Exploring News Framing in Military-Oriented Newspapers
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EXPLORING NEWS FRAMING IN MILITARY-ORIENTED NEWSPAPERS _______________________________________ A Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia _______________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts _____________________________________________________ by BRITTANY CARLSON Dr. Tim Vos, Thesis Supervisor MAY 2017 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the thesis entitled EXPLORING NEWS FRAMING IN MILITARY-ORIENTED NEWSPAPERS presented by Brittany Carlson, a candidate for the degree of master of arts in journalism, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Professor Tim Vos Professor Ryan Thomas Professor Stephen Jeanetta Professor Jacqui Banaszynski DEDICATION To my husband, Derek, for your endless support and encouragement. To my parents, Bob and Jan, for always believing in my dreams. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Professor Tim Vos for agreeing my chair my thesis and for lending his guidance, expertise and wisdom throughout this process. I would also like to thank the members of my committee: Professor Ryan Thomas, for helping me to hone my methods, Professor Stephen Jeanetta, for providing a voice of experience to military research, and to Professor Jacqui Banaszynski for reminding me to think and write like a journalist. Thank you all for your support and for teaching me throughout the process. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ ii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... viii PREFACE .......................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW..........................................................................................6 Linking research to framing theory ......................................................................6 Framing theory history/background .....................................................................8 Analyzing media frames .....................................................................................10 Refining research problem .................................................................................12 Literature on military news coverage .................................................................13 Framing as a part of gatekeeping theory ............................................................22 Linking research to body of literature/Implications ...........................................24 3. METHODS .............................................................................................................26 Research materials ..............................................................................................26 Method 1: Textual analysis ................................................................................27 Method 2: Qualitative interviews .......................................................................30 Justification ........................................................................................................33 The researcher’s role ..........................................................................................36 4. FRAMES IN MILITARY NEWS COVERAGE (RQ1) .........................................38 Textual analysis of sexual assault articles .........................................................39 Frame 1: Failures in the military justice system.......................................39 iii Frame 2: Military’s “troubling command culture” ..................................47 Frame 3: Hard for victims to speak out ....................................................49 Frame 4: Sex assault problems in military worsening .............................52 Textual analysis of deployment effects articles ................................................55 Frame 1: Not enough institutional/cultural support ................................57 Frame 2: Military families should reconcile ............................................62 Frame 3: Military spouses shelve emotional needs ..................................67 Frame 4: Military mothers battle cultural stigma, guilt ...........................70 5. COMPARING FRAMES IN MILITARY NEWS COVERAGE BETWEEN MILITARY-ORIENTED NEWSPAPERS (RQ2) .............................................73 Sexual assault articles .........................................................................................74 Interviews: Framing sexual assault ..........................................................77 Deployment effects articles ................................................................................78 Interviews: Framing deployment effects ..................................................82 Covering the same event ..........................................................................83 6. COMPARING FRAMES IN MORE POLITICALLY-CHARGED ARTICLES VERSUS LESS POLITICALLY CHARGED MILITARY NEWS (RQ3) .......86 Covering sexual assault ......................................................................................87 Seeking major trends ................................................................................87 Vetting sources .........................................................................................88 Avoiding the appearance of bias ..............................................................90 Other factors .............................................................................................92 Covering deployment effects..............................................................................93 New aspects to the story ...........................................................................93 Advocacy ..................................................................................................94 iv 7. THE INFLUENCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES ON MILITARY NEWS COVERAGE ..........................................................................................96 Ownership ..........................................................................................................97 Stars and Stripes .......................................................................................97 Mission .............................................................................................................101 Stars and Stripes .....................................................................................103 Military Times ........................................................................................104 Thinking about audience ..................................................................................107 Stars and Stripes .....................................................................................108 Military Times ........................................................................................110 Editorial structure .............................................................................................111 Stars and Stripes .....................................................................................111 Military Times ........................................................................................112 Management style ............................................................................................113 Stars and Stripes .....................................................................................113 Military Times ........................................................................................114 8. EXTRA-MEDIA INFLUENCES ON MILITARY REPORTING (RQ5) ...........117 Relationship with military/government contacts ..............................................117 Stars and Stripes .....................................................................................118 Military Times ........................................................................................119 Changing news industry ...................................................................................123 Stars and Stripes .....................................................................................123 Military Times ........................................................................................124 Thinking about competing media .....................................................................126 Stars and Stripes .....................................................................................127 v Military Times ........................................................................................128 Personal experience ..........................................................................................131 Stars and Stripes .....................................................................................131 Military Times ........................................................................................132 9. CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................135 Where this research fits in body of literature ...................................................136