of news messages about a particular issue (Schuefele & Tewksbury, 2007, p. 12).

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Priming is a smaller part of agenda-setting that occurs when mass media content suggests to news audiences that certain issues should be used as a benchmark for evaluating the performance of leaders and government (Schuefele & Tewksbury, 2007). The concept of priming goes hand- in-hand with agenda setting; as news media raises specific issues to the forefront of importance, we are more likely to recall them later on and use them for comparison with later issues (Iyengar

& Kinder, 1987; Schuefele & Tewksbury, 2007). This occurs with cases of sexual and rape when certain issues, such as Brock Turner, become so large in our media that we often compare later cases to them.

Rape Myths and Media Effects

How journalists frame sexual assault can have implications on how readers process content. For example, framing can lead to learning to associate with different concepts and ideas known as schemas (cognitive-transactional model) and repeated exposure to concepts can make them seem more relevant (cumulative effects model) according to Perse (2011). This next section will explore the relationship between framing, agenda setting and priming with models of media effects, particularly as it relates to rape myths.

Cognitive transactional model of effects. Perse (2011) explains that we use schemas to interpret media content and organize knowledge, as well as influence media effects. Schemas are how we associate information with pre-existing information in our brains. Due to the fact that schemas organize knowledge, they can control how new information is homogenized with existing, prior knowledge. For example, this can include how a news story is framed (especially using headlines) and influences which schema is used to understand the information and associate it with existing information. Schemas also reduce uncertainty about how we act in

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certain situations or what to think because it allows us to make inferences about those situations due to the associations connected (Perse, 2011).

As mentioned before, creators of news media headlines must catch the attention of their audience. However, in order to do so, there is a possibility of engaging in the tactic of sensationalism. Molek-Kozakowska (2013) explains that sensationalist voices can be used in writing news media in order to draw attention to certain hot-button subject that garner attention from audiences, including sex, crime, and scandal. It is also possible to sensationalize a story in such a way that it appears more relevant and interesting to audiences so that they will be more likely to follow a story and read the articles (Molek-Kozakowska, 2013).

Written news media stories and their headlines tread a cautious line in what they can and cannot write in fear of defamation and libel. The Associated Press Stylebook, a source created by the Associated Press news and utilized by most journalists and news sources, lays out appropriate writing and proper grammar, as well as reviews some media law as it pertains to journalism writing and television. This Stylebook describes itself as the “...definitive resource for writers” (2016, p. 4) and that represents years of collective knowledge from AP writers.

However, we can critique this guide for journalists that has no formal section for rape.

When looking for definitions and more information on rape within the Stylebook, you are redirected to a section on privacy that explains that juveniles should not be identified, and victims of rape and sexual assault should be identified by name. How do they define what constitutes as rape and sexual assault? In what ways does one writing headlines for these cases describe the victim without offense? These issues are not addressed, thus, leaving room for improvement on the Stylebook’s approach to reporting on these issues. It reads more of a way to

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avoid being sued for defamation than a means to provide clarification on the specific parts of the case at hand.

When we read cases of sexual assault and consume the rape myths that exist within these stories, consumers may begin to associate them with acceptable responses and questions of victims in sexual assault situations. Therefore, these three components, rape myths, framing, and schemas, combine to shape perceptions and influence readers.

Cumulative model of effects. Over 2.1 billion people participate in Facebook and

Instagram everyday (Facebook Newsroom, 2019). This does not include the total users of

Twitter, which has 335 million active users monthly; 67 million of which are located within the

United States (Iqbal, 2019). According to a Pew Research study, as of December 2018, social media as a news source has overtaken print news with one out of every five U.S. adults reporting that they use social media at a higher rate for news (Shearer, 2018). With these statistics in mind, it is valid to assume that at some point during the two years that the Stanford rape case dominated the news cycle, a large portion of those billions of users encountered this story, whether they wanted to or not. This consumption of news without choice is the basis of the cumulative model of media effects.

We are exposed to these instances of sexual assault in both print and televised news media, but also on social media platforms. Headlines become tweets that are confined by even fewer characters than Twitter’s 240 character limit. Whether you followed the case or not, you may have been subject to the name Brock Turner at some point, either from your news media accounts or from posts written by friends, family, or colleagues. Even if not actively seeking out information about the case, it is possible to become familiar due to just how pervasive the details of this case were on social media, as well as how long the conversation took place. This is what

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Perse (2011) would identify as the cumulative effects media model at work. When it comes to the cumulative effects media model, selective exposure is impossible (Perse, 2011). As members of a mass audience, we do not always have the choice in which messages we take in due to how consistently they are broadcast across platforms. Not only do broadcast news, cable, and print tend to be consistent with each other (Perse, 2011), social media has added yet another front on which we are no longer able to avoid these messages.

Although print news may no longer be the most common medium where consumers find news, Perse (2011) explains that they are still present in our society. “Even newspaper headlines are displayed for sale in newsstands and boxes on street corners” (Perse, 2011, p. 44). Not only do these headlines still exist, but now we are scrolling past them every time we open our Twitter,

Facebook, or Snapchat. Due to how often we are seeing these issues repeated in the news media and on our social media platforms, audiences tend to accept the issues presented on the media agenda as the important issues that they should be concerned with (Perse, 2011). If the language being used to frame these headlines regarding the case of Brock Turner and Emily Doe is male sexual assailant centered and focused on his identity, is it easier to form stronger association with him than the victim?

If we contemplate how framing can affect the attribution of responsibility in sexual assault cases, like the case of Brock Turner and “Emily Doe,” we can begin to see how public opinion can be shaped by the headlines that are consumed through the mediums where we read news stories. Those that write the headlines that describe these cases prime the reader for the information they are about to consume. It makes us consider who is involved, where it happened, and possibly who the guilty party may be.

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With these concepts in mind, a content analysis was conducted to answer the following questions:

RQ 1: How do local news headlines describe the victim “Emily Doe?”

RQ 2: How do local news headlines describe the assailant “Brock Turner?”

RQ 3: How frequently are rape myths present in local news headlines regarding the

Stanford sexual assault case?

A full description of the methods will be discussed in detail in the next chapter.

Methods

A content analysis was chosen for this project in order to evaluate the frequency of which language regarding the sexual assailant and the victim is employed in news headlines. Article headlines that made up the sample were chosen due to their relevance to the Brock Turner rape case. This case was chosen due to its timeliness, prominence in the media, and relevance to the previous literature. Headlines from , East Bay Times, and the Dayton Daily

News were utilized in order to assess the presence of language regarding the sexual assailant and victim. Mercury News and East Bay Times are news sources local to the area where Turner went to school and where the sexual assault occurred. The Dayton Daily News is local to Dayton, Ohio where Turner is from and went to high school.

These three news media sources allow for a possible difference in focus in their headlines due to their locations. The sources local to California (The Mercury News and East Bay Times) and the source local to Dayton (Dayton Daily News) may differ in their orientation of the headlines due to Turner’s relationship with the areas. The content analysis was conducted in order to address the following research questions:

RQ 1: How do local news headlines describe the victim “Emily Doe?”

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RQ 2: How do local news headlines describe the assailant “Brock Turner?”

RQ 3: How frequently are rape myths present in local news headlines regarding the

Stanford sexual assault case?

Sample

A total of 325 article headlines were gathered through a Lexis database from all three news sources. The headlines sampled derived from articles ranging from 2016 to 2018. This is the time period in which the assault occurred and the trial received coverage. Every other headline was coded using a codebook adapted from Siefkes-Andrews and Alexopolous (2019). A systematic sampling method was utilized in order to gather a random sample of 135 news headlines total, equaling thirty-four headlines from the Mercury News, fifty-six from the East

Bay Times, and forty-five headlines from the Dayton Daily News.

Coding

Intercoder reliability. The author and a first year graduate student independently coded a sample set of twenty-five headlines as training. Upon completion, it was found that two codes,

“description of perpetrator” and “guilt of the perpetrator,” were not reliable. In order to obtain reliability, a second round of coding was conducted with a sample set of thirty. Variables that scored 70% or higher on reliability were kept, as according to The Content Analysis Guidebook by Kimberly Neuendorf (2017). Reliability was not obtained on the codes “guilt of the perpetrator” and “language of no consent.” These variables were removed from the codebook

(See appendix A).

Table 1. Reliability.

Item Reliability

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News source 90%

Presence of perpetrator 100%

Presence of victim 96.66%

Description of victim 100%

Description of perpetrator 93.33%

Language of support for victim 100%

Language of doubt for victim 100%

Language of support for perpetrator 100%

Language of doubt for perpetrator 96.66%

Quote 100%

If yes: Who’s quoted? 100%

Perpetrator referred to as innocent 100%

Victim referred to as innocent 100%

Reference to victim’s alcohol consumption 100%

Reference to perpetrator’s alcohol 100% consumption

Clothing of victim 100%

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Flirting 100%

Lack of consent education 96.66%

Peer pressure 100%

Variables coded

Within the headlines, there were nineteen variables that were coded. The variables of support and doubt were adapted from research conducted by Siefkes-Andrews and Alexopoulos

(2019), which analyzed the language used in articles regarding sexual assault and campus rape cases. In accordance with the aforementioned research questions, the following variables code for general details, language pertaining to the victim and perpetrator, and rape mtyhs.

Headline details. Headlines details were coded to determine which source (The Mercury

News, East Bay Times, Dayton Daily News) the article derived from and the date that the article was published. It was also coded if the perpetrator or victim was mentioned blatantly in the headline to determine presence.

Descriptions of victim and perpetrator. Descriptions of the perpetrator and victim were coded as having affiliations to an athletic group, relationships to a specific organization (such as a fraternity), occupation, academic status, or the presence of the perpetrator or victim’s name. An

“other” option was provided in order to code for references to race, class, or any description not identified.

Presence of language of support and doubt. Language of support and doubt for the victim and perpetrator was adapted from the codebook of Siefkes-Andrews and Alexopoulos

(2019). Support was determined using the presence of verbs, which included acknowledge,

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disclose, divulge, foretell, forewarn, indicate, mention, note, recall, reveal, let on, let slip, make clear, point out, said, told. Doubt was determined using verbs and terms such as alleged, claim, lie, misinform, purport, make out.

Quotes were coded and the individual quoted was identified, as well. This was noted to evaluate which types of voices headlines may be giving a position to be heard over others. Also, it was coded whether the headline was making inferences or alluding that the victim was falsely accusing the perpetrator.

References to innocence. Coders identified if there were instances where headlines referred to the perpetrator or victim as innocent, or made allusions that Turner was not guilty of the charges or that the victim was not lying. The perpetrator or victim was referred to as innocent in the headline, either in a quote from someone else or by the headline author.

Alcohol consumption. The coders identified references to the perpetrator or victim’s consumption of alcohol in the headlines. This was coded if the headline was referencing a claim from either party that the alcohol consumed affected their judgment, could be blamed for the events that occurred, or was used as an excuse for why the victim cannot remember the events in full.

Victim’s clothing. Coders identified any references in the headline to the victim’s clothing, no matter how specific (Siefkes-Andrews & Alexopoulos, 2019). This was coded if the victim’s clothing was used in a manner to justify the actions of sexual assault that occurred or if the victim was asked about her clothing at any time during the trial. It was also coded if the perpetrator’s defense used this as a means to place the victim in a guilty position.

Flirting. It was indicated if the victim flirted, or was “flirting,” with the perpetrator prior to the sexual assault.

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Lack of consent education. Coders identified if the perpetrator’s lack of education regarding consent (e.g. what qualifies as consent, how one can give consent, what qualifies as rape/sexual assault) in the headline.

Presence of peer pressure. It was identified if there were references to peer pressure due to social obligations, the Greek system, or rape culture.

Results

One hundred thirty five headlines were gathered from the news sources. Of 135, 34 came from the Mercury News, 56 came from the East Bay Times, and 45 came from the Dayton Daily News.

Of the 135 headlines that were sampled, the perpetrator was present or referenced in the headline

27% of the time, while the victim was present only 2%.

Presence and Description of Victim

In order to satisfy research question one, variables coded for the presence and description of the victim, “Emily Doe,” were analyzed. The victim (n=3) was referred to in the data by terms that did not qualify in the codes, but resembled terms such as “brave” and “unconscious woman.”

The victim was never mentioned in the headlines of the Dayton Daily News (see Table 2).

Language of support and doubt of the victim and false accusations from the victim were not present in the data set. The victim is referred to as innocent (n=5) in those words or by being placed in a position of innocence, more frequently in the Mercury News than any of the other newspapers (see Table 3). References to the victim’s consumption of alcohol, clothing, and flirtatious behavior were not present.

Table 2. News Sources and Presence of Victim.

News Source Present Not Present Total

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Mercury News 2 32 34

East Bay Times 1 55 56

Dayton Daily News 0 45 45

Total 3 132 135

Table 3. News Source and Victim Referred to as Innocent.

News Source Yes No Total

Mercury News 4 30 34

East Bay Times 1 55 56

Dayton Daily News 0 45 45

Total 5 130 135

Presence and Description of Perpetrator

In order to satisfy research question two, variables coded for the presence of the perpetrator,

“Brock Turner” were analyzed. The perpetrator (n=37) was referred to in the data set most frequently by his name (n=27), followed by his athletic status (n=7) and least often by his academic (n=3) affiliations (see Tables 4 and 5). Language of support (n=7) and doubt (n=2) of the perpetrator were both present in the sample. The perpetrator is referred to as innocent, or placed in a position of innocence, only once (Table 6). There are no references to the perpetrator’s alcohol consumption.

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Brock Turner’s presence and language of support for him were indicated as statistically significant. Not only is he present, but there is more support for him than doubt in the sample of headlines X2(1, N= 135) = 12.65, p<.00 . In addition to the statistical significance of Turner’s presence and language of support, significance was also found between descriptions of Turner and language of support. The following are examples of headlines that included language of support: “Dad's letter sparks social media rage; Defense of ex-Oakwood swimmer mentions his loss of appetite for steak” (Dayton Daily News); “Dauber [attorney] didn’t get it: Turner would’ve been destroyed by prison” (East Bay Times).

Turner’s most common descriptors pertained to his athletic affiliation as a swimmer, his academic affiliation to Stanford, and the use of his name X2(2, N= 37) = 9.41, p<.05. These descriptions were then divided amongst the news source from which the headline derived

(Mercury News, East Bay Times, Dayton Daily News) in order to determine how the different sources were describing the perpetrator.

Table 4. News Sources and Presence of Perpetrator.

News Source Present Not Present Total

Mercury News 11 23 34

East Bay Times 13 43 56

Dayton Daily News 13 32 45

Total 37 98 135

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Table 5. News Source and Description of the Perpetrator.

News Source Athletic Academic Name Total

Mercury News 0 0 11 11

East Bay Times 1 0 12 13

Dayton Daily 6 3 4 13

News

Total 7 3 27 37

Table 6. Presence of Perpetrator and Language of Support.

Presence of Lang. of Support Not Lang. of Support Total

Perpetrator Present Present

Yes 31 6 37

No 97 1 98

Total 128 7 135

Presence of Rape Myths

In order to satisfy research question three, variables coded for the presence of rape myths. The following rape myth codes were not present in the sample: Flirting, lack of consent education, and peer pressure.

Discussion

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During the course of this research, “Emily Doe” came forward to officially identify herself to the public. Chanel Miller released her book Know My Name in 2019, which presented her story as well as her account of the events that transpired on Stanford’s campus that night with

Turner. It calls attention to the importance of maintaining one’s own identity and the power of a name. The following section discusses how these concepts relate to the results of this research.

Maintaining Identity

In the data set, the perpetrator was present in headlines 27% of the time, while the victim was present only 2%. Considering that this data covered dates from the time of the assault until after the trial, it is clear that the erasure of Miller from the Stanford rape case occurred throughout the duration of the trial. Due to the fact that she is barely present, there was no language of support or doubt regarding her identity. However, that would be expected since she is not present. In contrast, Brock Turner’s presence was found much more frequently than Miller and, as a result, there is more opportunity for his description to be included. Not only is he present, but Turner was framed in a language of support rather than doubt in the sample of headlines. Moreover, Turner’s most common descriptors pertained to his athletic affiliation as a swimmer, his academic affiliation to Stanford, and the use of his name.

In order to examine differences across newspapers, these descriptions of Turner were then divided amongst the news source from which the headline derived (Mercury News, East

Bay Times, Dayton Daily News). Mercury News and East Bay Times refer to Turner by his name in the overwhelming majority of the headlines; all except one which refers to his association with

Stanford swim team. Dayton Daily News also utilizes Turner’s name, however, the use of descriptors regarding his athletic and academic affiliations (n=9) were more utilized than his name (n=4). This differentiation proposes two possible frames through which Turner is being

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reported. Mercury News and East Bay Times write about Turner through a student frame. Due to his relative newness in a large area, he is less likely to be recognized by anything other than his name. Dayton Daily News writes about Turner through a local frame. He is familiar in the area due to the fact that it’s his hometown, and audiences are likely to reference his identity with his accolades and affiliations.

Framing theory proposes that media outlets focus attention on certain events or stories and place a higher importance on certain stories. The descriptions of individuals that we read in headlines prime us for the story that we are about to consume. Some headlines framed stories about Turner by focusing on his college extra-curricular activities, like an article headline from the New York Post that read, “Three-time All-American Stanford swimmer found guilty of sexual assault” (Associated Press, 2016). Others took it as an opportunity to remind readers of his status and ability, like this headline from ; “All-American swimmer found guilty of sexually assaulting unconscious woman on Stanford campus.” Turner, due to his position of power (Mallicoat, 2019), gets to keep his identity and accolades as the “All-

American” swimmer and student of Stanford, while Miller was simply deemed “unconscious women.” Turner’s identity follows him out from behind the dumpster where he attempted to rape

Miller, while she was forever changed in both her identity and in her life.

Cavender et al.’s (1999) study focuses on the evolution of the portrayal of women as victims throughout the running history of a British television show, America’s Most

Wanted. They focused on the ways in which female characters were depicted as victims in the early years of the program and tracked any changes in the way the “victim” narrative changes by the most recent episodes of the series. The ways that television programs discuss rape in their depictions of assault or the investigation of it affect

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viewer’s perceptions of what is and isn’t true. These misconceived notions of rape and how it occurs permeate our beliefs and perpetuate rape myths.

When a sexual assault victim leaves the situation where the violence took place, they lose their identity. In the eyes of society, they are stripped of all of the various constructs that make up who they are. They are reduced to the clothes they had on, where they were, and questioned about all of the possible ways in which they could have been “asking for it.” Rape myths in our society would have us believe that there are valid excuses for rape; that an individual

(specifically women) is at fault in some way when they are sexually assaulted. These myths are perpetuated through repetition in our media, and I believe that news media headlines can contribute to this perpetuation due to their framing.

What’s in a Name?

As previously mentioned, Miller is only present in the data set 2% of the time. When references to her as the victim did occur, they did not use descriptions of her affiliations or her name. She was referred to as “victim” or “unconscious woman.” It is important to consider that while not using a victim’s name is meant to protect their identity, it also means we begin to associate with the perpetrator. It is his name that is remembered, while his victim is redefined and forgotten. Considering this, I begin to question if there isn’t a better way to remain focused on the victim and still allow her the safety of privacy. Should headlines use a perpetrator’s name before they are convicted?

Just as television news can affect the understanding and framing of issues of sexual assault, headlines can shape our interpretations of the story before we even open the article.

Throughout this case, “Emily Doe” was utilized by the victim in order to protect Chanel Miller’s

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identity. The dialogue exchanged between Miller and Turner throughout this case provides some insight into how the two consider their own identities, as well as how they understand each other’s. In a critical discourse analysis of the case, Sarah Potter (2017) analyzes the language used throughout the court case in order to discuss not only their identities, but also how they discuss and place blame.

Both Miller and Turner were asked to write letters describing the events that occurred the night the assault took place. Miller’s written testimony included over seventy-five references to

Turner as “he” (he admitted, said, did, etc.) and calls specific attention to him as her assailant and clearly places the blame on Turner (Baker, 2016; Potter, 2017). Turner’s testimony only references Doe approximately fourteen times (she agreed, wanted it, liked it) but never uses her actual name (Baker, 2016; Potter, 2017). In addition to never identifying Doe, Turner never refers to himself as the guilty party, nor places himself in a position of blame. When discussing the incident, he uses terms such as “someone,” (fifteen times) and “anyone” (six times) (Potter,

2017).

By removing Miller’s name from his testimony, it seems that Turner fails to directly acknowledge his victim; as a result, deflecting his own responsibility for the actions he took that night. By doing this, he essentially erases Miller as the victim in this narrative and attributes responsibility for the outcome of that night on her. This is echoed in Miller’s testimony where she states, “I was told that I was assaulted, I was told that because I couldn’t remember, [due to alcohol consumption] I technically could not prove that it was unwanted” (Potter, 2017, p. 12).

Because Doe is unable to recall the exact events of the night, the jury is reduced to using

Turner’s testimony to determine what occurred that evening. As Potter (2017) explains, he is more certain of facts, so Turner gets to determine truth.

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Turner continuously denies his own culpability in the assault through his testimony. If no assault occurred, as Turner claims, there can be no victim; thus denying Miller her own definition of her identity in this case (Potter, 2017). Another example of the redefining of their identities can be seen in the adjectives that Miller and Turner use throughout the case in order to describe themselves and the events of that night. Turner describes the evening as “fun, normal, fine, positive, and good.” Miller describes herself and the evening as “defenseless, helpless, malicious [Turner], serious, forceful [Turner], invasive, aggressive [Turner], offensive, vulnerable, sickening, and uncomfortable” (Potter, 2017, p. 23). Furthermore, the two describe themselves in reference to their positions at the party.

“I was the wounded antelope of the herd, completely alone and vulnerable, physically unable to

fend for myself, and he chose me (Chanel Miller, “Emily Doe”).” (p. #)

“I remember attending social gatherings with the swim team where these things were not

only accepted, but almost encouraged for the freshman to experience...I was an

inexperienced drinker and party-goer, so I just accepted these things that they showed me

as normal (Brock Turner).” (p. #)

The two quotes from their testimonies, as provided by Potter (2017), depict the difference in how they view the events that were transpiring and how their identities differed.

Now that this case is settled in court and years have passed, Miller has decided it is time for the world to know her name. As mentioned previously, we have no formal guide of how to write about and report sexual assault and rape. But, who are those who have never experienced something as tragic as Miller and thousands of other women in our society? Perhaps it’s time we allow victims to tell us how they want to be presented, written about, and remembered.

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Attribution of Responsibility and Public Opinion

Applying Iynegar’s attribution of responsibility can allow us to further understand the process of the public methods of placing blame in the Stanford rape case. Public opinion regarding rape and sexual assault can be shaped by the media since news is shared because the crime is considered an immediate threat to the public. Also, there is the aspect of personal experience involved, which creates an intimate familiarity with those within the public that have similar experiences or relation to the issue (Iyengar, 1994). As well as shaping the opinion of the public, the ways in which the news media frame stories influences the ways we perceive the attribution of responsibility and this can begin to affect the general public opinion on who would be to blame in cases of sexual assault. Iyengar (1994) explains this concept; “...ordinary citizens readily identify causes of national issues and suggest treatments or solutions for social problems

[sexual assault and rape]. These attributions of causal and treatment responsibility are key factors in the formation of public opinion” (p. 127).

However, how do we determine responsibility? Furthermore, is there any recommended treatment for these societal issues? Iyengar (1994) proposes four models of attribution of responsibility that we can use to determine not only where responsibility lies, but what the treatment would be. First, deterrence model states that individual tendencies and insufficient punishment cause crime. The treatment for this would be stronger punishment of criminals

(Iyengar, 1994). To apply this to cases of sexual assault, the responsibility of so many sexual assaults and rapes of women can be attributed to the fact that the large majority (nearly 75%) of men who are accused in cases of sexual assault and rape are acquitted or never even see trial according to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (2018).

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The second model as presented by Iyengar (1994) is the societal model that proposes that inadequate societal conditions cause crime. The treatment requires improvement in societal conditions. When applying this to cases of sexual assault, we can identify the issue of disclosure of sexual assault and fear of social reaction as an indicator for possible change. Ullman and

Peter-Hagene (2014) examined the negative social reactions to disclosure of sexual assault within our society and found that negative social reactions led to higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in disclosing victims. Issues such as this can lead to lack of reporting of sexual assaults, which is a possible societal improvement.

Iyengar’s (1994) third model, guardianship, explains that the primary causal factors are individual tendencies and insufficient punishment. The treatment for this model is also improvement in societal conditions. Mallicoat’s (2019) discussion of Cohen and Felson’s (1979) routine activities theory posits that three components converge in order to raise the likelihood of victimization. The first states that an individual is interested in pursuing a criminal act; the second states that a potential victim is available to be victimized; and the third states that there is an absence of a “guardian” present that would deter the assailant from committing the assault or crime or making contact with the victim (Mallicoat, 2019, p. 61). The focus on the tendencies of individuals that Iyengar (1994) references in the guardianship model could refer to the possible societal norm of not stepping in to become a “guardian” when witnessing alarming actions or potential sexual assault indicators when in public.

The last model of attribution of responsibility is the punitive model (Iyengar, 1994). This model states that inadequate societal conditions cause crime, and the treatment for this is stronger punishment. As explained by Mallicoat (2019) there exists a gender system within our society that determines where power lies. Women and men perform different tasks that are

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valued differently, with higher value placed on the work of men (Conway, Pizzamiglio, &

Mount, 1996; Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, Xu, 2002; Gerber, 2009). This creates a power dynamic within our society that places more emphasis and importance on men, which in turn leaves women in an inferior position. When society as a whole works on this level, it is understandable how crimes of a sexual nature where the victims are women are at a higher likelihood due to their inferior position of power.

Limitations

Over the course of this research, there were limitations. During the height the

Turner/Miller Stanford sexual assault trial in 2016 there was also one of the largest presidential elections occurring. The majority of mass media focus was on the election and candidates. Due to this minimal amount of mainstream media coverage from sources such as and the Washington Post, this research utilized local sources closer to the issue in order to obtain an optimal amount of news media coverage. Sacks,

Ackerman, and Sholsberg (2018) suggest that local newspapers may be more responsible in their reporting of sexual violence than national newspapers; however, they did find an indirect reinforcement of rape myths. Therefore, they, too, continue to call for more attention to and care in reporting of sexual assault in the news. Moreover, there were additional issues related to allegations against the judge, , concerning bias and Turner’s lenient sentencing. Some of the articles focused more closely on the judge than the sexual assault itself which may have implications on the headlines themselves.

In addition to the minimal coverage of this case, the focus of this research was on the headlines themselves. Previous research also incorporated analysis of the text of the articles themselves (Clark & Caroll, 2003; Kahlor & Eastin, 2011; Molek-Kozakowska,

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2013; Siefkes-Andrews & Alexopoulos, 2019). Future research could fold both of these together to compare frequency and description of the victim and assailant in the headlines with the article itself.

Future Research

Future research endeavors may take the form of focusing on more than just one sexual assault case. The lack of coverage in the Turner/Miller sexual assault case on larger news media sources created a much smaller pool of headlines. There may be more opportunities for the presence of a victim if there is more than one victim being analyzed.

In addition to this, future research may work to identify the possibilities of creating a structured way of reporting sexual assault cases in a manner that does not erase the victim or repress their identity.

Conclusion

This research focused on the theoretical concepts of framing and agenda-setting, while applying them to rape myths and the ways that victims and sexual assailant are presented in the media and coded headlines for the presence of language regarding the victim and perpetrator in the Turner/Miller sexual assault case. Through this research, we begin to see that there may be faults with our current methods of reporting sexual assault and rape cases and the construction of the headlines that prime audiences. We should consider these faults and ask ourselves if there are not improvements that can be made in order to better represent victims while still protecting them.

There are journalists, as well as media specialists and researchers, that have taken issue with the way that we write about sexual assault. Meg Dalton of Columbia Journalism Review

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explains that “what we report and how we report it matters” (Dalton, 2018). When sympathy is shown to sexual assailants, it is possible that audiences may be likely to assume a position of sympathy as well. Some journalists even claim that there is a correct way to write about rape, such as avoiding leading language, inadequate statistics, and victim blaming (Fitts, 2013). The

Center for Disease Control teamed up with the National Sexual Violence Resources Center to create a guide for how to appropriately report sexual assault news (n.d.). They recommend using up-to-date statistics, neutral language, and providing information on how to best prevent sexual assault. This includes avoiding terms such as “scandal” to describe an assault or rape, describing rape as “sex” or “intercourse,” or describing the victim or perpetrator as “accuser” or “accused”

(CDC & NSVRC, n.d.).

The ability to maintain your identity should not be a privilege, and yet, within this frame of news media and sexual assault it becomes a novelty for women to be referenced as anything other than victim or referenced at all. As women, we have a right to maintain the identity that we have built for ourselves, or to at least be given the same reverence for our accolades and attributes as men are. Women should be granted the privilege of maintaining their personhood in these situations, as opposed to being treated as simply a body that happened to be assaulted or raped.

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Appendix A

Unit of data collection: Headlines from the Mercury News, Dayton Daily, and East Bay Times pertaining to the Brock Turner rape case from January 2016 until December 2018.

Coding instructions: Do not code any headlines for articles for any sexual assaults that are not the

Turner case. For each section, code 0 for yes (present) or 1 for no (not present).

News Source ID: Use the following codes for each source to indicate which newspaper that is being coded.

1. Mercury News

2. East Bay Times

3. Dayton Daily News

Date: Fill in the date that the article was published (mm/dd/yyyy).

Presence of Perpetrator: Indicate if the perpetrator is mentioned in the headline

1. Yes

2. No

Presence of Victim: Indicate if the victim is mentioned in the headline

1. Yes

2. No

Description of victim:

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1. Athletic affiliation- The victim is described in some way as being affiliated with an athletic

organization, typically college, that is used as a way to identify them.

2. Relationship to an organization- The victim is described as being a part of an organization, such

as a sorority, campus club, volunteer organization, or religious organization.

3. Occupation- The victim’s job or occupation is mentioned as a way to identify them.

4. Academic status- The victim’s grade level, affiliation to a school, or academic standing is

mentioned in the headline.

5. Name- The victim is named in the headline.

6. Other - Please describe (such as class, race)

99. No description

Description of perpetrator:

Only code for “Stanford” if it comes immediately before a descriptor of the perpetrator.

1. Athletic affiliation- The perpetrator is described in some way as being affiliated with an athletic

organization, typically college, that is used as a way to identify them.

2. Relationship to organization- The perpetrator is described as being a part of an organization, such

as a sorority, campus club, volunteer organization, or religious organization.

3. Occupation- The perpetrator’s job or occupation is mentioned as a way to identify them.

4. Academic status- The victim’s grade level, affiliation to a school, or academic standing is

mentioned in the headline.

5. Name- The perpetrator is named in the headline.

6. Other - Please describe (such as class, race)

99. No description

Language of support for victim: Use of terms/verbs (acknowledge, disclose, divulge, foretell, forewarn, indicate, mention, note, recall, reveal, let on, let slip, make clear, point out, said, told) regarding victim

36

0. Not present

1. Present

Language of doubt for the victim: Use of terms/verb (allege, claim, lie, misinform, purport, make out) regarding victim

0. Not present

1. Present

Language of support for perpetrator: Use of terms/verbs (acknowledge, disclose, divulge, foretell, forewarn, indicate, mention, note, recall, reveal, let on, let slip, make clear, point out, said, told) regarding perpetrator

0. Not present

1. Present

Language of doubt for the perpetrator: Use of terms/verb (allege, claim, lie, misinform, purport, make out) regarding perpetrator

0. Not present

1. Present

Presence of quotes in headline: Indicate if a quote is used within the headline

1. Yes

2. No

If quote present, indicate who made the quote:

1. Perpetrator

2. Victim

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3. Friend/Family of Perpetrator

4. Friend/Family of Victim

5. Attorney for Perpetrator

6. Attorney for Victim

7. Someone else: Please identify who

99. No quote is present in headline

False accusation of victim: The headline references or alludes to the victim falsely accusing the perpetrator.

1. Yes

2. No

Perpetrator referred to as innocent- The perpetrator is referred to as innocent in the headline, either in a quote from someone else or by the headline author.

1. Yes

2. No

Victim referred to as innocent- The victim is referred to as innocent in the headline, either in a quote from someone else or by the headline author.

1. Yes

2. No

References to victim’s alcohol consumption

0. Not present

1. Present

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References to perpetrator’s alcohol consumption

0. Not present

1. Present

References to victim’s clothing

0. Not present

1. Present

References to flirting- It is indicated that the victim flirted with the perpetrator prior to the sexual assault.

1. Yes

2. No

Lack of education regarding consent- The perpetrator’s lack of knowledge about consent is referenced.

This includes wording that alludes to the perpetrator’s perception that there was confirmed consent, including references to possible phrases such as “she was enjoying it, she liked it,” or “she didn’t stop me.”

1. Yes

2. No

Presence of peer pressure- References to peer pressure due to social obligations, Greek system, or rape culture.

1. Yes

2. No

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