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The Representation of the #Metoo Movement in Mainstream International Media

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The Representation of the #Metoo Movement in Mainstream International Media Nabila Nuraddin The Representation of the #Metoo Movement in Mainstream International Media COURSE: International Communication Master’s Degree Project, 15 hp PROGRAMME: International Communication AUTHOR: Nabila Nuraddin TUTOR: Maria Florencia Enghel Examiner: Fredrik Stiernstedt SEMESTER: Spring 2018 1 Nabila Nuraddin JÖNKÖPING UNIVERSITY Master Thesis, 15 credits School of Education and Communication Course: International Communication Term: Spring 2018 Box 1026, SE-551 11 Jönköping, Sweden +46 (0)36 101000 ABSTRACT Name: Nabila Nuraddin Title: The Representation of the #Metoo Movement in Mainstream International Media Language: English Pages: 52 The final months of 2017 have witnessed the birth of a movement, the #Metoo movement, which started after several Hollywood actresses have accused famed producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment. The movement is an ongoing prevalent phenomenon on social media where its aim is to demonstrate the frequency and widespread of sexual harassment in all sectors of work, whereas the movement Media has been widely reporting on the movement and has given a platform to several women to speak their truths. In my research, I aim to conduct a comparative study of how three mainstream media outlets have covered the moment on their websites. The media outlets chosen are Aljazeera, BBC and CNN. The theoretical framework for the study will revolve around theories of representation, power, and to help in understanding how mainstream media represents the #Metoo movement on their news websites A total of 15 articles will be analyzed through a Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis. The study concluded that the #Metoo movement is represented through a constructionist approach, and there are minor differences between the three distinctive international mainstream media news websites. Keywords: #Metoo, Mainstream media, Media Representation, Ideology, Power, Critical Discourse Analysis, Feminist Studies 2 Nabila Nuraddin Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 5 Aim and Purpose ....................................................................................................................... 6 Research Questions ...................................................................................................................... 6 Literature Review of Previous Research ............................................................................. 6 Search Criteria ............................................................................................................................. 6 Representation of Second-wave and Third-wave Feminism .................................................... 7 The Framing of Feminism and the Women’s Movement ......................................................... 8 Representation of Feminists and Women’s Rights Advocates ............................................... 10 Representation of Feminism in Mainstream Media ................................................................ 11 Research Gap and Contribution ......................................................................................... 13 Theoretical Framework and Concepts .............................................................................. 13 Representation ............................................................................................................................ 14 Power ........................................................................................................................................... 15 Ideology ....................................................................................................................................... 16 Theoretical Framework Summary ........................................................................................... 17 Method and Material ............................................................................................................. 19 Critical Discourse Analysis ........................................................................................................ 19 Analytical Tools .......................................................................................................................... 20 Discursive Analytical Tools ....................................................................................................... 20 Visual Analytical Tools .............................................................................................................. 22 Population and Selection Process ............................................................................................. 23 Importance of Online News ....................................................................................................... 23 Brief Background on Selected News Websites ........................................................................ 24 Analysis and Results .............................................................................................................. 25 Hard News at First Glance ........................................................................................................ 25 Hard News Analysis: Aljazeera ................................................................................................ 26 Hard News Analysis: BBC ......................................................................................................... 28 Hard News Analysis: CNN ........................................................................................................ 30 Summary of Findings Regarding Hard News Analysis .......................................................... 31 Feature News at First Glance .................................................................................................... 32 Feature Articles Analysis: Aljazeera ........................................................................................ 32 Feature Articles Analysis: BBC ................................................................................................ 34 Feature Articles Analysis: CNN ................................................................................................ 37 Summary of Findings Regarding Feature News Analysis ...................................................... 39 Images Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 40 Hard News Image Analysis: Aljazeera ..................................................................................... 40 Hard News Image Analysis: BBC ............................................................................................. 42 Hard News Image Analysis: CNN ............................................................................................ 43 Summary of Findings Regarding Hard News Images Analysis ............................................. 44 Feature News Image Analysis: Aljazeera................................................................................. 45 Feature News Image Analysis: BBC ......................................................................................... 46 Feature News Image Analysis: CNN ........................................................................................ 50 Summary of Findings Regarding Feature News Image Analysis .......................................... 51 Discussion of Findings ........................................................................................................... 51 #Metoo Through Theory Lenses ............................................................................................... 54 3 Nabila Nuraddin Research Questions Answers .................................................................................................... 55 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 56 References ................................................................................................................................ 58 Appendix .................................................................................................................................. 63 Data Set Table for Hard News .................................................................................................. 63 Data Set Table for Feature News .............................................................................................. 64 4 Nabila Nuraddin Introduction Women have faced discrimination from their male counterparts in the past, due to the male dominance of institutions that oppress women. According to Lerner (1975a, as cited in, Bennett, 1989), women are oppressed through the degrading activities instituted by men in organized society, which denies them access to opportunities that would render them equal to their counterparts. Due to the historical lack of equality that women faced, the feminist movement began to challenge the misogynistic institutions and call for equal rights between men and women. Since the 19th century, the feminist movement has stood up for the rights of women across numerous societies in the world. The feminist movement has challenged the unjust treatment that women went through in their communities, and confronted the misogynistic inequality, to give a fair opportunity for women across the globe. In 2017, a new feminist movement became prominent on social media, the #Metoo
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